The Space Between

by Scott J Robinson

  He opened his eyes again and pillowed his head on his arms. The sky above was clear, the stars bright with the promise of a new year. For a moment Tuki thought he saw a meteor again, but this time he knew it was his mind playing tricks on him, dreaming up proof of the earlier sighting. He sighed and watched the stars wheel.

  When Rapa, largest of the moons, slipped into view between the trees, he knew that the women would be emerging from the darkness to sit to the north of the fire in their long, ceremonial robes. Moments later he heard their keening song, like the wind across the desert, joining the chorus. Even the mo'min would be there, skyglass held protectively in her lap, on view this one time a year for the men to catch a glimpse.

  "Tuki? Tuki are you out here?"

  Tuki sat bolt upright and held his breath.

  "Tuki? Where are you?"

  Keala emerged from the trees then, and Tuki knew that staying silent would not help.

  "I am here."

  "Why didn't you answer me?"

  He shrugged in the darkness. "I do not know." He was very uncomfortable, alone with a mo'by like this. It was not proper. "You should not be here," he said. "If they found us we would be punished."

  "They will not find us." She laughed softly, pushing her braid back over her shoulder as she sat down by his side. "None of them would leave the ceremony without instructions written in stars across the sky." She glanced up then, as if to be sure no such instruction were appearing.

  Tuki was aghast. "Keala, you cannot say things like that. What if the mo'min found out?"

  "Are you going to tell her, Tuki? From what I hear you would not get anywhere near the mo'min right now."

  "What have you heard?"

  "Oh, so now you suddenly want to talk with me!"

  "What?" He tried to shimmy away without her noticing. She was scaring him.

  "I have been trying to talk to you for days, but you keep avoiding me."

  "I do not." But he did. If she knew he had seen a meteor when there was none to see, she would laugh. Her laugh normally warmed his soul, but it certainly would not if were directed at him. "You should not be out here, Keala."

  "Yes, I know. But I could not talk to you any other way."

  "You can simply send for me."

  "No, I cannot." She lowered her gaze.

  "The mo'min has said you are not to talk to me? And yet here you are!"

  "What happened, Tuki? Why do you have the extra duties? Why are the mo'shi laughing at you?"

  "The mo'shi are laughing?" The mo'by were one thing, but to have the mo'shi laughing as well.

  "I am sorry."

  She placed a hand on his knee, and he flinched. He dared not push it away.

  "Tell me what happened. I am worried for you."

  "You are?"

  She shifted closer so that her whole side was pressed against his. "Of course I am."

  "I should not say," Tuki said.

  "Just because Ko'uka is a mo'shi, she does not know everything. They are just people like everyone else."

  "Keala!" Tuki would have risen to his feet but was afraid he might hurt Keala, or upset her, and he did not want that. "You cannot say things like that. Please."

  "If the mo'shi knew everything, they would have let me marry you by now, Tuki. You are the only man I would ever want to marry."

  Tuki turned to look at Keala and inadvertently brushed his nose against hers. She was so close to him, leaning in. "You have asked? You have asked for permission to marry me?"

  "Of course, Tuki. I ask almost every week, but they keep saying no."

  Keala did not let Tuki reply. She leant forward further, crossing the tiny space between them, and pressed her lips to his. She took the words from his mouth along with the breath. He backed away slightly, but she followed, only allowing the contact to break for a moment. After that, he stayed where he was, helpless, as if she were a demon drinking of his soul. But it was a wonderful release, and he soon started to respond. When he did, the mo'by slipped her tongue between his lips and, feeling slightly faint, Tuki laid back on the ground. Keala followed him again, laying a hand against his cheek as her tongue continued to probe.

  She tasted of sweet jilaberries.

  An eternity, too short by far, passed before Keala pulled away slightly. She ran her fingers up his arms, making it feel as if the tattooed ants had come to life. She used her thumb to trace the edges of the three pointed star on his chest — the gateway to heaven caused by the joining of the three moons. She touched her fingers to his tingling lips. "That is called a kiss. It is a simple thing, a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

  She kissed him again, quickly, biting his lip.

