Crossworld of Xai

by Steven Savage

  Jade blinked. “It’s what we call a Watching Dead. Fully conscious. They’re recognized by the Council and Guild Esoteric. The person who sold you the house should have made that clear.”

  There was silence. Jade sighed, putting pieces together. The Travelers’ and other Guilds left so much up to the Zone Clerics at times.

  “You thought it was a story, correct?” The future mystic remained calm, surprising herself. This was just part of life, like anything else, all things from one source, as annoying as those things could be.

  “Yes.” Mr. Hamilton finally answered, looking at no one in particular.

  “Ah.” Jade dug around in her satchel, and produced several pamphlets. “These are some guides to common misconceptions about Xai and the supernatural, now …”

  Jade’s attention focused on a dish slowly floating past her and the Hamiltons. It drifted around, and then set itself quietly on a table. Jade idly set the pamphlets next to it. Hopefully that would make an impression.

  “It heard us,” the youngest Hamilton said quietly.

  “Hush, Brad,” Mrs. Hamilton chided. “You mean you can’t stop it? I heard your boss …”

  “Partner.”

  ” … did exorcisms. In and out. That’s what Mrs. Brenner said.”

  “Yes, HuanJen can do that. But this is not a case of removing a dangerous spirit.” Jade thumbed through a file from her satchel. “This one goes by the name Alben. He’s been here at least one fifty years recorded, maybe a century no record of malicious activity. Look, we can’t have him removed. We don’t do that.”

  Several uncomprehending looks were directed at her. Jade gestured at the pamphlets. “It’s a citizen. But, HuanJen and I will do counseling, help you get to know . . Alben. It only takes maybe four weeks with one session a week.”

  “We want it gone.” Mr. Hamilton stated with a very final tone in his voice. It was the kind of tone that caused weak people to back down, and was unfortunately directed at Jade.

  “Mr. Hamilton, they don’t move except under extraordinary conditions. Look, many Watching Dead …”

  The plate that had previously floated into the room suddenly flew up and smashed on the ceiling. Shards of ceramic rained down in slow motion.

  “OK, six weeks.” Jade said simply after a moment of mental calculation.

  “It’s … attacking …” Mr. Hamilton began, standing, fists balled.

  “It heard you talking about destroying it.” Jade casually swung the Lakkom off of her back. “OK, look, Jade, assistant to HuanJen, Zone Cleric #152. Calm down, we’ll settle this rationally.”

  A series of books fell off of a shelf.

  “Eight weeks.” The vulpine stated. “OK, down Alben. Relax.”

  Jade looked around the living room. Something seemed to be different.

  “Eight weeks?” Mr. Hamilton asked pointedly. “How much is that?”

  “Oh, one hour a week, at a hundred guilders per hour, plus expenses.” Jade placed the Lakkom back in its holster. Everyone else gave her a stunned look.

  “It’s a good deal, you can check our site at www.esoteric.xai for regular rates,” The Vulpine added helpfully. “Look, I know you’re new. Let me guess, moved here for business opportunity, recruited right into someone’s business under the Mercantile Alliance. It takes time to work things out. We’ll help, don’t worry.”

  “I just don’t understand it, Mrs. Hamilton looked around. “Can you get it to move? “

  “Well, that’s unlimited time. These things are pretty individual.” Jade shook his head. “I can talk to my partner but I don’t recommend trying. Hey, he’s been here longer than you.”

  The Hamiltons looked at each other. Wife looked to Husband. Husband looked to wife. Son looked at mother and father, apparently wondering what the hell they were thinking. Jade sensed a great deal of unspoken communication, and wished someone would speak.

  “Thank you. You can go.” Mrs. Hamilton said. Her expression said a lot more. It said ‘you money-grubbing bitch,’ specifically.

  “Look, this is already reported to the Guild. If you don’t want my parter to do it there are other people, but Alben is part of this place. Trust me.” There was more menace than Jade intended in her voice.

  “Good day.” Mr. Hamilton said.

  Jade, much to her surprise, found nothing more to say, left some business cards with the pamphlets, and left silently.

