The Other Realm

by Joab Stieglitz

  She had been disarmed, and everything except her clothing had been taken, including her shoes. She was not restrained and did not seem to be injured in any way. She glanced at O’Malley and saw him suddenly animate, looking about as perplexed as she was. He and Lamb had also been relieved of their possessions, except for the device that the father held.

  Billy, the man who had attacked them at the bottom of the stairs, stood next to the nearest shelves bearing the canisters. The knee that the priest had shot showed no signs of injury. Anna recognized her handbag, O’Malley’s valise, and their shoes laying on the top shelf. Billy was admiring the father’s automatic. Anna’s revolver and Lamb’s pistol were tucked into the man’s waistband.

  One of the aliens solidified before them. Cletus growled and took up a defensive posture between the seated people and the Junazhi. It seemed to ignore the dog. Its head stalks flashed rapidly. The Bierce container was on the table behind Anna and O’Malley, but Anna could feel pulses as its attachment flashed in response.

  “What just happened?” Anna asked, still unsure of her condition.

  “What do you mean?” O’Malley asked. “I didn’t see anything.”

  “Then how did I end up in this chair,” Anna replied, “with that once shattered creature sitting at my feet?”

  “I don’t understand the science,” the monotone staccato said too loudly, “but the Junazhi perceive past, present, and future concurrently. To your eyes, they seem to appear and disappear. That is simply your mind trying to make sense of achronological travel.”

  “You mean that they travel across all moments,” Anna said, pausing to make sense of her thought. “At the same time?”

  “That is correct, and they brought you, Dr. Rykov, with them between the jumps that you perceive.”

  “I didn’t notice anything,” O’Malley said, still perplexed.

  “That device on your hand is from their dimension. Somehow, you did not perceive the transit. You must be connected to their plane of existence through it.”

  “That must be why it affected the one I hit,” O’Malley said, “when Harry’s bullets could not.”

  “And also why Billy could relieve you of it. It has the Junazhi quite concerned.”

  “What about Harry?” Anna asked with concern. The doctor’s ashen complexion made him appear like stone, though his skin was warm and normal when Anna touched his cheek.

  “The Junazhi have trapped him between dimensions. To him, time is standing still.”

  “Are they helping Shane?” Anna asked.

  “As you can see,” Bierce continued, “the Junazhi were able to reassemble the dog. They are prepared to do the same for the other spy if you will perform an errand for them.”

  “Why us?” O’Malley asked.

  “Not all of you. Just Dr. Rykov.”

  “Then why me?” Anna asked.

  “You have a connection to Meyer Kovacs. It transcends existences, and you would be able to contact him.”

  “I thought you said that Kovacs was dead,” O’Malley said accusingly.

  “I said that Kovacs’ mind was inert. There has been no activity from his brain. His mind fled when he was harvested. The Junazhi know where he is, but are unable to interact with him there.”

  “What do you mean ‘his mind fled’,” O’Malley asked.

  “Through some means that I do not understand, Kovacs was able to escape to another existence, where he was able to establish a permanent presence.”

  “And what of Brian Teplow?” Anna asked.

  “Kovacs somehow took Teplow’s mind with him, but it is still linked to the young man’s brain.”

  “What do they want me to do?”

  “The Junazhi want you to travel to the plane where Kovacs now resides and destroy his presence there. When that occurs, they believe that his mind will be restored to his brain.”

  “Where he would be trapped in one of those canisters as you are,” O’Malley said in disgust.

  “Why would I want to facilitate Kovacs’ imprisonment by the Junazhi?” Anna asked

  “Allow me to assure you that my existence is not unpleasant. In fact, there is no emotion, no discomfort, and no idleness or boredom. Freed of my physical confines, and with the technologies that the Junazhi have provided me, my mind has been able to expand beyond the confines of human understanding.”

  “What Kovacs has done, as I understand it, is to weaken the barriers between the innumerable planes of existence. Not just one, mind you, but just as the Junazhi exist simultaneously essentially everywhere, all the planes are inexorably linked to each other. He may not even be aware of the peril that he has put all of existence in.”

  “And what of Brian Teplow?” Anna asked.

  “If you go to the realm that Kovacs created, you should be able to make contact with him.”

  “What will happen to Brian if Kovacs is killed in that other realm?” Anna asked. There was a pause as Bierce and various Junazhi communicated.

  “The Junazhi believe that his mind will also return to his brain.”

  “So Brian would also be trapped in one of those cans,” O’Malley said.

  “That is correct.”

  “And what will happen to Anna?” O’Malley asked.

  “Her body is still intact. Her mind would be restored to it.”

  “What do you mean ‘her mind would be restored to her body’?” O’Malley said, pointing the gauntlet toward the Junazhi.

  “To facilitate the transport, it would be most efficient to transplant Dr. Rykov’s brain into one of the cylinders-”

  “That’s not going to happen!” O’Malley interrupted.

  “You said that that was the most efficient means,” Anna interjected. “Is there another way?”

  Bierce relayed the question and received a response. “The Junazhi say that the transport could be accomplished chemically, but that method is not as reliable.” He received more flashes from the aliens. “It is possible that your mind could become detached in the other realm and not find its way back to your current existence.”