  Tuki steeled himself and wrapped an arm around her, praying to the Mother Blower that he was doing the right thing.

  "The mo'shi show us," she whispered. "They show us all but say we cannot do these things with men until we are married. Not all the rules made by the mo'min and the mo'shi are good ones, Tuki."

  "Why? Why would they not let us do such a thing?"

  "They show us so many things."

  Tuki swallowed, eyes growing wide. "There's more?"

  "Oh, yes. There's a lot more."

  Tuki swallowed. He didn't dare ask.

  Keala kissed him again, running her tongue along the tips of his teeth. "Not now. Next time."

  "Next time?"

  "Yes, but now I must get back. They may not miss you at the Midnight Ceremony any more, but they will miss me."

  "I will miss you." He felt embarrassed before he finished uttering the sentence.

  "And I, you." She was gone then, running quickly away through the trees.

  Tuki watched her go, silent and marvelling.

  * * *

  Tuki carefully wiped the last layer of soil away from the tuber and then worked his large fingers down the sides until he could pull it from the ground. He set the vegetable on the cloth with the others before a sound from the trees, a slight rustle amongst the dry undergrowth, disturbed him. He looked out across a narrow irrigation drain, but the sound did not repeat, so he returned his gaze to the ground as he tried to find more food to add to the community's supply.

  Tuki had hardly returned to his search when he heard the sound again. He turned quickly, heart racing, to discover Keala leaning against a tree, one foot raised to press against the rough bark behind her.

  "Hello, Tuki. How are you?"

  Rising to his feet, Tuki wiped his shaking hands on his toga. His heart was still racing, but for other reasons now. Whenever possible, Tuki made an effort to be alone with Keala, or made it possible for her to find him alone. Then they would kiss. The thought of the promised 'more' kept him awake at night. But so far it had not eventuated.

  "Aren't you happy to see me?"

  He walked to the edge of the irrigation drain in two long strides, pausing for a moment to gather his breath. He looked about, over his shoulder towards the village, to his left, towards the nearest trail. Nobody was in sight. He took another step, across the drain, and a moment later was kissing her gently on the cheek.

  He wondered at his boldness.

  "No, Tuki," she said. "Don't."

  "What?"

  "We cannot do this."

  "Nobody will see us."

  But she pushed him away slightly. "Stop it." The sound of command was strong in her voice, and he had spent too long doing as women asked not to obey.

  Tuki took a step back. "What? Why?"

  Keala walked a short distance away. "We may not like the laws that the mo'min has made, Tuki, but they are the laws. I feel guilty about what we have been doing. But at the same time, I love you so and wish to be with you all the time."

  "Then what can we do?"

  "I don't know, Tuki." Keala pushed a lock of hair away from her face. "But until we are wed, or the law is changed, we cannot kiss again. We just cannot. Please understand."

  "Then we must get married." Tuki stepped forward again and gripped Keala's hands. "We must g
et married."

  "Oh, Tuki, you know that I would in an instant, if only they would let us. But they will not let us. We cannot get married without the approval of the council of mo'shi."

  "Then we must change the law."

  "But, Tuki, only the mo'min can change the law. You know that."

  "So you must become the mo'min."

  Keala laughed at that. "Tuki, you know very well that the mo'shi choose the mo'min from amongst their number. Unless..." For a long moment Keala looked thoughtful, then shook her head and slumped to the ground.

  "What?" Tuki asked. He sat by her side and rested his trembling hand on her arm. "What were you thinking?"

  "Nothing. It's just, the mo'min is the mo'min because she is the rightful holder of the skyglass."

  "So, you take the skyglass."

  "Now you are really thinking with your wishbone, Tuki. I said the rightful holder, not the person who happens to have it."

  "What are you talking about then, Keala?" Tuki could not resist. He leant forward and kissed her cheek again. She did not complain, so he moved to the corner of her mouth.