  “Fuck.” Jade stormed into the apartment she shared with HuanJen, slamming the door. The Lakkom flew out of its holster and onto the coatrack, projected by Jade’s desire not to set it off and wreck the living room.

  “Hello dear.” HuanJen appeared, from the hallway to his bedroom. Judging by the book in his hand, he’d been in the study.

  “Hey.”

  “Bad day?” The mystic asked, looking at Jade carefully.

  “Yes and don’t pull that little ‘look-into-the-soul’ thing on me. I thought you respected me enough not to do that, at least in situations like this.”

  The cleric said nothing. He knew Jade’s limits and habits, and respected who she was. He not so much worked around her, but didn’t let her barriers and boundaries get to him.

  “It didn’t work out, they’re …” Jade wanted to say ‘immigrants’ but she was one herself. “They don’t get what they moved into. Or where. I submitted a whole report to the Guild myself in case they do anything stupid.”

  “Do you think they will?” HuanJen asked curiously.

  “I don’t know. Damn, I really wanted to rip them a new one. This is Xai! Look people, hauntings happen and some of them are better citizens than you. Sure my partner is an exorcist, but he’s not a murderer.”

  “Jade?” The Magician-Priests voice had iron in it.

  “Well you are sort a mix between an animal control officer and a hitman if you think of it.” The Vulpine waved her hands. “OK, sorry, just with everything, not at the best, and … where’s Buster?”

  “Asleep. On your bed. Anyway …” HuanJen actually sounded annoyed - a sliver of unrest in his usual calm state.

  “All reports filed, all taken care of, no guilders, people are idiots. Let the haunt chew on them for awhile. I mean don’t they get this, don’t they see how things work?”

  “You’re following up. Do you want me to …”

  “No, no. It’ll be monitored. They can’t approach anyone else without the Guild knowing - hell, they’re so new here they went to the Guild of Undertakers and Morticians. Damn.”

  “We’re letting you in on what’s going on.”

  The words enclosed Jade’s thoughts, then one idea exploded outward.

  “We. Gods, you’re telling me what you’ve been up to.”

  “Yes. It’s time I tell you a few things. You remember on the porch, months ago, when I showed you the Way?”

  “Yeah.” Jade ran a tongue over her dry lips. “Yeah.”

  “It’s time to show you more. Let’s get something to drink, and let’s sit down and talk.”

  Jade lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. It had seemed so simple.

  HuanJen’s voice echoed in her ears …

  “… you read about Zigguart jack. The myth, the phenomena. He shows up in decreasing cycles, supposedly. The last time he appeared was fourteen years ago. Six years go, when he was supposed to appear, he didn’t. Two years ago, and the next part of the cycle, the Guild assembled people to see if he appeared or if perhaps he was gone …”

  “… Rake, Old Man Green, a shaman known as Brownmiller, his half-brother Pardeen, a few others. Myself, at Green’s request. We watched, we waited, just in case. If he showed …”

  “… he’s a myth come to life, like the Obsidians but not quite. Fear, Jade. His is a story of a killer who carries away parts of his victims to a hidden temple, the Ziggurat, which will some day rise far enough from the Underworld so he can climb into ours permanently. The unstoppable invader coming into our peaceful world …”

  “… he didn’t app
ear. We had signs, but no appearance. Names appearing in random situations, but nothing. He seemed to be gone …”

  “… Rake doesn’t think so. Brownmiller agrees. There aren’t many more and the Guild doesn’t seem to worry. But there are those of us who will be concerned, it balances things …”

  “… and the Guild, as a whole, is not officially concerned, and the targeted time for manifestations would be a day or two before the Vote on the Communicants. To intervene on behalf of a boogieman that may not exist any more, a creature with no political repercussions, would open them to accusations of manipulating the vote …”

  “… there’s a lot to deal with.”

  Jade turned over, disrupting Buster’s position at the foot of the bed. Never one to ascribe malice to anything with two legs, the Yorkie trotted to another spot on the bed, curled up, and went back to sleep.

  The Vulpine shook her head. When an obsidian had startled her weeks ago, HuanJen had slept next to her. Now, facing … whatever, he wasn’t here. But he knew what he was doing. She wanted to call on him, but she wouldn’t.

