The Python of Caspia

by Michael Green

  Cursing the mice, Andy stepped back into the room and looked around wildly. “She hates the mice, maybe she would eat them!”

  Andy grabbed a carving knife from the end table and cut the crab free. “No funny stuff, now. I didn’t tie you up.”

  Once loose, the crab righted itself and continued working on Andy’s sock.

  Andy gave it a soft tap. “I need to find Pythia’s chambers, right now.”

  The crab gazed up and raised its claws in a gesture rather like confusion.

  “Thanks,” Andy said, rolling his eyes.

  He was about to head to the hall again, but he felt a pinch at his shin. Looking down he saw the crab signaling with its claws. It looked to be miming an action.

  “Hockey?” The crab waved its claws in negation. “Golf?” Again, no. “Sweeping?” The crab nodded.

  Sweeping?

  “Should I find somebody who’s sweeping?”

  The crab nodded again.

  Filled with pain born from absurdity, Andy nodded. “Thanks buddy, and thanks for these,” he gestured at his modified clothing. He wasn’t sure, but he felt the crab had just waved him off dismissively, almost bashfully.

  Andy stepped out into the hall for the second time.

  Sweeping.

  He turned left and jogged toward the foyer. This is the way to the entrance. Maybe I can find someone and ask questions. Sweeping? At least I don’t have to hide from the guards, I’m still allowed to be out—I think.

  He found the stairwell and took the stairs two at a time down to the foyer, where he stopped, confused.

  He found it deserted. He approached the large doorway which led out to the garden between the claws. He expected Staza and the giant Brutox. Neither were there.

  Wasn’t there supposed to be a guard at my door? Niclo? Caston said Niclo would be on guard, but no one was there. Andy stepped outside and heard the distant sounds of chimes ringing and, a moment later, scores of angry shouts.

  “Titus is making trouble,” Andy said with a grin. “But I still don’t know where to go.”

  Andy sighed, looking down onto the lily pads. He heard a clatter from behind and peeked back inside.

  An annoyed, scraggly looking fellow, bearing a broom, complained loudly, “These crabs will be the end of me—people tracking chainmail all over my grass carpet.” He swept up a few rings and held them out in Andy’s direction, “A league beneath ridicule, this is!”

  Andy looked down at his pants. I didn’t realize I was shedding. Wait! That’s the guy!

  Andy tried to restrain himself as he walked inside, though he wanted to grab the man by the shoulders and throttle him until he gave up the directions.

  I can’t do that. I need to play it cool.

  Andy stepped forward and plucked a few more rings from the carpet. “Sorry about that—I’m new—”

  “Of course you’re new!” The gruff janitor interrupted. “IF you had any sense you’d realize the crabs need a few days to get anything done properly—and IF you had more sense than that you’d never let those clothes out of your sight—’cause the damn crabs will make anyone look a fool!”

  “Right,” Andy said, slightly paralyzed by the unexpected rant. “They’re the only clothes I have; I’m not about to run around naked.”

  The man harrumphed and bent to his work, picking more rings from the grass. He seemed older than any of the students he had seen in Caspia, though still no older than thirty.

  Andy made to help, but the man swatted him with his broom. “I’m not letting anyone else get the credit for my job. The favor goes to me.”

  Andy nodded and got back to his feet. He wants favor? But do I deal with him, or try a trick?

  “You know who I am?” Andy asked.

  The man grunted an affirmative.

  “I’m on the run.” Andy looked around. “No guards to stop me—I’ve lost my weapon.”

  The man eyed him. “Don’t play me for a fool, boy.”

  “Fair enough,” Andy sighed. “I need to find Pythia’s chambers. You want favor.” Andy paused and gave him a significant look. “I was running, and only you were there to stop me. You cracked me over the head with your broom, tied me up, and took me to your Mistress.”

  Andy held his hands out, but he palmed the marble out from his pocket before he did so.

  The man gestured for Andy’s shoe. Andy raised a brow before kicking it off and tossing it to him. “What do you want with my shoe?”

  Ignoring him, the janitor unlaced it. He tossed the shoe, minus the lace, back to Andy. “Put it on.”

