The Road's End

by Daniel Kirk

  The other head cleared its throat and continued, shouting over the din. “Two is helpful, considerate, and understanding. Two likes companionship, and is a lover of music.”

  “That’s me,” Tomtar interrupted cheerfully. “I love music!”

  “Quiet!” shouted the Queen.

  The other head continued its barrage of numbers. “Seven is one and six, or six and one, or four and three, or two and five, not sixteen, twenty-five, thirty-four, forty-three, fifty-two, or sixty-one. Not—”

  “This two is sensitive and strives to be honest,” the more lucid head shouted. Then she turned her head to the Queen. “I see no reason to fear these young ones who stand before us. The Human is coarse and unruly, but the other two are innocent of guile, as far as I can tell. The Troll, in fact, is a bit simple. And the Elf is weak and indecisive. Still, they are here, and perhaps they will surprise us when all is said and done.”

  “Very well,” the Queen said icily. “Thank you, my Mage.” She bowed low, then turned toward Matt, Tomtar, and Tuava-Li. “Follow me.”

  Guards helped the frail Queen onto her pallet and carried her out past Matt toward a room at the end of another long corridor. It was a library, its shelves full of ancient manuscripts. Woven baskets stuffed with papyrus rolls stood alongside the broad desk. The guards helped the Queen into a high-backed chair, then stood away. Matt stood crouched uncomfortably in the corner. “Ma’am, I mean Your Highness,” he said, “I don’t want to be rude, but the three of us came here to get your sacred seed and plant it at the center of the earth. I don’t know why you let your mage treat us like this, but you should know we’re here to help you, and we’re going to need your help to do it.”

  “Then let us speak freely,” said the Queen. “There’s no longer any need for pretending; we’re all in great jeopardy. We’ll provide you with anything you require to make your descent into the Underworld. The only thing we cannot give you is the Sacred Seed.”

  “Your Majesty,” Tuava-Li said in surprise, “you must entrust us with the Seed!”

  “Let me explain,” the Queen replied. “Three pilgrims arrived here before you, in a flying ship called … I believe it was called …”

  One of the monks whispered in the Queen’s ear. “Ah, yes, ’twas called an Arvada. We’re still cleaning up the wreckage in our courtyard. The craft damaged Yggdrasil; it nearly set our great tree aflame when it crashed there!”

  “An Arvada crashed, here?”

  The Queen nodded. “There were many on board who died. But the three who stole the Seed of the Adri were already among us, when the ship came hurtling down.”

  Tuava-Li swallowed. “The three who stole the Seed?”

  “Aye. They were an Elf, a Troll, and a Human, just like the three of you. Upon their arrival the Elf, a female, told us that they had come to take the Seed and plant it at the center of the earth—that they planned to re-create the journey of Prince Fada, and save the Adri from extinction. But when the fruit of the Adri did not fall for them, they drove their craft into the branches of the tree in order to steal the Seed. The flying ship plummeted to the courtyard and burst into flames! Now Hunaland is cursed, contaminated with Blood. Our Mage and her monks are doing what they can, but our Sacred City has been poisoned.”

  Matt tried to make sense of what the Queen was saying. “Are you saying that the elf and the troll and the human, they already started down into the underworld with the seed?”

  The Queen hung her head. “Aye.”

  Tuava-Li took a deep breath. “How long ago did they leave?”

  “Yesterday morning.”

  “Did you send anyone after them, to try and stop them?”

  “We have no soldiers. We were unprepared for anything like this. Our Mage and her monks work ceaselessly to make sure Hunaland is hidden from view, and the Goddess has never allowed anyone to approach who means us harm. The will of the Great Ones is beyond our understanding. But perhaps the Goddess sent the Khidr to rescue you and bring you here, so that if you proved to be the three who are meant to save our world, you could stop the imposters.”

  “Who were they, Your Highness?” Tuava-Li asked. “The imposters? What were their names?”

