The Other Realm

by Joab Stieglitz

  ◆

  Two days had passed since their departure from the Draunskur. A train of wagons loaded with trade goods and pulled by female shufflers passed by heading toward Tiornen. Lamb noted that the wagons mostly carried metalworks. Pots, pans, iron stoves, and the like. Gho-Bazh’s kingdom appeared to have a strong blacksmithing industry.

  Anna attempted to greet the traders as they passed, but most ignored the two. The few that did respond only gestured politely, but with weapons visible. Anna imagined that the riders of the claw-limbed male shufflers were uncommon, though she thought she heard the name Nygof whispered on more than one occasion.

  They continued on for several more hours. As they rounded a bend in the road, they saw a heavy wooden bridge which crossed a small stream. A few hundred feet off the path a waterfall cascaded down the sheer side of the mountain and collected in a clear pool the color of the sky. The water trickled down the slight slope, under the bridge, and disappeared into a hole on the other side of the road.

  A young girl, perhaps ten or twelve years old, sat by the pool filling water skins. The leather bags were nearly as big as her, and a wooden yoke sat on a shoulder-high rack, clearly used to transport the filled water skins somewhere.

  At the sound of their shuffler’s footsteps, the girl looked toward the road and her face bloomed into a joyful smile.

  “Nygof?” the girl cried, dropping the water skin in her hand into the pool and running toward the rider. Anna stopped her mount and looked back in surprise. The girl ran to her, unafraid of the shuffler’s long claws, and leapt into Anna’s lap in a single bound, hugging her tightly.

  “It is you,” she said, kissing Anna’s lips and hugging her again. She spoke with the same accent as Anna. “I thought you had gone for good.” Anna looked to Lamb, who shrugged. She returned the hug.

  “We are on our way to Kreipsche,” Anna said conversationally. “We have some business there.” The girl looked up at Anna with a mischievous smile.

  “I bet Father will not approve of this business,” the girl said, “but we had better let him be the judge of that. Come on!” She hopped out of Anna’s lap, running past the pond and up a trail into a stand of trees near the cliff face.

  “I suppose we should look into this,” Lamb said. “If you are known, we’d best find out what reputation you have around here.”

  “Those merchants were certainly not pleased to see me,” Anna agreed. “Let us meet my family.”

  ◆

  “Papa! Papa! Nygof is home!” Anna followed the shouts of the girl through the copse to a clearing in which a log cabin and a barn stood. A handful of pig-like creatures wallowed nearby. They were pale blue in color, with large, darker-blue spots that somehow blended in against the mauve-colored mud.

  Pale smoke billowed from the chimney of the cabin. The girl stood in the open doorway, looking back toward Anna.

  “Sobak!” a husky male voice shouted from within. “Close the door. And where is the water?”

  “Papa,” the girl said over her shoulder, “look! Nygof is back!”

  Anna stopped her mount, which she had named Mushta, and he laid down to allow her to dismount easily. She stroked his beak as a thick, burly, older man emerged from the cabin. The man was not familiar, but he rushed up to Anna, wrapped his arms around her, and squeezed her tightly.

  Lamb was amused by Anna’s discomfort. She did not enjoy such overt affection. But the doctor kept his expression to a pleased smile as he guided his mount over next to Anna’s.

  “Nygof,” the man said with a grin, releasing his embrace and holding her by the shoulders to admire her. “You have become a beautiful woman.” Then his expression became serious. “What brings you back to us?”

  “Why must you interrogate her?” a stern, female voice said from the doorway. “She has only just arrived.” The woman strode purposefully up and stood next to the man. She eyed Lamb suspiciously.

  Sobak emerged from the barn carrying a pair of squirming, squealing bundles, which she deposited in front of each of the beasts. They were piglets whose legs had been bound together. As soon as she stepped away, she giggled as the shufflers snatched them up and swallowed them after only a couple of chews.

  “And who is this? Have you finished with Dryagin already?” Sobak gave Anna a mischievous smile.