  Andy slid it on. That’s bad—I can’t run with a loose shoe.

  The man bound Andy’s hands with his own shoelace and then pushed him forward.

  “Where do we go?” Andy asked, but the only answer was a sharp blow to the back of his head.

  Andy stumbled, his face slammed into the floor; his tied hands were nearly useless in breaking the fall. His vision blurred, and he was sure that he had a chunk of red grass and soil in his mouth. He coughed and spat it out.

  “Don’t eat the grass, please.”

  “What the hell?” Andy growled, stumbling to his feet.

  “Believability,” the man said. Staring at his busted broom he spoke, as if to himself: “Thick noggin on this one.”

  Andy wanted to head-butt the man with his thick noggin, but was startled by sudden movement.

  A stairwell made of glowing vines had descended from the roof. He noticed that a chandelier was missing. Andy felt dazed, but tried to work out what he was seeing. The chandelier is made of these vines—with glowing tips for fake candles—it unties itself and descends to form this stairwell? His head throbbed, and he nearly stumbled, but his mind kept working. But what signaled it? I was on the floor—did he call it? Damn—he didn’t have to break the broom over my head.

  The man pushed Andy toward the stairwell, which swayed, as if caught in a light wind.

  “Neat trick.” Andy said, trying not to slur. He felt dizzy, but still hoped to coax something out of the man with a little flattery.

  “Shut up and walk,” he said, jabbing the broken end of the broom into Andy’s back.

  Andy felt like he might vomit. He mounted the vines with some difficulty, but managed to climb. The man prodded him all the way to the top.

  This can’t be how she gets into her rooms. This is ridiculous.

  When they finally came out at the top, Andy’s eyes widened to take in the marvel of Pythia’s antechamber. Its ceiling curved like the inside of a globe, with the glowing lines of the cavern drawn in vivid detail. Andy’s eyes pulsed as the lines washed over him. There are roads and borders, cities marked and nations too. There’s the black sea; I saw it yesterday. But everything else is a chaos of veins of color, the same as on the cavern ceiling. He saw script here and there beside landmarks and what he assumed were settlements. Degoskirke is huge, and there’s Vychy, not far from Sentinel’s Watch, and a central city called Yyonvere.

  The man struck him on the back and shoved him onto the polished hardwood floor.

  Blood welled up in Andy’s mouth. He had fallen on his face again, but this time his teeth tore a gash in his lip.

  “You better hope I never get loose,” Andy said to the man’s thoughtless face as he stood.

  “Do you want this to be believable?” he asked gruffly, pushing Andy forward.

  Clenching his teeth, Andy kept quiet as they advanced to a large set of ivory double doors. The man rapped on the door three times in quick succession, then glanced heavily his way.

  “Don’t muck this up now,” he said in a whisper.

  A moment later a latch clicked, and the door opened slowly. Andy was startled to see Letty’s serious face. The man was just as surprised.

  Letty looked back and forth between the two before shaking her head in disapproval.

  “He tried running, and he’s wanted—for violence against your very person—now would you please go and get our Mistress? She�
��ll be wanting to reward—”

  Letty interrupted, “You idiot! Our Mistress is out killing mice, and you will be punished for harming this boy so grievously. I will see to it.”

  The man stood there, dumbfounded. “I was only—”

  “Move!” Letty commanded, and he nearly fell over himself as he stumbled away.

  Andy cracked a smile as he watched the man crash into the stairway and fall out of sight.

  “Well done—you’ve still got that sharp tongue,” Andy said with a smile. “What has she got you up here for?”

  “Hiding me from you,” Letty raised a brow, “though that hasn’t worked, has it?”

  She gave him a sly grin as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bedroom. Andy’s head spun with pain as she pushed him to a large ornamental seat in front of an array of mirrors.

  “Look what happens to you,” she said reaching for a knife on the table by the mirrors.

  “Yeah—I can’t tie my own shoe—wait! Don’t cut that.”

  But it was too late, she had sliced the shoelace restraints to get him loose.

  “What?” She said, suddenly alarmed.