  “And you say that, if I make this journey, I might be able to speak with Brian?”

  “That is correct.”

  “How does that help us?” O’Malley asked Anna incredulously.

  “We could learn what he told Longborough,” she replied.

  “What does that even matter now?” the priest said. “We’ve crossed paths with demons, gods, and aliens. What difference will knowing what Brian told Longborough make now? It was probably about all of this, and Brian went with Kovacs to escape.”

  “There is only one way to find out,” Anna said with finality. “I will go.”

  Chapter 6

  July 16, 1929

  As soon as Anna spoke the words, O’Malley saw a Junazhi materialize behind her and poke a finger from its front claws into each of her ears. Anna’s body stiffened, and she sat up straight. There was an audible snap, and her body went slack An instant later, the being appeared behind Lamb and performed the same procedure. Immediately after the snap, the doctor’s ashen complexion returned to something resembling normal, and he slumped into his chair.

  O’Malley was tempted to fire upon the thing, but hesitated for fear of hitting Anna or Lamb, and then the alien faded away again. Before their assailant had completely disappeared, Anna started convulsing, the veins in her head visibly throbbing, and she slipped off the chair to the floor.

  “What’s happening?” O’Malley cried, sliding to his knees at her side. Bierce’s lights flashed, though the priest did not see the Junazhi he communicated with.

  “She is reacting to the Junazhi serum. They say that her chemistry has been previously altered by a similar compound.”

  “What does that mean?!”

  “The outcome is uncertain.”

  O’Malley scowled, removed his cassock, and folded it into a ball under her head. The relic had obligingly shrunk to pass through the sleeve, but was still affixed to his left h
and. He glanced to Lamb. The doctor remained motionless in his chair.

  “Why did they inject the doctor?” O’Malley asked accusingly. “That was not part of the arrangement.”

  “He has been modified so that the Junazhi can monitor Dr. Rykov’s progress. His reaction to the procedure is the expected outcome.”

  As they spoke, Anna’s spasms subsided, and her expression calmed. O’Malley thought he noticed goosebumps on her arms for a brief moment.

  “How can they keep track of Anna?”

  “It is difficult to explain, but suffice it to say that they can perceive through his sensory organs.”

  “So they can see what Lamb sees, hear what he hears, smell what he smells, and so on?”

  “Not exactly. The Junazhi perceive differently from humans. But they will be able to experience what he does.”

  “Can they arrange for me to see as well?” Bierce’s lights flashed again. This time O’Malley stayed alert with the relic ready, but no assailant appeared.

  “You can be implanted with sensory augmentation to enable visual reception.” O’Malley tensed.

  “Is there an external means to this end?” After another illuminated dialog, Billy stepped out of the chamber, still carrying their guns. The man had been so silent and still that the priest had forgotten he was there.

  ◆

  Harry Lamb reclined comfortably on the settee of the bedchamber Queen Sif had allocated to him. He wore a long kilt, a thin linen shirt, and simple sandals. He had nodded off, probably on account of the excellent wine his assigned servant, Shemei, had piled him with.

  Lamb was not sure how he had gotten to the palace. He had no memory of anything since he, Father O’Malley, and Anna Rykov had left the Oak Valley Sanitarium. The first thing he remembered was being escorted into a throne room that reminded him of the palace at Versailles. He had visited it with Annette while on leave during the Great War. The memory brought a smile to his face.

  The guards uncrossed their pole weapons to allow the footman to open the door. The sight of Liv Lee, the same sexy actress he had met in New York only a few weeks ago, made his heart jump. She sat upon a red, velvet throne atop a three-stepped dais in a tight, golden dress, studded with pearls and gems, and an Egyptian-style crown. From behind her, children with shiny skin toddled into view before being herded into an antechamber behind the throne by waiting maidens.

  She was now Queen Sif of Brynner, ruler of the Isle of Brynn. Lamb thought he had lost her when the gigantic avatar of Utgarda had grasped her in its giant red trunk and threw her off into an extra-dimensional landscape that had subsequently disappeared.

  The queen had acknowledged his entry into the room with a cursory nod, but then looked again with a glint of recognition in her eyes. The footman approached a courtier holding a long, gold-inlaid staff of dark wood and whispered something to him.

  “My Queen,” the courtier shouted, “a vagrant collected in the marketplace claims that you and he are acquainted. Per your instructions, he had been brought to your royal presence for an interview. He calls himself Harry Lamb.”

  “Has he been mistreated in any way?” the queen asked.

  “No, my Queen,” the footman said after a bow. “After he announced your acquaintance, and the guards mentioned your name, the subject came voluntarily.”

  “And what is he wearing?” the queen said scornfully. Lamb noted that he was dressed in a worn leather shirt and trousers, his feet were bare, and he looked as if he had been living in a pig sty.

  “Harry Lamb was brought directly to you,” the footman said, “per your orders. Your instructions did not state the nature of your interest-”

  “He could have been cleaned up first,” the queen interrupted. She scanned the room. “You,” the queen shouted, pointing to a pretty blond girl dressed in a see-through dress that wrapped tightly around her body.