  “But where are our manners?” the woman said, eying the girl reproachfully. She swept Anna from his grasp with a motherly arm around her waist and said, “Come and eat.”

  ◆

  “Those people are being awfully affectionate,” O’Malley said, “but Anna does not seem to recognize them.”

  “Are they not her family?”

  “Anna does not have any surviving family,” O’Malley said. “And from what she has told me, she was not especially close to her parents. They sold her into marriage as a girl in exchange for passage to America.”

  “Then who are these people?”

  “I think they are someone’s conjecture of who her family might be.”

  “To what end?”

  “And who dreamed them up?”

  Chapter 16

  ?

  “That armor makes you look half a head taller,” the older woman said as she released Anna in the main room of the cabin. “Take off your traveling clothes so I can get a good look at you.” Unconsciously, Anna slid out of her animal hide coat, and turned in place at the woman’s gesture. As she did so, the cuffs on her wrists and ankles slid into view.

  “Sobak, the water!” the man shouted over his shoulder before the girl entered the room. He closed the door and looked at Anna’s shackles. “You were enslaved!” he said in astonishment. He grabbed her wrist to examine the cuff more closely.

  “I was imprisoned by the Queen of Brynner,” Anna said with a reassuring tone. “But the matter has been resolved and now I am free.”

  “If you are a free woman, why do you still wear the cuffs?” the man said with suspicious. He glanced at Lamb. “Is he your chaperone on some errand for this queen?”

  “I facilitated her release,” Lamb said with a friendly smile, holding out his hand. The older man eyed the hand suspiciously.

  “So you have become his property,” the man said with a scowl. He rounded on Lamb, but Anna grabbed the fist he intended to throw.

  “I am not his slave,” Anna said. “He talked the queen into giving us a task in exchange for our freedom. He is a good friend.”

  “I do not see cuffs on him,” the man said, unswayed. “So who are you?”

  “I am known as Nab here,” Lamb said. “The queen confused me with someone else and used Ann, uh, Nygof here to pressure me into doing her bidding. I agreed in exchange for our freedom.”

  Just then, Sobak returned with the yoke over her shoulders and the heavy bags of water hanging from either side. She pushed the door open with the yoke and blindly sidestepped through the portal, knocking into Lamb, who fell into the older man’s arms.

  “Cover those up,” the woman whispered to Anna, shielding her from the girl’s view. “You do not want your sister to see them.”

  “Yes, Mother,” Anna said reflexively, and bent over to stuff the ankle cuffs under the legs of her trousers. The wrist cuffs were too loose to hide under her shirt, so she pulled the sleeves over them and stuffed the ends underneath them. They looked odd, but at least they were out of sight.

  Two more places were set at the central table, and the older man sat at the head. Sobak sat on one side, farthest from her father as if by rote, and gestured for Lamb to sit at the foot. Anna moved toward the opposite side of the table.

  “You have forgotten your place already,” the man said disappointedly, and leaned his head toward the seat next to the girl. Anna responded immediately and quickly sat in the indicated seat. Lamb followed suit.

  “I hope there is enough,” the woman said cheerfully, carrying an iron pot by a handle in a mittened hand. She ladled stew into the bowl before her husband, who continued to scowl as the woman
moved on to Anna, then Sobak, and finally Lamb. When the doctor saw that the woman’s bowl was only partially filled, he offered his portion to her, but she declined.

  “So where have you been?” Sobak asked Anna with youthful enthusiasm. “Where are you off to now?” Then she whispered, “Is he your new man?”

  “One question at a time, Sobak,” the woman mock-scolded. “Give your sister time to collect her thoughts.” She looked at Anna with a “tell a story suitable for her” expression.

  “Well, uh,” Anna started, “we just came from Brynner, where, um, we were trading, um, pots and pans-”

  “You do not have to clean it up for me,” the girl said in irritation, “I have had twelve winters. I will probably be married off before I see you again.”

  “We can only hope,” her father said brusquely. “We must live here, in the shadow of demons, because of your reputation,” he said to Anna. “Nygof the assassin. Nygof the thief. Nygof the spy. Sobak will be lucky to be taken by a sheep herder.” He stabbed hard at a chunk of meat in his bowl and thrust it into his mouth. “Why do you come to us now?”

