“This afternoon.”
*
“Wonderful pair.” The black shadow appeared from nowhere, a black, human shaped fog. No black hat... “Princess Altamira, I bow in front of your beauty. Unfortunately, I have some business with this young Deceneus.” Young… Do you know about the old one too? “But later…” A sword materialized in his left hand. Lefty ... harder to fight. I thought you want to hire me. His sword moved fast, crossing mine. Five clicks, then his blade stopped at my neck. You want to hire me. I stepped back and touched my neck. No wound… Batranu was wounded. Six steps… He moved forward, four clicks this time, the fifth hit stopped at my neck. I hope you still want… His blade pressed again, a different pattern, the same fifth stop at my neck. What the hell do you want? “I cannot go under five moves, it seems.”
“Who are you? What are you?”
“I would prefer the ‘who’. Xiriaxix, Fifth Level Shadowmind, happening to have some business on this savage planet. No offence, I visited more developed worlds in the past.” Why did Houston hide their form from me? “You know that I am a Shadowmind.” He sensed my wobbling, and I almost felt a pair of black eyes piercing me from that shadow. “Interesting... You are a Second Level. Who taught you to fight?”
“My teacher.” His swords danced again, and again just four clicks between our blades, his fifth hit found its way to my skin, leaving a burn behind. “Bastard!” A small line of red painted my shirt. I moved my shoulder in an uncontrolled gesture. It’s only a scratch. He is playing with you.
“That fast hand, old mummy, could be your teacher and the reason for your Level. Yet, what it is behind his Level? It doesn’t match the planet.” Altamira frowned at the news that he already met Batranu. Sorry...
“You almost killed him.”
“A very fine observer. Almost, is the word. I could want no almost.” His sword played again; I pared four hits, the fifth scratched my shirt. “Do you see the difference?” No burning... I glanced down, no red line. “Very fine observer. Let’s do business now.” His sword disappeared; my own one was still stiff in my hand. “I don’t mind if you want to keep it in the open.” It took me a while to sheath my sword, Houston’s communication pebble, hidden in my left hand, was hindering my moves. “A secret weapon?” He gestured to my clenched hand.
“Yes, a secret weapon. What do you want?”
“Some information, and I think that we can be good friends, you have a wry kind of humor. I like that.” Friends ... with you. I tried to see something through the darkness of his face ... no mouth, nothing ... just a black emptiness that was more chilling than the most vicious mask. I remember this ... Houston ... she was white, he is a black hole. A black mind. Befriend my horse. Don’t hurry. He is mocking you, but not like a Traveler... “I am hiring. A Second Level was not on my wish list before meeting that old mummy.”
“I don’t see the ‘mummy’ being a good start.”
“You should see past my words. I can kill in a very polite way.” Yes, you can…
“Are you a Traveler?”
“Traveler? You hurt my feelings. I have feelings; I am not like those, pinned in ice, balls of neurons. Asexual info-cubes born from womb-tanks. Phew!” Womb-tanks ... like the Saurians. “They don’t know what pleasure is: no fun, no women, no drinks, no sunsets, nothing. They will kill a beauty like you,” he gestured toward Altamira, “with no remorse. I would prefer other things, and I can have some remorse ... after. You are lucky,” he winked at me, and made a step toward her. “Let’s see you better.” Altamira raised her sword; I raised my sword. A man in black materialized, a real man, no shadow, his blade touching Altamira’s neck. “You don’t really want to fight,” he whispered.
“Fourth Level Shadowmind Xiliaxix,” Xiriaxis said.
“Of course you had to say that I am a lower Level,” Xiliaxix complained.
“It’s visible. But you are a tough guy. He killed the other five attackers of Batranu. No one escaped.” No one... This was on purpose, to pass the news to me. You are playing a role. The funny guys... Even the names... “Are you all so uptight here?” He turned back to me. “No jokes, no fun. What kind of people are you? I’ve met some, so unnatural, I thought they were punished to sit all day on swollen hemorrhoids.” Unnatural? Why are you telling me about them? What the hell do you want? What the hell do you know? “And I thought of you having some sense of humor.”