  Jade closed her eyes. She thought of her lessons, of meditation, of that vast whirling unbound world, and how somehow it all came from one place, and it was safe in the end.

  She wasn’t fully convinced.

  February 27rd, 2000 AD, Xaian Standard Calendar

  “This, is our mysterious meeting place?” Jade asked.

  HuanJen’s answer was innocent. “Well, yes. It’s where we met before, Rake had the space.”

  Jade looked around the basement of the Church of Christ the worker - and an open door set in one of the thick walls. It had been replaced a few times, but still bore the stamp of the City.

  “It’s to the, well not the sewers, but the Maze.” Jade shrugged. “Oh well, figured something more impressive - and hey, when did Rake give you a key to the Church?”

  “About three years ago. Well, shall we?” HuanJen gestured at the door. “Ladies first.”

  “Or me, in that case. Let’s go.”

  Behind the door was typical Maze, the world of under-Metris. Jade looked over what she saw carefully - a kind of access tunnel. Probably leading to other areas under Temple street. She passed two more locked doors, and then she saw it.

  “Well damn.”

  HuanJen had led her into a rather well-furnished meeting room. It was, obviously, a storage room of some kind from decades past, but someone had fixed it up, run some electric lights into it, and in general made it a nice, livable place. The fact it was hidden in an obscure part of the Maze beneath a church built like a bomb shelter was also an added bonus.

  It was, she figured, well protected this way. She hoped the protection wasn’t necessary for anything.

  “Hello, ah, Jade.” Rake rose from a chair at a simple, worn meeting table. “Welcome to … some of the Virtued meet here.”

  Jade looked around, trying to remain unimpressed. It was easy.

  “Brownmiller, Shaman, at your service.” A tubby, bald man in Xaian Shaman’s motley waved at her. He reminded Jade of a Buddha statue that wanted to tell you a dirty joke.

  “You, ah, know me, Jade. Ahn.” Ahn smiled back. Ahn should have stood out; a tall oriental man in orange robes, short hair, piercing eyes. But he didn’t. It took effort to know he was there.

  “This is it?” Jade asked. “This is our elite Ziggurat Jack monitoring force?”

  “You’re right, “Brownmiller rumbled in Rakes directions. “I like her. Can I get a spare?”

  “Private stock.” Jade dropped into her chair, HuanJen sitting next to her. “Well, I’m glad I know most of you. Um. I’m going to help monitor. Hey.”

  “Hi Jade.” Everyone chimed in. The Vulpine laid her head in her hands.

  “I, ah, love that, ah classic, ah, encounter-group bullshit.” Rake laughed. “I’m ah, glad you’re here. And now, ah, to business, let’s get the reports …”

  “Jade?”

  The Vulpine tottered for a moment. Temple street. She was on Temple Street. It was night. She was with HuanJen. Her head was full of thoughts and touches from the Otherworld.

  “Sorry, dearest. Thinking,” Jade acknowledged HuanJen barely.

  “I’m sure you are.”

  “It’s all so clinical in a way,” The future cleric said distantly. “But it’s so real. Sightings and percentages, Obsidian populations, legends … just like the vote. It’s all real. Its not the real real, but real because-we’re-there.”

  HuanJen nodded. He’d seen Jade in her moods, moods when the supernatural touched her, or in some cases ran up and screamed in her ear. He knew to listen and respond when necessary. Being there for Jade in a way she knew you were there was very important.

  “Rake’s really convinced Ziggurart Jack’s coming back.”

  “Life is cycles,” HuanJen stated simply. “Leaving and returning, but always one. Standing on one side is disaster, inauspicious.”

  “Yeah. Sorta like that.” Jade stopped for a moment, then kept walking. “It hit me. This stuff is normal to me now. I mean, it’s normal anyway. But it’s part of things.”

  “Yes.”

  Jade continued, undeterred by the words or even presence of her partner. “The Guild, Guild Esoteric, they should know better, but they can’t do things because of the politics. But parts of us do. Some of the higher-ups must know people are still monitoring Jack, just like they monitor Obsidians.”

  “Yes.” HuanJen wondered if he could play a tape recorder and have as much participation in the conversation.