  “We were just passing by,” Anna said anxiously. She did not know why she was deferring to this man. He was not her father. She had never seen any of these people before. Why did it seem so natural and appropriate? “We are en route to Kreipsche,” she replied with annoyance as she stood. “We did not intend to impose on you,” she looked about for her coat, “so we will leave you in peace!” The man huffed, but the woman grabbed Lamb’s wrist as he started to rise.

  “You must stay the night,” she said pleadingly. “It will be cold and dark, and I bet you have not slept comfortably since you left the city.” She turned to the man with an expression demanding agreement. He nodded reluctantly.

  “Yes,” he said, “of course. You must rest your mounts.” He looked at Lamb. “You will stay in the barn,” he said to the doctor, “and you, Nygof, will take your bed with your sister.” Sobak beamed with joy and took Anna’s hand.

  “Come on,” the girl said as she started to pull Anna away.

  “After we eat,” the woman said with a satisfied smile. “Sit and finish your food.”

  ◆

  Nygof’s father sat with Lamb on a log in front of the barn. They had led the shufflers into stalls, and once they were settled came outside, where the old man lit a long-stemmed pipe.

  The older man still did not like him, but he behaved civilly at his wife’s insistence. The meal was completed in an awkward silence before Sobak took Nygof up a ladder, presumably to their sleeping chamber.

  “You will take good care of my daughter,” the old man said with parental concern. “She is wild and independent, and requires a strong hand. But do not mistreat her, or-” He trailed off introspectively.

  “Nygof and I are just business associates,” Lamb said reassuringly. “There is nothing between us otherwise.” He stared earnestly into the old man’s eyes. The latter stared back for a few moments, and then nodded with resignation.

  “This way,” he said, rising and gesturing toward the barn. Lamb rose as well and followed him back inside. He showed Lamb the ladder to the loft. “Unlike what you might expect, it gets quite warm up there, so you should be comfortable.” He paused, and then patted Lamb’s shoulder gently, turned, and left the barn.

  Lamb climbed the ladder and discovered a thick cushion of fresh hay. He would have been confident that he would be eaten alive by insects, except that he had not seen any insects since he appeared in Sif’s palace.

  Lamb smiled. The old man thought he and Anna were lovers. At least he had convinced the old man that his daughter was not Nab’s slave. He wondered if wives were considered property there. Musing on that thought, he laid down in the rather comfortable hay. It was indeed warm. Perhaps caused by decomposition-

  ◆

  “Come on,” Sobak said as she climbed onto the bed and nestled against the wall. “I am bigger now, so there will not be as much room, but we can cuddle like we used to, before-” Her voice choked off with a whimper and she turned to face the wall.

  “Before what?” Anna said, sitting on the bed beside her. Instinctively, she stroked the girl’s long blond hair. Sobak turned back toward Anna and put her arms around the older woman.

  “Before you ran off and became a slave,” Sobak said meekly, pulling the cuff out from Anna’s sleeve. “Did you escape? Are slave hunters going to come after you? Is that why you have to leave me again?” She buried her face in Anna’s lap.

  “It is like I told you at dinner,” Anna said softly. “Nab and I are doing an errand for the Queen of Brynner. That’s all.”

  “Then why do you still have those?” Sobak asked, examining one of the irons. “There is no lock. How do they come off?” Anna gave her a knowing look. “Oh,” the girl said, “they do not come off!” She looked closer at the iron. “Is it too thick to cut?”

  “It would probably just be easier to cut off my hand,” Anna said with a sisterly grin. “But that is a topic for another time. We must sleep now.”

  Sobak pressed herself against the wall to make the most space on the bed and patted it cloth-covered straw. Anna laid down, and the girl threw her arm around Anna’s waist and pressed her head into Anna’s hair.

  ◆

  The man in the conical hat leered at Anna and laughed maniacally. He stood next to the bed flanked by two Pointees.