  “The Elf said her name was …”

  Once again the monks whispered in their Queen’s ear. “She called herself Jardaine, and she claimed to be the Mage of a place called Helfratheim. The Troll was Dalk, also called Nicholas. We do not remember the Human girl’s name; she waited outside while we spoke to the Elf and the Troll. The point is, our Mage told me the three were not fit to save the Seed, and I did not listen. Because I didn’t trust the greatest spiritual authority in the realm, the likelihood is that something will go terribly wrong, and if it does, ’twill be my fault. Why would anyone want to steal our Seed, unless they desired to plant it, to see it grow? The Goddess would surely not allow those three to enter the deepest recesses of the world if they’re not worthy! If they took the Seed in order to serve their own vanity, they’ll never succeed in planting it.”

  “I know the monk named Jardaine,” said Tuava-Li. “But Mage of Helfratheim? How could that be?”

  Tomtar addressed the Queen. “Your Highness, may I ask, what did the Human look like?”

  She thought a moment before responding. “’Tis hard to say; all Humans look alike. ’Twas a female.” She threw a glance at Matt. “A number of moons younger than this one, most likely. She was somewhat tall and gangly. She had tiny brown spots over her nose, thin lips, and longish, sand-colored hair. Her eyes were beady, of course, and her ears small and misshapen, not like Elfin ears at all. Wait … her name was something like, beckoning … I remember because it struck me as absurd that anyone would ever be drawn to a face like hers, a beckoning expression. …”

  Matt felt his stomach turn. “Becky?” he said. The name felt hard, coming out of his mouth. He dreaded saying it again, just in case his suspicion was right. “Was the girl’s name Becky?”

  The Queen’s eyes lit up. “Indeed it was! Becky, or … Rebecca. How on earth did you guess? Do you know this Human?”

  Matt banged his fist on the wall. Then he took a step toward the Queen and yanked open the top of his robe, so that the tattoo on his chest would be visible. The monks gasped in horror and rushed to stand between Matt and their Queen. She craned her neck to see past them. “Aye, that’s the one!”

  “The girl Rebecca is Matt’s sister,” Tuava-Li said to the Queen.

  Then she turned to Matt and Tomtar. “Jardaine knew that this quest would require the presence of a Human; that has to be the reason she got Becky to come along with her. But how did she ever find her? Becky’s supposed to be in the forest, outside Ljosalfar! And why would Jardaine want to plant the Seed of the Adri?”

  “Jardaine was always jealous of you, Tuava-Li,” Tomtar said. “If she found out that you were coming to find the Seed and plant it, maybe she wanted to beat you to it! Maybe she wanted the glory, to have her name go down in history. I don’t know how she’d convince Becky and Nick to go with her, but I know her, and she’s a good liar.”

  Matt shook his head. “Jardaine already kidnapped our parents, so why didn’t she bring one of them along with her, or my baby sister? Why Becky?”

  Tomtar scratched his head. “I don’t know!”

  “I know what Jardaine looks like,” Matt said. “I saw her, when our house burned outside Alfheim. Becky’s heard me talking about Jardaine, but I don’t think she ever saw her.”

  “Maybe Becky doesn’t know it is Jardaine!”

  “Is she calling herself by another name?” Tuava-Li asked.

  Matt frowned. “Becky might trust whatever story Jardaine told her.”

  “Your sister’s in grave danger.”

  “What kind of danger, Tuava-Li?” Matt asked. “Why would Jardaine bring my sister all the way to the North Pole just to threaten her? Do you think my parents are up here, too? Are they involved in this somehow?”

  “I—I’m not sure,�
�� Tuava-Li said. She had to be more careful about what she revealed to Matt. He would not be happy if he knew the truth: that the quest was meant to end with a Human sacrifice.

  “What do you need to find these villains and take the Seed from them?” the Queen asked.

  “My sister’s not a villain,” Matt said. “She’s been tricked into this, somehow. We’re going after them. As soon as possible! We need decent clothes, boots, food, I don’t know what we need—you tell us! What’s it like down there? How long will it take to get to the center of your world?”

  “There’s a Cord beneath Yggdrasil,” the Queen explained. “’Tis a long journey, to be sure, though the distance cannot be measured in miles. Time and space have their own laws in the Underworld, different from ours. Your rivals have a head start, but if the Goddess is as outraged as I am by the theft of the Seed, and I’m sure she is, they will find obstacles in their path.”

  “What kind of obstacles?”

  The Queen hesitated. “You must stay in the Cord until you reach the center of the earth. Danger awaits those who traverse the labyrinth!”

