Crossworld of Xai

by Steven Savage

  “Well, yes. No more Panoramic League. Friend is pregnant … ” Jade trailed off. “This is normal, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, it sucks!” Jade crossed her arms. “I mean . . “

  “Kevin went through something similar,” Harkness noted.

  Jade went cold.

  Kevin Anderson, Old Man Green’s apprentice, shaman, now one of Harkness’ assistants. He’d lost his focus, lost his spiritual connections, and HuanJen had seen him through a dangerous ritual as he tried to reaffirm himself and his connection with the powers that be.

  “That got a reaction,” Harkness noted. Her eyes seemed to pierce Jade, though they were gentler than the first time they had talked. More comforting.

  “I was always afraid I’d become a burden to HuanJen,” Jade said slowly. “Now … I don’t know.”

  “Yes.”

  Jade nodded. “Are your husbands … in the profession.”

  “One is.” Harkness smiled. “The other works in the Communicants.”

  “Wow, that must have been lovely at home last year.”

  “Don’t even get me started. Why?”

  Jade nodded. “Is it easier, for two people in our profession, together?”

  “Different,” Harkness replied quickly, “Different. You can share much, so very much, but you also share so much it can be overwhelming. It wasn’t difficult for Harry and I at first, but we had our times. We got through it by remembering our relationship was … part of the things we did. It was what we had in common, and what we studied … was the source of what we had. Does that make sense?”

  “Partially.”

  “Good. If it made sense right away I didn’t do it right.”

  Jade grinned. “I have to ram through don’t I. Like you. Like Kevin.”

  “Or turn back. Give up, focus on the job or focus on the mar … future marriage. Not that you’d do either”

  “No, no I wouldn’t.” Jade nodded. “Ah, this is the part I hate about our work, our world. The boring yet disturbing part where you put in effort.”

  “Then, again, change …” Harkness smiled.

  “Not on your life.”

  “Not on yours either, I imagine …”

  April 26, 2001 AD, Xaian Standard Calendar

  And so, much to his consternation, HuanJen had to confront Jade.

  He didn’t like confrontation, at least what people usually thought of confrontation. To him, far too many confrontations were just people trying to vainly assert their egos. He preferred to get things done.

  But, he’d also watched her since she’d come back from the Guild Thoughtful, but not in her normally thoughtful way. Withdrawn, but without the somewhat charming surliness he could expect.

  It was unsettling.

  He wanted to do something about it.

  As it involved Jade, it was extremely complicated. He accepted the complications of life, he merely didn’t want to make them worse. Most people had ways of creating self-fulfilling prophecies of problems - and he had enough trouble dealing with actual prophecies, especially that one that popped up lately about marmalade.

  However, as it involved Jade …

  “OK, what happened yesterday?”

  Jade was in the bathroom, combing her hair after a shower. She was dressed only in a towel she’d wrapped around her. Normally, HuanJen reacted to her in such skimpy outfits differently. However, she noticed she was most distinctly not bent over the sink.

  “Huan?” Jade was feeling rather surreal.

  “I am … going to interfere. Not in my usual way, but I am going to. Jade, what happened yesterday. What has been happening.”

  Jade set downt he brush. “That obvious?”

  “Yes, love.” HuanJen touched Jade’s furry cheek gently.

  “I talked to Harkness … don’t give me that look Huan, she and I are getting along fine, she’s OK. I thought … she could help me figure out where I am and where I’m going.”

  “And?” HuanJen was cautious. Jade had never figured out how he related to Harkness. Huan’s Taoist Mysticism didn’t really have a representative in the Guild. He was an anomaly in a very normal way.

  “I’m not sure who I am or what I’m doing. I remember seeing it before. Huan … I remember Kevin. I remember being afraid. I remember worrying I’d screw up, I …”

  ” … and now you are farther along, and more trained, and we are further along.”

  “Yes, well …” Jade sighed. “Well, I don’t want to hurt you. We mess with nasty shit, from ghosts to people’s personal problems. You walk into danger without thinking.”

