The Shoreless Sea

by J. Scott Coatsworth

  Rex knocked Kiryn’s hands aside. “Leave the lady alone.”

  This was getting ugly. “Really, Rex, it’s okay—”

  “Leave us alone.” Kiryn pushed Rex out of the way and reached for her arm.

  That’s when all hell broke loose.

  Rex threw himself at her brother and in no time had incited a full bar brawl. Stools flew by and shattered as they met heads and backs, and mugs crashed to the floor when one of the tables was overturned and used as a shield.

  Only the owner’s intervention with a massive ugly club had calmed things down. He’d emptied the bar and sent everyone else home.

  “You okay, Bel?”

  “Yeah, Roger, thanks. I’m sorry—”

  “Not your fault. These guys get riled up sometimes.”

  “Thanks.” She didn’t mention that one of the “guys” was her brother. “Give me a sec?”

  “Sure thing. We’ll clean up when you come back.”

  Roger was a good guy, and she was thankful he didn’t blame her.

  She found Kiryn outside in the darkness, nursing a broken arm that hung at an odd angle from his shoulder. “Holy Ariadne… you need to see a medic.”

  She’d tried to touch him, but he jerked away, his face scrunching up in pain.

  “I’m sorry, Kiryn. I just—”

  He wouldn’t look at her, let alone talk with her.

  “Let me take you to the medic, get your arm fixed up.”

  At last, he signed, awkwardly with just one hand. “I don’t need your help.”

  “Kiryn—”

  “Leave me alone. You’ve made your choice.”

  Then he’d walked away into the night.

  NOW, AS she and Gordy headed toward the rendezvous, she felt ill prepared to see him again. What would she say? What would Kiryn say to her? Was he still angry with her?

  She’d been the one to burn the bridge between them, something she regretted fiercely now.

  She needed a drink.

  She’d promised Gordy she wouldn’t. Not while they were on this strange mission.

  So far, she was okay. The voices were still silent, kept at bay by what she had consumed just after first light, in secret before she had woken Gordy. She’d let him stay on the couch in the small apartment she was renting.

  They passed out of the center of town. Things were picking up—carts headed to the market rumbled by, kicking up dust, and above a man shook out a rug from a second-story window, waving at them and smiling.

  The roads here on the outskirts were hard-packed dirt and the buildings more modest, some built from stone but mostly constructed from wood from local trees.

  A group of children scampered by playing cropper, shouting and laughing, and Belynn halted Whinn until they were safely clear.

  “Seems like just a normal morning, huh?” Gordy grinned as the kids ran down the street, then doubled back as the other team took control of the balls.

  “Yeah, I guess so.” She spurred Whinn forward, eager to be away from people.

  They left the city behind, edging out into the glowing golden grasses, following the narrow dirt road that threaded its way through the highlands near Thyre to the farms north of the city.

  She breathed in the fresh country air deeply, grateful to be out of the press of the town. The world around them was silent, save for the sound of the wind through the grass. “Did he say anything about me?”

  “Who? Kiryn?” Gordy shook his head without looking at her. “He didn’t have to. He misses you like a piece of his own soul.”

  They rode on for a while, lost in silence. It was a gorgeous day, the air washed clean by the rain the day before. She rubbed Whinn’s neck. The horse nickered her appreciation.

  Gordy cast a sideways glance at her. “So what happened between you two?”

  Belynn sighed. “Things… didn’t end well.” The air was wet with the smell of the new sea that was growing at the far edge of the lowlands. “Where are we going, exactly?”

  “To the Halfway House.”

  Ah. Eddy and Santi, then. That made sense. There wasn’t much else out here, aside from a few scattered farmsteads.

  The couple had created the Halfway House to help kids who had nowhere else to go, especially kids who were different. Not that most people weren’t accepting these days. But some weren’t, and some had no idea how to raise or help a child so unlike themselves.

  She knew what it was like to be different.

  They rode on through the early morning, occasionally catching glimpses of the golden rabbits that had been engineered for conditions here on Forever. They were cute, though she rarely saw more than their cotton tails as they bounded back into the glowing waves of grass. They helped keep the grasslands trimmed and made for a hearty rabbit stew that Belynn had grown quite fond of.

  She longed for her bow and arrow to take a couple of them down. They would have made a nice housewarming present for Uncle Eddy and Uncle Santi.

  The road forked, and they followed the right-hand branch. She could see the Halfway House now, ahead and around the curve of the world, tucked into a wide oxbow of the Rhyl before the river reached the end of the highlands, where it dropped off in a fantastic curved waterfall to the lowlands far below.

  At last they approached the entrance to the Halfway House. A large archway built of stone defined it.

  “You ready?” Gordy’s voice was kind. He’d always been kind.

  Belynn shook her head. “Yes. No. I don’t know.”