  “What do you mean, labyrinth?” Matt asked. “What are you talking about?”

  “A labyrinth is a maze,” the Queen said. “There was once a tribe of Elves who lived near the center of the earth. They were of the Ouroboros Clan and meant as a second defense if we failed here. The maze they built there was meant to represent the journey of the spirit through life, learning and moving forward, forgetting, and losing the way … back and forth, forward and back, from birth to death, to birth again at the heart of the world. Pilgrims once journeyed down to visit the labyrinth to worship with the Mage of that place. But over time the pilgrims failed to return to the surface, and we’ve not heard anything from that tribe in many, many lifetimes. None in my own time have ventured down there to see what has become of the Ouroboros.”

  “So what are you saying?” Matt asked.

  “If you stay in the Cord until you’ve reached the center of the world,” the Queen said, “you’ll bypass the labyrinth entirely. But you may face dangers there, as well. Now, my Mage says that the three of you are weak, that you do not have the skills to save the Seed. Do you think you are capable of proving her wrong?”

  Tuava-Li glanced at Matt and Tomtar. She knew herself all too well. She knew her indecisiveness, her timidity, her fear of leadership. Too many times, when she thought her own Mage was dead, she had failed to take the reins of power and authority in Alfheim. She knew Tomtar, and Matt, too. Each of them had limitations and weaknesses; she couldn’t deny it. But they’d managed to come this far; that had to count for something. “Show us the way,” Tuava-Li said. “If we can have clothing, and food, and Fire Sprites to light the path, we shall continue our journey. We shall save the Seed. We will not let you down.”

  Matt put his hand on Tomtar’s shoulder and gave him a squeeze. “We’ve got to find Becky! Come on—we’re wasting time talking about it!”

  “Then we shall assemble your provisions,” the Queen said. She nodded to her monks, who hurried from the room. “Follow my subordinates and they’ll provide for you. May the Goddess smile upon us all! I’ll meet you again, when you’re ready to descend in the Cord.”

  The Elves of Hunaland redirected their efforts from cleaning up the wreck of the Arvada to preparing for Matt, Tomtar, and Tuava-Li’s journey into the Underworld. The trio was fed and clothed, and provided with packs of supplies for their journey. When they were led back to the courtyard, a ceremony was in progress. Hundreds of Elves chanted and sang, banging drums, blowing long horns, and shaking gourd rattles. “I know this music,” Tuava-Li said. “It accompanies the Great Snake dance.”

  “Snakes?” Matt asked. He adjusted the collar of his new woven jacket. The Elves had made it especially for him, and it fit him far better that the robe and pants he’d been forced to wear when he went to see the Mage. Beneath the jacket he wore his old T-shirt, in addition to jeans and boots, which had been cleaned and repaired.

  “Snakes?” Tomtar repeated with a shiver. He and Tuava-Li had also been given new garments, more befitting an Elf and Troll than their Human castoffs had been. The crowd of Faerie Folk parted to let them through.

  They made their way to a smoking pyre, which seemed to be at the heart of the festivities. Matt towered over the Elves. On the far side of the pyre he saw a huge painted snake head, like a costume made for a Chinese New Year’s celebration, coming toward him. The jaws flapped up and down. A long strip of cloth trailed out from the back, symbolizing the snake’s body, and at least a hundred monks followed, single file, waving the cloth over their heads. They moved through the crowd in a large spiral and slowly made their way toward the center. “Ouroboros,” the Elves chanted, “Ouroboros, Ouroboros.”

  “What are they saying?” Matt asked Tuava-Li.

  “Ouroboros. It means ‘tail-devourer.’ The creature’s also called Jormungandr. The snake stands for the union of all things, the cycle of life that never ends. Watch what happens!”

  The snake circled around the pyre, as the drumming and chanting grew frenzied. Matt no longer felt the cold in the air that had burned his cheeks and ears when he stepped out of the palace. In fact, he felt hot. He wiped sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his jacket, as the giant snake head opened its jaws wide and clamped down on its own tail. “It bit itself!” Tomtar cried.