  HuanJen looked down. “I see. Did you ever think maybe I worry about you getting hurt?”

  Jade blinked. She looked at HuanJen. The idea of her getting hurt by any of their experiences hadn’t crossed her mind. There hadn’t been anything they couldn’t handle together, or that she individually couldn’t threaten.

  “But … I know you accept the risks. The changes. The things we face. It is part of a team. Part of us.”

  Jade looked away. She wanted to smile and she wanted to cry.

  “So … well, there are two sides to everything Jade. Yin and Yang, sun and moon. So … please think of that. I love you.”

  “I love you too, HuanJen,” Jade said fondly. “I …”

  “Yes?”

  Jade nodded. “I … I really have to figure things out on my own. OK?” “I know.”

  He knew.

  He knew if Jade didn’t do things on her own she’d be lost in a chasm of self-loathing, fearing dependence, fearing being a burden. He had to take his time.

  He just didn’t like it.

  April 27, 2001 AD

  Solomon Dell was a law-abiding kind of person. It was part of the job and part of his personality. He was native-born Xaian, and the native culture was very admant about people finding positions that fit their personalities. Otherwise it just tended to produce trouble.

  He was doing something that was questionable by the various Guild policies and City laws. He was nervous.

  He was meeting in the warehouse district. The warehouse district - it felt like being in a bad film. What was worse was the discovery that Guild Esoteric actually kept a small safehouse there. It set off his instincts to ask all sorts of questions he shouldn’t have asked.

  “You are kidding me, Solomon?” Harkness asked.

  Crone Harkness. He was talking to one of the leaders of Guild Esoteric. In this … situation. It seemed quite inappropriate.

  “No,” Solomon said, realizing he wasn’t sure, “If it’s that important, I should do it. He will be safe that way until he gets offworld. Especially considering the circumstances of his death.”

  Hakrness gave him a probing look. Dell stared back at her with eyes like two blue crystals of ice.

  “Why are you concerned?” Harkness asked carefully.

  “He was very important, if you think about it. And if there is trouble, then it is best it happens to me.”

  The Shamaness nodded, and sat down. The safehouse was really a small, well-furnished apartment. It looked like a rental model-as rare as those were in well-populated Metris.

  “You have a wife. Children?” Harkness asked.

  “Wife. No children.”

  “Would you tell your wife?”

  “No,” Dell answered quickly, “It will be for a day. And if one thinks about it, I am the one least likely to draw suspicion.”

  “Because no one would expect you to be involved?” Harkness asked.

  “Exactly. And, whatever he is like, I know I will be in charge,” Dell said firmly.

  Harkness gave the Head Rancelman a catty glance. “Do not tell me you’ve done this before.”

  “Ah. Then I won’t …”

  April 27, 2001 AD

  Jade woke up, turned over to look at the clock, and found she was in the vile situation of being very close to her normal time of awakening, but was certain she couldn’t get back to sleep
.

  She slid out of bed. HuanJen stirred slightly in his sleep. The lucky bastard seemed to be able to switch himself off instantly and rarely woke unless unnecessary. It wasn’t a deep sleep, it was just … appropriate.

  She grabbed her robe off of the dresser, wrapped it around herself, and walked into the living room. It was wonderfully quiet.

  She looked around the living room. Mostly donated things, really. HuanJen had saved a great deal of money because Zone Clerics often received donations from clients, well-wishers, and the occasional ass-kisser. Part of her life.

  All part of her life now, all part …

  … she still wasn’t sure she could juggle it.

  The phone rang. She reached for it, only to hear it stop. HuanJen again. He could wake quickly when he had to.

  Jade knew what early morning calls meant. It was what they always meant …

  … and she knew it would be part of her life, perhaps forever.

  She shook her head. “There was an answer there, but …”

  “Dear?”

  HuanJen appeared in the hallway to the master bedroom. He looked concerned.

  “Solomon Dell needs us.”