  "I was just thinking, if I had another skyglass I would have as much right to be called mo'min as the current mo'min." She finally responded to his kiss for a moment before turning her head away. "Tuki, there were other mo'min before, long ago. There must be more skyglasses somewhere."

  Tuki heard what she was saying but did not really care. "But where will you find one?" he asked absently, knowing that such a question had to be asked.

  "One of the younger girls brought me a book, Tuki. An ancient book. She says she found it in a buried box. It explains where one might be found."

  "Does it?" What a book might be he could not guess. More women's secrets, like kissing, he supposed.

  "Yes. Tuki, if you find that skyglass and give it to me, I can be a mo'min as well, and I can change laws."

  "Yes." He kissed her again.

  "Tuki," Keala said a moment later, "when I see you I cannot keep my longing at bay, so until you find that skyglass, I don't think we will be able to see much of each other at all."

  Tuki groaned. "Of course I will find it, Keala. Where is it? Do you know?"

  11: Engineer

  Keeble grunted and made his way down the aisle towards the rear of the train. He examined the little, stiff piece of parchment Kim had given him. There were lines of neatly printed writing, but nothing understandable. Through the next hydraulically powered door, he threw the paper onto the floor.

  As he walked, Keeble started to sing a Song. Well, it wasn't a song really, but an attempt to recreate the noise the door between the worlds had made. There were clicks and whistles and buzzes, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get it right. His mind kept pushing the song in another direction, as if never quite coming to grips with what he was trying to do.

  He gave up and continued to walk.

  Three carriages later, Keeble was wondering why he'd bothered. One row of seats looked much like the one before, and though the people might have been interesting, he could understand nothing of the conversations.

  At the end of the carriage, Keeble discovered he could go no further. With a grunt of disgust he chose a seat and sat himself down. The large black dwarf beside him looked him up and down for a moment.

  “[Heading to Nottingham? Or further?]” the stranger asked.

  Keeble shrugged and spoke in his own language to demonstrate that conversation was going to be impossible. The other dwarf shrugged as well and returned to staring out the window.

  It wasn't long before another dwarf tried talking to him. This one emerged from the locked door. He wore a grey uniform.

  “[Tickets, please,]” he said. “[Tickets, please.]” He touched Keeble on the shoulder when he didn't respond. “[Could I see your ticket please, sir?]”

  "Can't understand a word you're babbling," Keeble replied. He put on what he hoped was a pleasant smile.

  “[Can I see your ticket, please?]” The dwarf in the uniform reached past him and took something from the black dwarf. It was a little slip of paper. He held it up for Keeble to see, then handed it back.

  "You want to see my little bit of parchment? What for?" He pointed back the way he'd come. "It's down that way, about two carriages back. You want it, you can go get it yourself."

  “[Do you have a ticket? If you don't, you'll have to buy one or get off at the next station.]”

  "Why do you keep talking at me when it's obvious I can't understand a word you're saying?" Keeble smiled again and shrugged.

  He watched the stranger pull what appeared to be coinage from a shoulder bag he carried. “[Do you have any money?]” he said, twiddling the silver disk between his fingers.

  Keeble thought he knew what the dwarf meant there. He shook his head.

  “[Then I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to disembark at Hucknall Station.]”

  Keeble shook his head again. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

  “[Would you please come with me, sir.]”

  The stranger gripped Keeble's arm, but he shook him off angrily.

  “[Are you going to leave quietly?]”

  Keeble didn't move, and the stranger had a short conversation with one of the talking boxes. A moment later another uniformed dwarf came from the other end of the carriage. This one was larger and younger, and Keeble didn't bother resisting as he was led from the train when it next stopped.

  Meledrin wasn't going to be happy. Keeble smiled as another dwarf in uniform escorted him from the station and left him standing beside the road.

  “[Just think yourself lucky you haven't been fined.]”

  Keeble ignored him, looking one way and then the other. "Maybe I should have taken them to talk to Kim."