  “I think Rake’s right,” Jade said flatly. She realized she was at the Trolley stop and ceased walking. “I don’t know why. It’s like things have to come back.”

  “Yes.” The Magician-Priest scrambled for more to say, feeling distinctly left out. “Cycles again. You appear different, Jade.”

  “Yeah. I’m really trying to see this, well, like you would. And it all makes sense to you.”

  “I wouldn’t say it makes sense,” HuanJen admitted. “The politics, they do not. The larger picture is not necessarily understood. But, yes, things cohere, Jade.”

  “I can feel it. All the patterns, all of it. Jack’s here because he’s invited. The Obsidians are reflections when we expect mirrors. The Communicants … people just don’t get it. Our job, I guess, is to get it.”

  HuanJen smiled, and gave his assistant/lover a hug. “Yes. I think you understand.”

  “‘There is a Fundamental Unity to all things …’” Jade shook her head. “We sat for an hour and discussed this shit normally. It just hit me. I think people employ us so they don’t have to deal with the big picture.”

  “That’s a bit cynical - and our ride is here, Jade.”

  Jade nodded, seeing the Trolley lights in the distance. “I’m gonna read up on things tonight, can I have the study - and you if I need to?”

  “Of course, dear. As always, I am there.”

  “Yeah.” Jade took HuanJen’s hand in hers. “Yeah I know. It’s just a lot of other stuff is always there too.”

  February 28th, 2000 AD, Xaian Standard Calendar

  HuanJen was a very busy man. People in his Zone would remark on it often - Zone Clerics were a sort of counselor, welcoming committee, and social worker all rolled into one. Jade, however, wished people gave her a bit more credit.

  It wasn’t egotism, she thought, it was just proper.

  She’d get home from field work, HuanJen again having to work on his own, and have to check the mail. And the phone messages. Then boot up the computer and check the email. A few quick videogames, then study.

  And Buster.

  Jade sat on the couch, looking at the newspaper, and the corrosive-breathed canine decided it was time to play. He pawed at her feet playfully.

  “Growl. Arf. Bark. Go away,” Jade suggested.

  Buster, translating inexpertly, jumped into Jades lap and licked her face.

  “Look, Buster, I got some mystical shit to think of I don’t n
eed you volcano-breathing on me. Gods, you smell like a sewer on fire.”

  The yorkie, delighting in the attention, barked happily and licked Jade’s face more.

  The Vulpine looked down at her canine oppressor. A plan became very clear in her mind.

  “You know, acid-breath, Huan had me learning some of his herbology even before all the mystical crap. Lets you and I take a trip to the study and see what he has for dogs who can kill insects by belching …”

  “Huan, I’ve got a problem.”

  HuanJen often found his days were filled with people saying such things. It came with the job, and seemed to be part of his personality - people would tell him when things were wrong because at least he listened. He was sort of an anonymous depository of angst.

  However, hearing such things from Jade was rare. Jade didn’t admit to problems so much as help you find them and then figure you’d help her. He also didn’t like to be ambushed with such statements while just coming home.

  “Yes, Jade?” HuanJen carefully hung his coat on the coat rack next to the Lakkom, and turned his full attention to his partner. Jade rarely looked worried, she considered it undignified and a sign of weakness - but now she looked worried.

  “Um, it’s Buster. Follow me.”

  Taking his hand, Jade dragged the mystic to the study. There, on the floor of the book laden-room, between the desk and HuanJen’ alchemical equipment was Buster. Buster was not his usual peppy, annoyingly-affectionate self, but was instead rolling around on his back aimlessly.

  “Jade, he …” HuanJen sniffed, then looked at the cabinet he kept his herbs and reagents in. “What did you give him.”

  “Some of that stuff you made for halitosis. Remember when the Krymmer kid was sick with that stomach thing? You gave it to him so his breath was better.”

  “I see.” Hua-Jen closed his eyes. “How much.”

  “About an eighth a dose, it’s a simple mix, and …”

  The cleric was already looking at the various substances on the small workbench on which he produced the various concoctions he sold. The entire West wall was the only place without a bookshelf - instead it was lined with cabinets and equipment, the items of his trade as herbologist and alchemist.