  Jade gave HuanJen a curious look. “What the …”

  “I don’t know, but he’s very concerned, he says its personal, and that there’s something I need to see.”

  “You, yeah …”

  “And that you can come if you want. If you want.”

  Jade gave HuanJen a strange look. His tone of voice held layers of meaning.

  “Why?” Jade asked carefully.

  “I asked if you could. You can. If you want. He says it may take all day.”

  Jade nodded. “Personal life. Job. All the same.”

  ” … yes.” HuanJen nodded. He had the sense of standing on a large wheel, and wasn’t sure which way it was turning.

  “Do you want me there?”

  “I always want you there, Jade.”

  The Vulpine nodded. It should have sounded like bullshit. Instead, it sounded painfully real. He always did that right when you desperately expected bullshit.

  And it meant the proverbial ball was in her court.

  “What is it?”

  “He won’t say.”

  Jade thought. “The head of the Rancelmen calling us on a mysterious mission.”

  “Yes.”

  “The usual interruption of our lives?”

  HuanJen was nonplussed. “Or the usual part of our lives.”

  “Could it be dangerous?”

  A shrug from the mystic. “Who knows.”

  The world seemed to go to pieces around Jade, then reassemble. She wasn’t sure if it made sense, but it made more than it did. Nothing to do but ram on forward, like she always had.

  Life was too short to spend staring at the pieces.

  “I’m in.”

  HuanJen seemed taken aback. “Why?”

  “I … I’m curious. I’m not going to leave you without my help. And I love you. Good enough?”

  “It always was …”

  “Oh cut the crap and lets get going …”

  Later on, Jade realized she should have asked where they were going.

  She was all equipped - a satchel full of supplies, the Lakkom, her pistol. The kind of things you’d take for a days outing. A normal one, at least for her and HuanJen.

  The cab they took dropped them off on the outskirts of Metris, near a larger Rancelman facility. Probably where they stored things too dangerous to have near the portals or the city. She felt her hair stand on end - and she had a lot of hair.

  HuanJen seemed curious, focused, almost withdrawn into himself. She could feel information pouring into him. He had a way of knowing things just by being there …

  “This doesn’t feel right.”

  “I know,” HuanJen remarked.

  “Just checking …”

  They walked toward the building. Much like Rancelman Headquarters, it was an ugly, functional block of a construct. It wasn’t made to be pretty, it was made to be used by people who were the toll-keepers and custom-agents of Xai - in a place where some people were very sure they should be allowed to carry dangerous biologicals, nuclear materials, and worse between worlds.

  Guild Esoteric held more secrets than the other Guilds, it was said, but the Rancelman and the Traveler’s came close.

  The guards at the entrance directed them to the back. They didn’t accompany them. Jade glanced at HuanJen as they headed behind the building.

  He looked at her, then nodded slowly, and glazed at their destination.

  Jade knew what he was saying. “Go ahead, I know it’s strange. They expected us.”

  She smiled to herself, despite the situation.

  In back, they found a large garage area. Apparently the facility stored vehicles for the Rancelmen. Jade felt a nice surge of normalcy ��� a garage was very normal. It was comforting.

  They also found Solomon Dell. He was dressed in his armor, as usual. He also looked very tired. His hair was also not in braids, but a single unkempt pony tail.

  “You came, good. Come in.”

  He turned without waiting on them, entering the building through a small access door. Jade followed instinctively as HuanJen walked forward.

  She focused on Dell. Something was odd. There was the strangest sensation …

  Jade took HuanJen’s hand and gave it a squeeze. He squeezed back. Twice.

  She inhaled forcefully. She could see what was wrong now, what had happened …

  Something was very out of balance with Solomon Dell. Her hunter instincts flared nova-bright.

  Inside the garage, was a bizarre vehicle. It reminded Jade of a very slick hydrofoil, or a van with a flattened bottom. In a few long seconds, she realized what it was.