  “It will be okay. He loves you. We all do.”

  Her alcoholic shield of protection was wearing thin. She could hear the soft rumble of voices in the back of her head. She patted the flask in her pants pocket for reassurance.

  Gordy saw but said nothing.

  They passed under the arch into the courtyard that fronted the house. As they approached, the door swung open, and Kiryn and Dax came out and waited for them expectantly.

  “Wish me luck!” She swung off Whinn, tied her reins to a pole, and turned to face her brother.

  “Kiryn.” She brushed the dust off her pants and looked at him uncertainly.

  “Belynn. You came.”

  She nodded. “Gordy said you needed me.”

  His face was transformed by a huge grin. “You came!” He said it out loud, and his excitement was infectious. He jumped forward, and they reached out their hands to touch palms. Then he threw his arms around her and pulled her slight frame to his chest. He hugged her tightly, turning her back and forth as he burrowed his face in her hair. I’m so glad you’re here.

  She put her arms around him and squeezed him back. Me too. She wasn’t sure what she had expected—anger? Sullen introspection? But not this.

  He let go of her, and she touched his left arm. “How is it?” She was out of practice signing, but he understood.

  “What? Oh, the arm? It’s fine. It still twinges sometimes, but it healed just fine.” He turned to give Gordy a hug. “Come inside! We have a lot to talk about.”

  Belynn glanced at Gordy, who shrugged. “Gift horse.”

  She laughed. Maybe so. But she’d been around long enough to know that problems like theirs didn’t just go away.

  The voices were definitely chattering in the back of her mind again.

  She pushed them away, determined to keep to her word.

  For as long as she could.

  DESTINY SADDLED up ser horse, Tansy, glancing furtively at Kiryn’s sister. The woman was wrestling with something. Destiny knew that look well.

  There was something fascinating about Belynn.

  Bits of memory floated up in Destiny’s mind from Kiryn’s memory—Belynn tied to a cot, Kiryn looming over her. Lilith and the smell of death.

  Kiryn’s memories were settling into ser head, becoming as accessible to Destiny as ser own. Had Kiryn known what he was doing when he let ser touch him?

  That memory came to ser too. He knew what se could do. He’d done it because he trusted ser. Becau
se he wanted ser to know. He was an open book.

  That kind of trust was new to Destiny—even Santi and Eddy had been hesitant at first.

  Destiny understood that. There were times se didn’t want to share ser own secrets. And everyone had secrets.

  Se wondered what Belynn’s were.

  Sometimes ser father’s memories resurfaced. How he felt when he hit ser—strong and alive. Those memories haunted ser. Destiny wished se had never touched him, once ser abilities had awoken.

  Ser uncles, Santi and Eddy, came up to say goodbye. “You be careful out there. It’s a dangerous world.”

  “Where are we going?” Se turned to Belynn.

  “Down toward the sea, apparently.” She looked as confused about it as Destiny.

  Destiny laughed. “There’s practically nothing there. You two worry too much.”

  Santi shared a concerned look with Eddy. “We didn’t mean there. We meant on Old Earth. In the inthworld.”

  Eddy nodded. “It’s… very different from here. You can’t trust anyone. There will be many things you won’t understand. Just… be careful.”

  Destiny kissed his cheek. “I will. I love you guys.”

  Eddy stared at ser for a moment, then pulled ser close, his arms shaking. “I am so proud of you, cricket.”

  Se glowed with warmth. “I’ll miss you too.”

  Santi squeezed ser shoulder. “We’ll see you soon.” He was holding back tears—se could see it.

  Rooney came up and threw her arms around ser. “You’re like a sibling to me.”

  Rooney understood. More than anyone.

  “You take care of our uncles, okay?” Destiny squeezed her back.

  “Of course. Be careful, Dee.” Rooney kissed ser cheek and let go.

  “I will.” Rooney would be okay. She had Tag to keep her company, when he could pull his nose out of a book.

  As if summoned, he appeared at the door of the house, like a ghost in the darkness. He grinned lopsidedly. “Love you, Dee.”

  Destiny ran back up the steps and threw ser arms around his thin frame. “You keep eating, okay? For me?”

  He stared down at ser for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll try.”

  Se let him go and returned to ser horse. They all mounted up, and Destiny looked back at the pitched-roof house se’d called home for almost a year. Se would be back soon.

  “Everyone ready?” Kiryn’s gaze told ser he understood how conflicted se felt about leaving. Maybe a little of ser had gone into him too.

  “Ready as I’m gonna be.”

  “All right, let’s ride out. I want to be there by nightfall.” He spurred on his mount, and se followed after.

  They headed toward the open plains, and Destiny cast one more look back at the Halfway House. Its sloped wooden frame and surrounding trees had become home, and it surprised ser how hard it was to leave it.

