“And once we clear Folly,” Govil added, “the wild beast-men will be more savage than those who serve Gho-Bazh should we find ourselves overcome by them.”
“Do you mean the Pointees?” Lamb asked. The guards looked uncertain. “Tall, hairy things with horns and hooves?”
“Those are the beast-men,” Ganon said with a nod. “Gho-Bazh has tamed an army of them, but the wild ones in the hills between Folly and Kreipsche are a danger all their own.”
“Your allegiance to Gho-Bazh will not save you from them,” Govil said with a sneer. “They hate him as much as our Queen. They will pluck the marrow from your bones as well as ours.”
◆
“I’ve seen that before,” O’Malley cried as he rose from his seat and ran toward the shelf that held Anna’s purse. Billy rose and blocked his path.
“Step aside,” the priest commanded, but the silent watchman held his ground.
“What are you doing?” Bierce asked.
“Brian Teplow drew images of a similar journey. His sketchbook is in Anna’s bag.” O’Malley moved to go around, but Billy stepped in front of him again.
“Oh, come on!” O’Malley shouted. “If I wished to harm you, I would use this.” He held up his left hand, still encased in the relic, pointing toward the ceiling.
Billy looked toward the Bierce device. A moment later he reached up to the shelf and retrieved the purse, holding it open for the priest. The big man watched warily as O’Malley removed the sketchbook. He placed it on the table and opened to the two-page spread of the barren, flat, rocky plain.
“Please angle the book toward my visual receptors.” O’Malley tilted the book. “That does appear to match what Dr. Lamb is viewing. Does that document the entire journey?”
“Yes and no,” O’Malley replied. “It seems to parallel their experience, but there are differences. For starters, Anna is not a prisoner here,” he pointed to the book absently. “And all the participants are friends in Teplow’s account.”
A Junazhi appeared next to O’Malley and peered at the image. It grasped the book in its second pair of limbs and flipped through the pages with one of its forelimbs while tapping various images with the tip of its other. The orbs on its head flashed hypnotically in conversation with Bierce and also with other Junazhi that O’Malley realized were present but not visible.
“The Junazhi hypothesize that the imagery of Brian Teplow has been altered by the influence of Kovacs. This is most unprecedented and the Junazhi are quite intrigued.”
◆
Anna blinked as she gazed into the bleak landscape, which lay beneath an endless array of stars in a sea of purplish-black, despite the light pollution of the hot reddish sun that dominated the sky. They dismounted to water the shufflers and stretch their legs.
The heat haze rising from the stone floor in the distance blurred the faint outline of the mountains to the north. As Anna stared into the haze, an indistinct form gradually came into sharper focus. She gasped as she saw the three-legged giant with the enormous, red, elephantine trunk; Utgarda. Lamb heard the sound and looked to see, followed by Govil and Ganon. The scaly giant spread its palms toward them, making eye contact with Anna.
“The Lord of the Endless Barrens is sending you his greeting,” Govil said ominously. “We must be on our guard lest his minions, the Draunskur, swarm and slay us.”
“You do not have many friends,” Anna said sarcastically, “do you?” Govil looked to her quizzically. “The Pointees will eat us. The Draunskur will just kill us. Gho-Bazh will destroy us all. And those are just the people that you have mentioned.”
“The Pointees hate all who are not like them-” Govil started.
“But they serve Gho-Bazh,” Lamb interrupted. “Is he a Pointee? I thought he was human.”
“He is a sorcerer,” Govil replied. “He is whatever he wishes to be. He has dominated the minds of some of the Pointees.”
“We are safer with them than with the wild ones,” Ganon said. “At least they will kill us before we’re eaten.” Lamb could not tell if the guard was joking. He glanced to Anna, but her gaze was fixed on Utgarda.
“Utgarda and Gho-Bazh are enemies, yes?” she asked. “And we are on our way to kill Gho-Bazh. If this is true, then why are we afraid of Utgarda?” Govil and Ganon glanced to each other, then Govil slapped Anna across the face and knocked her to the ground.