  “Those were—hell, I can’t run without shoelaces.” Andy looked around for a replacement, but felt suddenly dizzy.

  “What’s wrong?” Andy heard Letty’s voice, it sounded fuzzy and far off. He reached for the chair, needing to sit down, but wasn’t sure if he had or not.

  That’s better, Andy thought as he felt his face suddenly flush with warmth.

  He laughed as the sensation of tumbling worked through his mind and limbs. It was like sinking through warm water.

  “Andy!” A voice pushed through the water and almost caught his attention, but he was distracted by a vivid image of the barbarian named Thrag sitting on a pier next to a dapper man with long fingernails. Coming down the pier to meet them was a younger Pythia, hand in hand with—

  After a slap across his face and a sudden burst of cold, Andy forced his eyes open.

  “Letty!” he gasped, realizing he was splayed over a collapsed chair, lying mostly on his back.

  She grabbed his hand and pulled him from the toppled furniture. She put her hands around his waist and helped him over to a bed so large that Andy didn’t have the time to get a good account of it before he was sat down. Letty bent to stare into his eyes. “Follow my hand,” she motioned, and he tracked the movement without trouble. “Thank goodness, I thought I might have lost you. A concussion and a split lip—” she complained.

  “I was—somewhere else for a second.” Andy mumbled, alarmed at the vanishing pain. He spotted a small blue vial in Letty’s hand. “Did you heal me with that?”

  Letty nodded. “They call it minoe, an extract of etherium—or so I’m told. I’ve seen her use it on wounds—and it looks like you’ve let your poor skull take a beating.”

  She’s so friendly.

  Andy wiped a thin sheet of sweat off his brow with a wide grin. “Whatever it is, I feel great.” He leaped to his feet. “Like a full night’s sleep and an energy drink. And no more pain.”

  She smiled. “That comes from using too much.”

  Andy grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. “Take some yourself, it’s a long way back to—” Andy thought back. He traced his steps back to before Caspia. “—Sentinel’s watch. We have friends in the city, and there’s a portal there, I can get us back home.”

  Letty listened carefully; her face was at first hurt, and then wide eyed, and finally sad as she looked down.

  “What?” Andy asked, confused by her behavior. “Let’s get you out of that ridiculous dress—” her face shot up, cheeks red and mouth askew. Andy stumbled over his words in a rush to continue, “—and into something you can run in—we have to get across the city—dark colors are best.” Andy tried to hide his embarrassed face in a wardrobe. He tore through dress after dress. “Jeans, maybe? Something camouflaged?”

  She laughed and he pulled his head out of the wardrobe. He felt euphoric and saw refracted light shining at the edges of his vision. He knew he was forgetting something, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

  “Nothing suitable in there.” He tried to scowl in her direction, but could only grin. “Do what you did earlier—rip the bottom half off that dress, and let’s go!” Andy grabbed her hand and moved to the door.

  “Careful—” she nearly stumbled to keep up with him, before kicking off her heels. “Don’t need these!”

  Andy bent down to grab one of the discarded shoes and held it like a weapon. “Makes a flimsy dagger.”

  She rolled her eyes and knocked the shoe out of his hands. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

  They stumbled out into the foyer laughing. Andy lost his laceless shoe and nearly slipped on the polished floor as he stared up at the ceiling. “Shocking,” he said softly as he held onto her shoulder, only half for balance.

  “Isn’t it amazing?” Letty asked, pulling Andy towards her. They both stared up.

  “I wish we could stay—what was in that vial? I’ve never felt like this before!”

  Letty laughed as she took Andy’s hand and waist. She tried to dance with him.

  Uhh? We need to go? But I—I’d like to stay—for a while at least, maybe learn to dance.

  They laughed and tripped over each other’s feet for a moment. Andy wanted to stay, but the urge to run still lingered.

  Pythia will be back—and Titus—Titus! He’s out there distracting them for us.

  “We can’t, Letty—we need to escape. This isn’t forever.” He wasn’t sure what he was saying, the words just seemed to appear.

  Letty shook her head as he tried to pull her away, and towards the stairs. “What’s so bad if we stay, Cas?”