  The drumming stopped. The Elves crept out from beneath the head and tail of the painted serpent, laying their costume on the cobblestones. Along the back wall was a two-story structure, like a bandstand, built on a platform with a roof and walls on three sides. Golden carvings of snakes decorated the roof. Colorful garlands hung, serpentlike, from each corner. Monks stood guard around the platform, and on the second level, on a golden throne, sat the aged Queen. All Matt could see of her was her head and shoulders and the elaborate headdress she wore. “In the name of the Mother and her Cord,” she said to the crowd, “may we be as one.” A thousand voices joined in repeating the blessing.

  Then the Queen began her speech, in a voice that was surprisingly strong. “When there is no longer two, but one, when all that was outside is inside, when nothing comes in that is not already in, and nothing goes out because in and out are no longer opposites, there is no need for eyes to see. There is no need for ears to hear, or lips to speak, because all is known, all is now, all is. Lacking nothing, the Ouroboros is freed from time and conflict. The most perfect form in this world is the circle, complete in itself, needing nothing. The crown of the tree is round, the earth itself is round, as is the dome of Heaven. The Goddess gives us the Cord, which encircles our world like the veins and arteries in our bodies, like the umbilicus that feeds us in the womb. Because in the circle all things are one, there is no final birth or death, but an eternal return, a coming back, again and again. That is why these three heroes are here with us today, Tuava-Li, Tomtar, and Matt, to undertake the quest once fulfilled by Fada, and Desir, and Volsung. In reliving the journey, we return once again to wholeness, and completion that is never complete but begins anew in every age.”

  Matt whispered, “It’s like Jardaine, Becky, and Nick were never here! They’re acting like we have their seed, and everything’s going according to plan!”

  Tuava-Li’s voice appeared in Matt’s head. Perhaps this is the plan, Matt; you do not know. We cannot know. Now if you feel you must talk, use thoughtspeak.

  Matt sighed. I just wanted you to understand that these elves are seriously confused if they think we’re their saviors now. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to stop Jardaine and get Becky out of there. But why does she talk like we have the seed? She’s delusional.

  Tuava-Li hesitated before answering. She believes, or wants to believe, that we were the Chosen Ones, the three who were meant to undertake the quest. She prefers to ignore Jardaine and the others.

  Matt glanced down at her. Yeah, well, I’m not going to ignore them, because one of them is my sister.

&n
bsp; Tuava-Li nodded. You know there’s great risk ahead.

  Big surprise!

  None of us knows what the Goddess has in store for us. None can predict the future.

  Matt shook his head. Except that it’ll be bad.

  Tuava-Li’s eyes grew dark. She realized that there must be something inside Matt that already knew what was coming. Even if they were able to get the Seed back from Jardaine and plant it, even if they rescued Becky, Matt was still going to die.

  Relax, Matt said in thoughtspeak. You look like you’re going to cry. If I didn’t think we could do this, do you think I’d be standing here?

  When Queen Geror’s speech was finished, the Elves banged their drums and blew their horns again. The crickets in their golden cages scratched out a merry tune. The monks led Matt, Tomtar, and Tuava-Li to the Gate of Hujr, the place where the Cord bulged up from between the roots of Yggdrasil. Along the way the Elves tossed fistfuls of dried leaves onto the path. “I guess they didn’t have any rose petals saved for us,” Matt said, as the leaves crunched underfoot.

  The Cord’s surface was shiny and stretched. The cut Jardaine had made the previous day was healing; the only trace of it was a thin brown streak. The Queen uttered a silent prayer. The drummers worked themselves into a frenzy; then all at once they stopped playing. The Queen took a gold-handled obsidian blade from one of her monks, and with trembling hands, slit open the Cord. Matt could feel his pulse in his temples. At Tuava-Li’s urging, he stepped closer to the Queen. He peered into the milky-white haze of the Cord and saw a narrow flight of steps, built in along the ledge. “Do I go down the steps,” he whispered, “or do I just jump in?”

  The monks shuddered, and the Queen shook her head gravely.

  “You take the steps, Matt,” Tuava-Li instructed. “Tomtar and I will follow. There’s a platform just inside where we’ll leap into the void. We must say a prayer to the Goddess, first, and make an offering. ’Tis part of the ceremony.”

  “You know more about this than I thought,” Matt said. “What are we supposed to offer?”