“Do not play mind games with us,” the violent insect-man said. “The Lord of the Barrens is a friend to no one. He cares nothing of the likes of us. We cannot understand how he thinks or why he does what he does.”
Anna rubbed her face as Lamb helped her to her feet. Ganon had the chains in his hands, but Lamb gently pushed them away. Lamb stared at the guard, who exchanged glances with Govil, and then returned them to his saddlebag.
“Where did he go?” Anna said, looking back toward the mountains. Utgarda was no longer there. “It was no mirage,” she said in awe. “You all saw it.”
“What we saw is that our mission has been marked,” Govil spat. “Utgarda knows of our presence. Our stealth has been compromised.”
“How does that impact our journey?” Lamb asked with concern in his voice.
“As you said,” Govil replied, “Utgarda is at odds with Gho-Bazh. And he has no reason to consider us one way or another.” He paused, considering, and then said, “We continue as planned until something causes us to revise our route. Mount up.”
◆
As the hot sun blazed malevolently in the dark sea of stars, the terrain grew flatter. The ground seemed to smoke in places, and the travelers could feel the heat billowing up from below. The shufflers seemed unimpaired by the heat, and Lamb noticed that they now walked on their thick, extended claws rather than their feet, using the pointed tips to seek purchase in the crags and cracks of the stony ground.
The reddish light of the dominant star gave everything an orangey-pink hue, with the ground melting into the still-distant mountains that thrust up into the inky sky. The road they followed had left the lake behind several days prior, and was now barely visible in the uniform texture of the stone.
As before, Govil stifled any kind of conversation, stating that they were under constant surveillance in spite of the lack of any visible signs of life anywhere. There were no plants, animals, birds, or insects. The only sound was an occasional buzzing hum of the hot wind.
By day, Anna and Lamb sweat greatly, but drank sparingly as there had been no signs of water since they left the shores of Aeryne. By night, the temperatures plummeted, and Anna and Lamb slept together, both for bodily warmth and the sense of security. Their guards did not seem to need sleep, nor did they seem particularly affected by the varying temperatures.
The twilight hours, during which they rested the shufflers and the human ate their rations, were the only time conversation was allowed. They made no fire. There was nothing to burn, and they had brought nothing with them with which to make one. And once full dark fell, silence was again the rule.
“How far have we gone?” Lamb asked Ganon as he and Anna ate. “I don’t see any way to gauge our progress.”
“By my estimate, we are approximately one third of the way to Tiornen,” he replied.
“What makes you think so?” Anna asked. “Do you navigate by the stars?”
“The stars are liars,” Ganon replied. “They change to suit their own purposes.” He pointed behind them. “Watch.”
As she looked to the east, the sun set beyond the mountains behind her, and Anna saw more and more stars blink into existence as if switches were being flipped. They appeared at random. Some nearer. Some farther away. Some brighter than others. Then, just as suddenly as they had winked on, random stars disappeared, while others visibly moved around in the sky.
“Amazing,” Lamb said in awe. “There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to their movements. Obviously, they would be useless for navigation, so how do you know where you are going?”
“We listen,” the
guard replied.
“Listen to what?” Anna asked.
“We listen to the stones beneath us as they grind together. And we listen to the echo of the mountains and the sound of the wind. They tell us where we are and where we are going.”
They sat in silence for a few moments while Anna and Lamb tried to hear what the insect-men did, but they could not. Perhaps the sounds were beyond the range of human perception.
“I don’t hear anything,” Lamb said with frustration. “But as long as you know where we are going, we should make it.”
Chapter 13
July 16, 1929
O’Malley’s eyes were bloodshot and his head spun with fatigue. He had nodded off again. During his previous lapse, a week had apparently passed for Anna and Harry. Now, when he looked at the image in the alien device, the scene had changed yet again. The landscape was without features and in a uniform grayish color. Harry and Anna were clearly under-nourished, and both looked hot and weak.