  She’d heard about things like this at colony, she hadn’t seen them. On Xai she’d heard a bit more, but …

  “Huan … that’s an antigrav transport … what the hell …”

  Antigravity technology was one of the few technologies truly regulated on Xai. It interfered with the functioning of portals and other technologies. This upset few people as it was also very expensive, at least as far as Jade knew.

  This was imported. It would have to be … and it was here, in front of her …

  “Are you coming?” Dell gestured toward the transport. It seemed as if he was trying to be impatient and failing. It was like he was acting.

  Jade felt the adrenaline in her system.

  “Of course, Solomon,’ HuanJen answered in a friendly manner, “I’m surprised you are letting one of us use these.”

  “We will need to be back within a day. This is the best way.” Dell vanished into the transport’s open door.

  HuanJen moved forward quickly, Jade following.

  Inside, Jade felt like she’d stepped into a science-fiction film, if said film had a designer interested in comfort. It was like being inside a very high-tech camper …

  … her heart was racing.

  “We have to get moving,” Dell said from the pilot’s cabin. “I need to show you something. People will listen to you.”

  “Are you well?” HuanJen asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Hmmm. Then perhaps you could do something for me, it may help. I have an idea of what you want to show us.”

  “Really,” Dell spun around, almost tottering. “What?”

  “HuanJen reached into one of his belt pouches, “Come here, I think …”

  Dell approached. HuanJen’s fist slammed into Solomon Dell’s chin. It didn’t seem like a powerful punch, but the Head Rancelman folded to the ground, like a house of cards collapsing.

  “Nice job,” Jade said carefully. “What an idiot. I could see … whatever was in there. Gods, he’s possessed by something. What the hell could get into him?”

  “I am not sure,” HuanJen shook his head. “Anything that managed to posses Solomon Dell would be rather powerful.”

  “And appare
ntly stupid.” Jade looked at the Rancelman carefully. “Any danger?”

  “It seems bound in there pretty tightly,” HuanJen’s dark eyes peered at the fallen Rancelman, assessing things unseen, “It’s not trying to get out, it may have been bound deep enough that it’s unconscious too.”

  “And now?”

  HuanJen paused, then sat on the floor. “We wait for him to wake up. I plan to have a talk with him before turning in whoever to whomever is appropriate. Besides, the Rancelmen don’t need this stress.”

  “Yeah.” Jade nodded.

  “Maybe … we can talk while waiting.”

  “Talk about our relationship while waiting for a possessed head of a major Sub-Guild to wake up? Not even knowing why we are here? With several armed Rancelmen just a few yards away.”

  “Can you think of something more appropriate for us?” The Magician-Priest said with a humor that surprised even him.

  “… not really, and that scares me.” Jade admitted.

  HuanJen calmly handcuffed Solomon’s hands behind his back. HuanJen’s infamous belt pouches were a plethora of useful devices that most people were better off not knowing about ��� and that didn’t even cover the odd herbal substances he routinely kept hand.

  With the Head Rancelman restrained, HuanJen sat down on the floor unceremoinously and waited. It took Jade a few moments to get the signal, and sit herself.

  “I’m still trying to juggle it all, HuanJen. You, me, the job, our friends. Garnet … well I’d like to try something normal, going out with people. Someday … “

  Jade paused. A thousand things to say, and no center to find to start …

  “Are we ever going to be married, settle down, have children?” she finally blurted out.

  “I had thought so,” HuanJen answered with strange swiftness.

  “You think about this?” Jade asked. “A lot?”

  “Yes,” HuanJen answered honestly. “I think … I didn’t assume otherwise.”

  Jade sat herself, occasionally looking over at Solomon Dell. “Yeah, I guess not. I … can’t keep it all together in my head sometimes. I can’t meditate …”

  “You could tell that Solomon was possessed, that was a good job.”

  “Yeah, well … it all doesn’t hang together in my head. No big picture. I’m trying to figure us out, I mean our relationship, our work … Solomon here from Double Date Guy to Job Issue in a week. What the hell is this? What is our lives supposed to be?”