“We are overwhelmed by your names. So many X’s show plenty of imagination,” I spoke without thinking.
“You are my man. Business now. Please have a walk with the Princess,” he told to Xiliaxix. “Just a few steps,” he calmed me. “I can offer you a raise to the Third Level, in three years from now, in exchange for some small services.” Small ... what does small mean for you?
“Can a Third Level fight an Anogi or Nogi?” The shadow of his hand scratched his shadow-beard, in a mute reaction to my question. “You were human once.”
He glanced at his shadow-hand. “Old habits die hard. Travelers are also humans. We all are in this galaxy. If you mean born from a woman, then yes, I am that kind of human. Do you feel more comfortable now?” He did not mean to be answered, and I did not try. “Fighting a Nogi, I don’t think so. They are natural killers. I don’t know what genetic accident happened on this planet. They killed a Fourth Level from my team, so you have your answer. That’s why I tested your old mummy; he did not match either his age, or the Level of the planet. I wanted no more risks. Send him my regrets, but it was for his own good to return wounded.” We guessed well… You know too much… “And the Erins, two of them shamed a bunch of Travelers. Never was I so happy in my life and could not stop a noise of appreciation. They almost broke the contract with me. I had a hard time to explain that my guffaw was from surprise and fear. This planet is a menagerie. I wish to know who was the designer.”
“We are missing only some Shadowminds.” Shut up! Let’s see his humor. You may see his sword. He caught my eyes trying to anticipate his sword materialization, and laughed loudly.
“What are you looking for? We are negotiating.”
“You cannot offer what I need.”
“You did not listen well enough. First, there is a bounty on your name, on White Galax market. You did not know this. Of course, you are not a Shadowmind. Even more interesting, no one picked it. A good price, so something is fishy.” Did you pick the bounty? He could already kill you. “Second, there is no way to go into the past of this planet, to admire the nature. All the Gates I know sent me to have some drinks. I like drinks, but not when they kill a good business.” Can the shadow really drink? I have to ask Houston. “Three, there are some plans for a full planet cleaning here. You know what I mean. I will be here again, with two contracts, in three days.”
“Two contracts?”
“I advised the old mummy to let things develop naturally.”
“You said nothing.” Altamira’s voice was soft and calm, yet there was fear and reproach behind her eyes. I have to play your fear. Sorry.
“What could we say? That a black shadow attacked Batranu? There is enough fear around. We were more afraid because the unnatural attackers escaped, but these Shadowminds seems to be very organized.”
“And dangerous. You are right; some things are better kept secret.”
“I am glad that you agree,” I smiled and ruffled her rebellious hair.
“Keep your hands off!” She slapped my hand and pushed me away. I did it again, trying to catch her in my arms, and met her smiling green eyes. The next second she escaped and ran laughing.
*
“These are the contracts.” Xiriaxix dumped them into our minds after some two hours of negotiations. I faked surprise when the dump occurred, and again when seeing my face staring at me from the contract, inside my mind, after I signed it. I signed nothing when I received the bracelet… Batranu did the same, his own intuition; we did not expect ’Houston’ type of contract. “You almost convinced me,” Xiriaxis said, with a wry
smile on his lips.
“You like this word,” I tried to be natural. “What does almost mean here?”
“You almost convinced me that this is the first time you signed such a contract.” The feeling of some black eyes piercing me from that fog arrived again, and I shrugged. The next second, a man in black was teleported. No black hat, I instantly checked. “Another member of my team,” he gestured to the newcomer.
“Let me guess, another XXX.”
“Almost, his name is Xerix, a Third Level Shadowmind. The third X is gained on the Fourth Level. He will be our contact man. The best thing I could think is to make him a ‘teacher’ at the Military School.”
“This was not in the cards,” I tried to close the discussion.