Billy returned bearing the tray of hot tea and freshly baked muffins with an assortment of jams and butter. When did Billy find the time to make these meals? Then again, the Junazhi existed outside of time, apparently, so maybe Billy was able to benefit from their influence.
“You need to attend to your physical needs better, Father. I assure you that I will not let you miss anything important. There is nothing you can do to assist them.”
“How long was I asleep?” O’Malley asked absently. They had already established that Bierce had no reference for the passage of time, and the uncommunicative Billy functioned almost mechanically. “Rather, what has happened?”
“They have trekked many days through that barren wasteland without contact with anything or anyone. They appear to be well and in good spirits, given the circumstances.”
O’Malley rose from his seat and stretched. Then he went to Anna’s side and felt the pulse in her neck. She was still unconscious, breathing shallowly, and her skin was slightly cooler than normal in spite of the blankets that now covered her. When he removed her arm from beneath the covers. O’Malley noticed that the bruises around her wrists were less irritated, and that her skin was getting darker and dryer, reacting to that alien sun.
The father examined Lamb and noticed the same effects on him. He was indeed tanned and dry, but his body was cooler than normal, especially for one that was reacting to desert conditions. Nevertheless, O’Malley restored the covers and wiped their faces with a damp cloth for no reason other than it made him feel like he was doing something useful.
“I’m going outside for some air,” O’Malley said as he rose. “I expect that nothing will have changed when I return.”
“Do not attempt to leave,” Bierce warned. “The Junazhi suffer your presence because they have no choice, but they will not allow you to expose them.”
“There is no way I will abandon my friends to these monsters,” O’Malley said with conviction. “I will return in a few minutes.” He glared at Billy, who stood by the shelf containing their belongings, and proceeded through the outer room, up the stairs, and out the front door.
It was night, and the ever-present fog remained low to the ground. O’Malley took deep breaths of the warm, moist air. Through small gaps in the canopy high above, he could see stars. He noted how different the sky was above his friends. The celestial bodies above him remained fixed and constant. After a few minutes, he sighed and returned to the basement.
◆
It was mid-afternoon of the next day when Anna was tugged out of her shuffler from behind. She had tied the reins of her pack animal about her waist for convenience. The creature had followed compliantly for several days, so she secured them to herself to free her hands. Through them, Anna could sense when the pack animal was tired or alarmed. This time, however, something had surprised the shuffler, overpowered it, and stopped its forward movement, because Anna was yanked from her seat as her own mount continued forward.
Lamb saw a mass of tentacles burst from the solid stone of the path and wrap around the shuffler in from of him. The beast was pulled off its feet and slammed against the stone beneath it several times. The reins of the helpless creature went taut, and when they snapped back, Anna flew backward into the melee. As the flailing shuffler was slammed back and forth by its subterranean attacker, Anna flew through the air and hit the ground several times before the reins finally broke. She landed with a thud and lay motionless on her back.
“Protect the supplies,” Ganon shouted to Lamb as he directed his mount to attack the tentacles with its scythe-like claws. Govil did the same. Lamb steered his mount and pack animal toward Anna and slid to the ground at her side. Anna was unconscious and bleeding from numerous cuts and abrasions, but the doctor saw no signs of other injury.
Lamb opened Anna’s eyes, and her pupils reacted to the light. He examined her head and pressed gently against her neck, but detected no trauma. He felt up and down her arms and legs, but there were no signs of broken bones. Putting his ear to her mouth, he listened to her breathing. It was labored, and there was a slight wheeze.
Mechanically, Lamb unfastened Anna’s vest, exposing her bare chest. A purpling bruise suggested fractured ribs. As he pressed gently against the unbruised ribs, Anna jumped, coughing and then wincing in pain. Lamb noted that there was no blood.
“Lay still,” Lamb said calmly, “I think you have some cracked ribs, though I don’t think you have punctured a lung. Do you feel any pain other than your ribs?”
“I feel sore everywhere,” Anna replied. “But I do not think I have any other internal injuries.”