  Anna woke with a start. There was a commotion in the room below. She rose quietly, lifted the trapdoor in the floor a crack, and peered through. Half a dozen Pointees were searching the rooms below. There was no sign of her parents.

  Anna quietly closed the hatch and tiptoed back to the bed.

  “Sobak, wake up,” she said as she gently shook the girl’s shoulder. Sobak rolled over lazily and faced the wall.

  “Sobak!” Anna said quietly, but with more urgency. “We have to get out of here!”

  “What is it?” Sobak said wearily as she silently yawned and stretched.

  “There are intruders searching the house,” Anna whispered. The crash of breaking dishes roused the girl from her stupor.

  Anna scanned the small room. The only other exit was a small window. She padded over to it and saw the barn a short distance away. A moment later, the door of the loft opened inward a crack and Anna saw Lamb peer out.

  They made eye contact. Anna scanned the ground below, but there were no signs of other intruders. When she looked to Lamb again, he has his bow in hand. He showed Anna an arrow with a thin rope attached. He wanted her to use the rope to cross the gap.

  Anna shook her head, but the arrow struck the cabin solidly and the rope went taut. Sobak appeared by her side and hugged her waist.

  “We need to use the rope to get to the barn,” Anna said with confidence. “Do you think you can do it?” Sobak eyed the rope and saw Lamb gesturing to come to him. Then she looked down and gulped.

  “I do not know how,” the girl said. Anna weighed her options.

  “Do you want me to go first?” she said with concern. When Sobak nodded, she said, “All right. But you must follow as soon as I reach the barn!”

  Sobak nodded with reservation, but there was no more time for debate. The Pointees would check the attic at any moment.

  Anna tested the line, and it was taut. The rope was looped through a hole in the arrowhead for that purpose, and both were firmly embedded in the wall.

  “Watch how I do it,” Anna said. She grabbed hold of the rope, pulled herself out a little, and then wrapped one leg and then the other around it, hanging upside down. “Do exactly as I do once I reach the other side.”

  ◆

  O’Malley was amazed at Anna’s agility as she seemed to effortlessly cross the gap to the barn. In less than a minute, she had crossed what appeared to be a ten-foot gap and slid into the barn.

  Lamb looked back at the window where the young girl stood with wide eyes. He gestured for her to come to him. Anna stepped in front of him and took up the e
ncouragement.

  Slowly, the girl reached up and took hold of the rope. She looked down and froze, then looked back into the room. With renewed vigor, the girl jumped up, but missed the top with her leg. She looked into the room again, and then leapt up and wrapped both legs around the rope at once.

  ◆

  “You are doing fine, Sobak,” Anna said quietly.

  “They are coming,” the girl replied. “I put the bar across the door, but they were trying to break through!”

  “Concentrate!” Anna said. “You are already halfway across!”

  Suddenly there was a crash from the attic room and Sobak was distracted. She lost her grip and fell with a scream.

  Chapter 17

  ?

  Anna watched Sobak fall. The girl’s arms flailed, and her wide eyes locked on Anna’s. Anna turned away before she hit the ground.

  “KHAN-TRAL HAS GOT YOU!” a loud, strong voice shouted from below. Anna opened her eyes to see a tall, muscular man dressed only in a fur-covered loincloth holding Sobak in both arms. He sat upon a female shuffler, and a long, wide sword lay in a scabbard across his back.

  Lamb yanked on the arrow, but it did not budge, and a horned warrior bellowed as it peered out of the window after the girl.

  “Come on,” Lamb said, grabbing Anna’s arm as he headed toward the ladder. She looked back, noticing how handsome the bare-chested rider was, then shook her head vigorously to clear the thought and followed the doctor down the ladder.

  As she reached the bottom, Anna was amazed as Lamb drew and fired off three arrows in rapid succession. She followed their path and saw an arrow strike each of the horned warriors in the head. The muscle-bound warrior had dismounted, leaving the stunned Sobak on his mount’s back, and was cleaving through the warriors that Lamb had shot, his two-handed sword slicing one of them in half.