“Well, it is now. We need a permanent contact.”
“Let’s move a bit slowly,” Batranu said in a low voice. “One step at a time. First he has to settle in the city, then after a while we can think about the next step.”
“We don’t have that time. All I can give to you is one week.”
“One week is not enough; I will have problems explaining hiring a stranger.”
“Stranger? He is no stranger; he comes from Ardava, like you. We dumped in his head everything we could gather, from The Field, about your city. The last thing we found was Saona’s wedding. You had a drink together. Almost friends.” Fuck your almost! How did you find that? Is Houston helping you?
“And if we refuse?” Batranu asked carefully.
“Well, I can cancel the contracts, and bye bye Third Level. Yet, I think that it will not help too much. But this will help.” Another file was dumped inside my mind, and my face was again staring at me, underneath an interesting title: ‘Bounty for Io Deceneus’. Bastard! “I claimed them two days ago.” Them? Two bounties?
“Do you really think that a bounty will help?” Batranu asked again. You too? Them... At least we are famous. And the picture was not so bad.
“For sure. I have six months to fulfill it, but I can put it back on the market at any time. Until that moment, no one else can claim it. It is safe here in my pocket, for the next six months.” His shadow-hand punched a nonexistent pocket on his shadow-body while a smile thinned his lips. “As I told you, old habits die hard.”
“Clever move,” I broke the silence.
“Very clever. You will never guess who sold me the idea.” That bloody Houston. “I think you know Armin.” What?
“I thought that he kicked you out.”
“They kicked the Travelers – two Erins were in that mental fight and three Travelers. I expected the worst for me, after I was left alone with them. I sold the report about the Erins, no way to expect something good.” A friend of a friend of a friend... “Guess what? He mumbled something about The Lines of Time, whatever that means. He had read there that a new Faction had to be involved here, so I did exactly what was expected. I felt like a child. He pushed me to contact you and to take the bounties, after I mentioned them.”
*
“He is an experienced fighter,” I told Maug after Xerix left the room, and Maug glanced at me with incredulous eyes. Xerix was as small as the Baragans were, and thin. “We reduced his size to fit better in your story,” Xiriaxis told me. “And we agreed that he will show Second Level fighting skills.” The other adaptation was Baragan mind patterns. You can hide better than me.
The next day, I found them training together. After twenty minutes of fighting, no one was hurt, and they used real swords. When Xerix left the field, Maug’s eyes followed him with the same incredulous stare.
“Well?” I asked smiling, but he did not return my smile.
“He is hiding something.”
“It can be; he came to Ardava only four years ago.” That was the escape path we inserted in the story. Xerix was an ‘adopted’ Ardavian. “But he is a good fighter.”
“Maybe too good, he let me be his equal in this training. He is better. Why hide it?” I shrugged to avoid an answer; I had none prepared. Trust me Maug, I had no way to avoid this. And maybe Armin is right. Maybe.
*
Our ‘forging bonds’ plan worked perfectly for several weeks, until the 'Erins' destroyed two villages. Are they stupid to use the same strategy? They have to obey. If Travelers suppress their thinking ... we will benefit … in the long term. More people will die. The war games with the Baramunti were swept under the carpet.
“We have a gap in the western border defenses. Here,” Garon’s finger tapped the map. “We have troops here, here and here.” His hand moved with the elegant fluidity of an old hand fighter. That’s all the elegancy that remains in you… “All the roads are watched, except this one. We need to block the area.”
“There are no villages in the area, and our troops are already stretched,” the King said, in a low voice. The first destroyed villages shocked them, now things entered into a kind of abnormal normality. They were upset, but able to discuss strategies without crying. Human adaptability again.
“When the Erins get close to our villages it is already too late. We can send the cadets.” You want me there. Why? The Anogi are in the west... You bloody bastard. If I object…
“We can send Scharon to oversee the western border.” Let’s see now...