  Cas?

  “So what if we stay? I like it here.” She dragged him back into the bedroom. Somehow, her feet had traction on the smooth floor, and it was all he could do to stay upright as he slid.

  “Letty—Letty please,” Andy pleaded with her.

  “I have a new name,” she said as they passed the threshold.

  Andy’s eyes went wide as he struggled from her grip.

  “What did she do to you?”

  Letty cried out in annoyance and sat angrily down on the bed. “Just go! You don’t have to stay. You can rescue yourself! You always want to go!”

  What does she mean by that?

  “What did Pythia do to you, Letty? You chose your own name—why would you—what happened?”

  She shrieked in anger and leaped from the bed. For just an instant Andy saw yellow, viper’s eyes. He instinctively shied backwards and, thanks to his bare feet, slipped on the floor. “You’re—you’re not Letty.”

  She gave a disapproving look, and then his mind realized that he had been looking at Pythia the whole time.

  The whole time!

  Andy felt his spine crawl, thinking back to what happened between them just moments ago.

  “Where’s Letty? No more tricks!” Andy tried to sound intimidating as he pulled his shoes back on and stood.

  She walked towards him with an angry hand outstretched. “You’ll learn who asks questions here, boy!”

  Andy rushed to pull the marble from his pocket, but found it absent. I took it out earlier! I must have dropped it when she cut my bonds, when I fell over!

  Andy leaped aside and towards the chair he had knocked over, his eyes scanning wildly. There!

  He lunged for the marble but Pythia held out a palm and something tripped him. His flailing sent the marble flying. It bounced off a mirror and rolled past him, towards Pythia. “Damn!”

  Andy reached out, but it was far beyond his grasp. It rolled closer and closer to Pythia, who only stared down curiously.

  Andy spotted barely discernible fright in her posture as she stepped slowly away.

  He crawled on all fours to reach it. Pythia gestured softly and he was suddenly pinned to the floor. It was as if an elephant was holding him down with one leg. Andy felt that much more f
orce could come down in an instant if he so much as struggled.

  Pythia held out another hand and the marble lifted, to float and spin slowly up to her height. “So, this is how you caused so much mischief.”

  Andy thought she feared it.

  She reached out to grasp the marble, but pulled her hand away at the last instant. She gestured and Andy felt the weight shift direction and pull him to his feet.

  He pushed slightly against the force with his arms. Maybe I can grab it.

  “Don’t try to fight, dear boy. I can feel when you do,” Pythia said, looking up at him, “and I don’t like it.”

  Andy let himself be held upright for a moment as she stared, silently considering.

  “Where’s—” Before Andy could finish, he felt a clamp over his mouth.

  Pythia motioned sweepingly with her right hand, and a flash drew his attention to the far side of the room.

  Letty!

  She stared at him with terrified eyes. Letty was standing straight and motionless, as if held in place as he was. Andy wasn’t sure from this distance, but it looked like her face was red, as if crying. Andy paused. Should I be crying? What can I do now?

  “How is it that I didn’t see her there a moment ago?” Andy asked. He felt the clamp shut down on his mouth again.

  Pythia didn’t look at him, but spoke, “I have quite a bit of power, here in my palace.” Before he could respond, Pythia continued, “You can touch this? You can even wield it?” Andy couldn’t answer. “Well, from what I hear, you wield it about as well as a child wields a violin.”

  Andy tried to speak, but felt the clamp still holding his jaw closed.

  “Hmm?” She said, the clamp dissipating.

  “The marble explodes into a blade. The blade is like light, it shines through my fist—I don’t know how it works.” Andy wasn’t sure why he was cooperating.

  “Well, I think we have our work cut out for us, my boy.” She paused, in thought, before a vicious grin split her face. “A little adventure will do you good, maybe jog your mind. A trip to a Juncture certainly would. You’ll come away better in the end.”

  Andy dropped like a ragdoll as the force holding him suddenly vanished. He caught himself and stood. How many times can I fall over in one day? This is ridiculous—wait, what’s this about an adventure, and work?