  “Shemei, my queen,” the servant said with a curtsy.

  “Get him cleaned up, into some proper clothes, and fed. I will interview him later.” Then she snapped her fingers, and Lamb, the servant, and the two guards followed the footman out another door. The short hallway ended in another door. The footman lingered for a moment before it, and then pulled it open with a flourish.

  The footman and the servant followed Lamb into the room. Lamb spun around admiring the large bed, wardrobes, and the writing desk and chairs. There were several full-size portraits of the queen. As he admired them, for a brief moment the elegant gowns and uniforms became skimpy and suggestive and the elegant, stately woman’s torso appeared as part of the enormous body of some kind of insect. But when he blinked his eyes the portraits returned to normal. Feeling dizzy, he collapsed onto the bed.

  “This will be your quarters until the queen calls for you,” the footman said with authority. Then he turned, without a word, gave a firm gaze at the servant, who curtsied, and left the room. The door closed behind him.

  The servant started to undress Lamb. He stopped her reflexively. The woman shrugged and pointed to a small pool that Lamb had not noticed in a far corner. She then stepped toward the pool herself, seductively removing her own clothing step by step. She stopped at the edge of the water, and turned to him, completely naked, with her hands on her hips.

  “You must be presentable when the queen calls for you,” the servant said. “You do not want to make her angry.” Lamb hesitated. “If she is displeased with you,” the woman said, “she will sate her anger on me.” She appeared to say more, but Lamb could not understand the words.

  ◆

  Anna found herself in the dark. She was cold. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them only to discover that she was naked, and that her wrists were bound together in irons linked by a foot or so of thick chain and connected to similar shackles around her ankles, as well as to a ring in the floor.

  A moment of panic flooded through her as she took in the situation. She was sitting atop a small pile of limp straw over the hard stone floor. In the distance she could hear the quiet sobbing of men and women. The smells of sweat, fear, and human waste permeated her surroundings. A hint of light came from a thin slit at the bottom of what she thought was a door.

  Anna tried to stand, but collapsed as a throbbing in the center of her head overcame her, and she settled back onto the straw. Then she heard movement nearby. The clinking of her chains had alerted another occupant of the cell who had previously been silent.

  “Hello?” Anna said tentatively. “Is someone there?” The movement stopped, but Anna detected the sound of metal scraping slowly on stone a few feet to her right. She turned toward the sound and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the dim light.

  The other being seemed to be accustomed to the conditions already. It waited until Anna’s eyes made out its shape, and then lunged toward her. Anna screamed, but the prisoner fell forward as its shackled leg went taut against the ring set into the floor. Still it clawed at Anna, trying to loop the chain between its wrists around Anna’s foot. But the chain attached to the manacles had been precisely measured so that she was mere inches out of reach.

  As her vision focused, Anna could discern that the other prisoner was a large but emaciated man. He was shackled against the opposite wall of the cell, where the chain of his leg irons passed through the heavy ring in the floor. He had a mop of stringy hair, and his fingers ended with long, gnarled nails that were cracked and jagged. The man growled, but made no comprehensible sounds.

  The sound of slow, deliberate footsteps approached the door. There was a rumble of keys, and the cell was flooded with the light of a single torch. Two muscular, humanoid creatures entered the cell. One held the torch. The other carried a long staff with a claw-like device at one end and a spearhead on the other. Both wore Roman-style armor, complete with arm and leg guards. But their heads were those of insects. They had large, bulbous, compound eyes and wide, curved mandibles jutting out of their cheeks to meet in front of narrow pointed beaks. Nevertheless, someth
ing about the two looked familiar.

  It was clear that the torch was for the benefit of the prisoners. The guards looked about, regardless of where the light shined. The one with the staff twisted the handle, the device opened, and he grabbed the man around the neck. The man screamed as the claw snapped shut. The guard threw the man against the wall, expertly releasing the claw so the prisoner flew into the wall and landed face down against it.

  The other guard set the torch down on the floor in a specific spot so that the entirely of the chamber was exposed. The cell was maybe ten feet square, composed of stone slabs. There were no windows or openings of any kind except the door. Six rings were set in the floor; two on each of the walla facing the door. Anna and the man were set diagonally across from each other, with him closer to the door. The man was also naked, and his body was covered in all manner of scars. His prominent ribs indicated that he had not eaten properly in a very long time. Noting the lack of straw, Anna conjectured that he may have eaten it.

  The guard pulled Anna to her feet and waited for her to take stock of her situation. When she turned toward him, he grasped her chin with a human hand and pulled her close enough to gently hold her face down with the pointed tips of his mandibles. She then watched as he pawed all over her body, stopping in strategic places that he knew made Anna uncomfortable, the torchlight ensuring that she could see what he was doing. He was asserting his total power over her. Eventually, he released Anna’s head and pushed her backward onto the straw.

  “Tell the queen she is awake,” the guard said as he picked up the torch. Then the two stepped out, the door closed, and a key jostled in the lock too many times before the footsteps faded away slowly and deliberately.

  ◆

  Lamb was just about to nod off again when the door to the chamber opened and the footman entered.