“Scharon and Dapix know the northern area well, we cannot risk...” Unsure, Garon pushed the things in his direction. Yeah, they know what villages to destroy.
“What risk? Never saw any captured Erin. Or killed...”
“Are you afraid?” Sarul has a quite wicked and efficient way of forcing the discussion onto the ‘right’ path. If you answer, the focus changes; if you don’t, the bad words stick to you, even if no more than a few seconds, and lower your arguments. I have to ignore you.
“Maybe is time to rethink our defenses.” Maybe you will stop the attacks to prove Scharon’s efficiency.
“Scharon left this morning, for one month. You already know this. Don’t waste our time, people are dying out there,” Sarul jumped again. I saw Scharon today, and you know that I don’t ‘know’. You perverse dwarf… Scharon must be here. Garon’s answer proves it. I met the King’s eyes, and he nodded slightly.
“When did he leave?” Airan almost killed Sarul’s strategy. Scharon IS here.
“He left.” Garon’s voice went deeper than usual, and Airan felt suddenly uncomfortable in his chair. “He left,” Airan whispered. “When both of you will be back we can reconsider,” Garon closed the trap. When back... If back... You really want me there. “But now we have to secure the western border.”
“I need a hundred Baramunti riders.”
“We need them even more here,” Garon killed my plan. “Erins are dangerous; we must keep our reserves to match their strength.”
“Garon is right,” the King went with him. These are not Erins’ attacks... You know it.
“A hundred cadets should be enough,” Garon pressed further. Enough for what? “Airan has agreed to come with you.”
“We need Airan here.” The King finally understood that something was wrong. I glanced at the Queen. She said nothing and avoided my eyes. All our plans had gone awry.
“It’s okay, father.” Airan’s voice was calm and sure. You are already instructed. The border watcher would be watched.
“There is nothing in the west; we drain precious resources for nothing.” Talian is missing, yet we still have the votes to reject this.
“I told you he is afraid,” Sarul jumped again, his voice mimicking Travelers' baritone. You use this when in trouble... It must be a switch inside your mind.
“Of course I am afraid, too many wrong steps and lost villages. People are dying there, and our soldiers can't protect them. They are always in the wrong place.” Now, let's see.
“The western border needs to be protected,” the Queen abruptly stopped us. What’s wrong with you? “But the cadets cannot go alone; fifty soldiers should go with them.” You bitch! She closed any other argument, and sent me to the border.
“Nobody likes the Anogi.” Unseen, the Queen was back, and closed the door with silent moves. I ignored her and tried to leave. “We have to talk.” She grabbed my hand with unexpected force. Are you hypnotized? “I came back this morning.” You met the Travelers. Her sunken eyes convinced me. See what they want. “I did not have time to tell you, and nobody knew that I left.”
“You went there alone.” Stupid woman!
“Not alone. Altamira was with me."
“Not her," I shouted and pushed her hand away. Please, not her... “If she was hypnotized...” I will kill you. You have to thank me for this. If there still is something from the old you inside you, you will thank... I was talking inside, without any logical thinking, a blocked cornered mind. She is gone. You have to pay. They have to pay. They took everything from me... My hand grabbed slowly the knife in my pocket. You will not feel much...
“We have met Armin,” she suddenly understood my words and moved behind the table.
“You did not meet Armin, you met the Travelers. He will not send people to be butchered by the Anogi.”
“Two thousand Nogi and Erins blocked The White Pass in the west. One thousand Anogi cannot match them. Listen to me!”
“You have no idea. There are ten thousand Anogi there.” I blocked the left side of the table with chairs, and went to the right, with small uneasy steps. I have to do it... I owe it to the past you... “Twenty Anogi are more than enough to kill all the cadets.” And me...
“Ten thousand,” she whispered. “It cannot be. Armin predicted a new Nexus in The Lines of Time. You have to go there.” Yes, they are waiting there.
Io Deceneus: Journal of a Time Traveler (The Living Universe) Page 39