“Can you feel your feet and your hands?” Anna moved her feet up and down, left and right, and then did the same with her hands and arms. “Good. Now try to sit up.” Anna started to rise with Lamb’s help, but quickly returned to the ground, covering the bruise with her hand.
“We need to get moving,” Govil said as his shadow fell over Anna. “Your mating rituals can wait.”
“She is injured and should not be moved,” Lamb said with authority.
“You are to kill Gho-Bazh,” Govil said to Anna. “I will not leave you to that creature when it has finished its current meal. As it is, we will have to divide the supplies we managed to salvage among the surviving mounts.” He examined Anna’s bruised chest impassively. “Rest here while we arrange things. Then we must get moving.” He motioned to Lamb. “You come with me.”
◆
Anna lay atop three crates that were lashed to the back of her shuffler. The tack that held them in place was also tied loosely around her waist and hips to keep her from falling off, and Lamb had covered her eyes with a damp cloth to shield them from the sun. In spite of the precautions, the movement of the boxes with the shuffler’s gait pained her with each step.
It was the best Lamb could do. With no bandages or spare cloth to wrap around her, the doctor was reduced to tying ropes tightly over Anna’s vest. Her breathing was normal, and she had not coughed up any blood, so he was confident that there had been no injury to her lungs. But Anna’s ribs would take a very long time to heal. It was unlikely that she would be fit enough by the time they reached Kreipsche.
The caravan continued forward, slowly but steadily. Govil continued to lead, while Lamb held the reins to Anna’s mount, and Ganon pulled the lone remaining pack animal. All the shufflers were overloaded, but their consumption of supplies along the way meant that the loss of the other pack animal had not been a hardship. However, they had lost half of their rations and, more importantly, more than half of their remaining water.
As always, Govil and Ganon seemed unaffected by the harsh environment. With Anna tied down, the insect-men had relaxed their guard on her. They did not see Lamb as a threat. But in light of Anna’s injuries, and the even more meager rations that Govil now allowed, Lamb was pretty sure that the water would run out before they reached Tiornen.
Suddenly, Govil stopped the train with a gesture. He and Ganon froze in place. Lamb looked and
listened, trying to detect whatever the guards were reacting to. He saw and heard nothing at first, but then he noted three small things in the distance, flying toward them at great speed.
A moment later, he felt a slight shaking of the ground. Then the guards quickly dismounted and Ganon motioned for Lamb to do the same. The doctor slid from his beast and ran for Anna, but tripped when Ganon grabbed his ankle with his mancatcher and pulled him back away from the shufflers. The two male shufflers were agitated, and circled the three females. They slashed their foreclaws menacingly in the air.
The flying creatures were upon them in the blink of an eye. There was something about them that was familiar to Lamb. They had scaly skin that blended into the dark sky underneath and the monochrome landscape on top. Humanoid faces were surmounted by writhing tentacles where the mouth and nose should have been. Large, pointed ears, bat-like wings, and talons sprouted from their feet. The flyers swooped and taunted the male shufflers, who sliced ineffectively at the attackers and circling the females defensively.
Lamb was horrified by the display, watching helplessly as Anna lay motionless, tied down in the midst of the fight. The guards were alert. Ganon released Lamb’s ankle and twirled the weapon into position just before a dozen or more plumes of dust erupted from the ground all around them.
Small, degenerate people with pointed ears appeared as the clouds blew away. They had rough skin with the same coloring as the flyers, large eyes, large ears, with the appearance of emaciation. Lamb noted that the insect-men took them seriously. They had risen, and stood almost twice as tall as the small humanoids. They stood facing the crowd that had encircled them, moving in unison in a circular motion around the prone doctor.
There was a piercing shriek. Lamb followed the sound to see one of the flying creatures impaled on a shuffler claw. It was quickly rent in two by the beast’s other claw, but with the defender’s weapons occupied, the other two dove in and hacked at it with their talons, ripping large chunks of flesh from the creature each time.
The Other Realm Page 8