  But it was too late. And there was too much for him to look at to remain worried for long. He set off after a bicycle that had gears and what looked like a generator on the back wheel to run its own little electric light. The bicycle and its rider soon left him behind and he tried to follow a two-wheeled motorized vehicle instead. When he stopped to rest, Keeble saw a tiny car, hardly more than a foot long, racing along the raised walking area beside the road. He was off again.

  Keeble wandered around the city as the afternoon waned, moving from one wonder to the next. Eventually he made his way into a narrow alley to investigate a noise and discovered a fabulous workshop.

  Keeble watched from outside the workshop for a long time. Sometimes he leaned with his back against the cool red bricks of the building across the alley. Sometimes he sat on an old wooden box, though it was in a horrid state of disrepair and looked as though it might fall apart at any moment. Sometimes, when the engineer disappeared into another part of the workshop, he even went all of the way across to the doorway to have a look around. There were so many things he wanted to examine. The strange vehicles were everywhere inside with inspection panels opened, parts removed. But he didn't go in. A workshop was a dwarf's life; he'd never invade it without being invited.

  When darkness descended and the engineer locked his doors, Keeble stayed where he was. He found a corner and sat himself down. He used a paperboard box as protection against the wind. He was hungry and tired and cold, but he stayed where he was, awake for hours as the strange moon marched shadows around the alley.

  In the morning he was awake and standing by the little wooden door when the engineer returned to open up. Keeble played nervously with the gears on his arm as the dwarf looked at him sideways.

  "Hello," Keeble said. He'd learned at least that much of the language.

  The engineer was older than Keeble had first thought. His beard was run through with flecks of grey, and his face was creased with the weight of years. “[Hi, there. How you doin'?]”

  Keeble shrugged. He didn't understand but smiled and nodded because he thought that might be a good response. "Can I watch you work?" he asked, motioning into the workshop. He wouldn't go in there without being invited, but surely he could ask t
o be invited.

  “[Not a clue what you're talking about there, buddy.]”

  Keeble shrugged once more, then pointed to his eyes, then to the other dwarf, and into the workshop.

  “[What? You want to watch me work?]” The engineer paused for a moment, shrugged, then motioned inside.

  Keeble took that as his invitation. He walked quickly in and sat on a barrel near the vehicle that appeared to need the most work.

  "Me Keeble." With a nod.

  “[What?]”

  "Keeble." This time he simply pointed.

  “[Your name's Keeble? Jesus, what were your parents thinking?]”

  "Keeble."

  “[Yeah, Keeble, how you doin'? Don't understand a goddamned thing, do ya? And you want to watch me work? Oh well, whatever. Just don't touch nothin', you understand? Jesus, course you don't understand. My name is Colin. Colin.]”

  Keeble nodded happily. "Colin." Then he had to sit and wait for a couple of minutes while Colin took himself off to another room. When he returned, he was pulling on a one-piece set of clothes that covered his whole body. He already had one arm in a sleeve, and he was using that hand to carry two cups of steaming liquid.

  “[That's a weird lookin' arm you got there, Keeble,]" Colin said as he handed over one of the cups. “[Where you get that from?]”

  Keeble nodded and smiled as he sniffed suspiciously at the drink. It smelled wonderful.

  “[Know much about cars, do you?]” Colin took a mouthful of drink, smacking his lip appreciatively, then collected a hammer from a box full of tools and started to pound on a part of the engine. Keeble watched carefully. The old dwarf didn't seem very enthusiastic, so Keeble jumped down from his perch and wandered across to get a better look.

  "That's a bolt," he said. "Why are you hitting a bolt with a hammer?"

  The engineer went to strike the offending object again, but Keeble grabbed his hand before he could do so. With a grunt, he took the hammer away, crossed to the tools and selected the appropriate spanner. The bolt was tight but it took him only a moment to work it loose. He handed the spanner to Colin.

  "You use a spanner to undo bolts."