  Santi and Eddy had gone back into the house, but Tag and Rooney were still standing there, waving at ser.

  Destiny waved back, pushing down ser sadness, and turned ser attention to the path ahead.

  KIRYN LED his wayward band of inthnauts—a term Aine had come up with and he had adopted with a laugh—down what felt like the edge of the world.

  The highlands ended abruptly, their grassy heights cut off by a world-girding bluff. A rough-hewn pathway had been cut into the cliffside, unpaved and little-traveled, which led down to the lowlands far below.

  From here, he could see the rest of Forever—mostly grassy plains glowing a healthy green with patches of gold here and there. Ahead of them, the Rhyl plunged three hundred meters from the highlands to the grasslands below in a stunning waterfall, and in the distance the new sea gleamed under the midmorning light of the spindle.

  Very few people had come this way. There were no villages north of Thyre yet, and little reason other than camping to do so. No doubt a few hardy souls came here now and then to get away from civilization. But it was a mostly unspoiled world.

  Kiryn had learned to use his abilities better over the years, and they had grown with age. He no longer needed to touch the earth to feel where he was going, though sometimes it helped make things clearer. He extended his awareness, connecting with each of the beings out there, connecting them to himself.

  Seagulls flew in lazy circles over the newly forming sea. Rabbits burrowed beneath the grasses, aerating the soil. Scattered swarms of bees zipped back and forth from flower to flower, pollinating the world.

  In the distance, docile lumbering creatures Aine simply called fertilizers made their way across the newly formed land, spraying it with the enzymes that would break rock down into soil.

  Destiny seemed distracted, staring at the sea and the North Pole wall in the distance. Se got too close to the ledge.

  Kiryn snapped back to himself and cleared his throat.

  Destiny glanced over ser shoulder at him.

  “Watch the edge,” he signed emphatically.

  “Sorry. It’s… just so beautiful.” Se guided ser horse back away from the abyss.

  As they approached the waterfall, the pathway widened, and Dax rode up next to him and reached out to squeeze his hand in encouragement.

  This was a fool’s mission. They were going into a strange world, unarmed save for their abilities, which might or might not work in that virtual place. They had set themselves two nearly impossible tasks—to eliminate Lilith and to stabilize the inthworld so that its inhabitants would no longer feel compelled to try to come here.

  Belynn didn’t know it, but there had been two other attempted incursions over the last five years, thwarted only with quick action by the world mind and some of the other Liminals. Each one had brought Aine closer to the location of the locus of trouble—the inthworld itself—and now they were finally ready to be proactive and do something about it.

  The bluff arched above them here, forming a ceiling as they passed under the waterfall. Mist filled the air, making footing slick. Kiryn slowed the group as they made their way carefully down the slippery slope.

  The waterfall, bent by centrifugal force, thundered past just meters away from his face as they passed behind it. He couldn’t hear it, but he could feel the torrent of water in his bones.

  The world outside vanished and became defined by walls of water and stone, a dim golden light filtering from the spindle through the falls.

  Belynn’s horse lost its footing, costing Kiryn a couple of seconds of agonized worry before she found her balance again.

  He was worried about her. She was most certainly not okay—that much was obvious. He’d seen a spark of her previous vivaciousness when they’d hugged in the courtyard of the Halfway House, but then it had drained out of her like melted candlewax.

  Kiryn regretted how he’d left things between them the last time they had seen each other, but in addition to the broken arm, he’d been on the way to deal with another intifada and had precious little time to spend on her problems.

  I should have found the time. The cheerful sister he remembered was gone, or at least absent, weighed down by the darkness Lilith had left on her soul.

  None of them had suspected the depth of her troubles, or the secret she had kept for so long. How could I not have seen it?

  Too late for all that now. They needed her for this. He would help her as much as he was able, but she would have to find her own way back. If she could.

  They came back out from under the overhang into the golden spindle-light. Kiryn blinked as his eyes adjusted to the brightness.

  A flock of white seagulls swooped overhead, dipping in and out of the edge of the waterfall.

  Kiryn squinted at them, wondering if Aine rode any of the birds. She kept a careful eye on things these days, though few realized it. As far as most of Forever knew, she had withdrawn, leaving the physical world to humankind.

  After the horror of the Possession, he thought he understood. More so now that he’d suffered his own feeling of powerlessness when Crick had briefly taken
him over.

  Better if she stayed in the shadows. Less chance of someone trying to take over her mind once again.

  They reached the base of the cliff, the bluff looming over them and spreading up and away to the east and west. The bluff was made from dark, almost black rock, but golden veins ran through it, crisscrossing until they disappeared from view far above.

  His mother had told him that Earth had been on a whole different scale than Forever, but he had a hard time imagining it. This seemed big enough, so huge it made him feel like a bee by comparison.

  One of the little striped insects zipped by as he thought about it, buzzing down toward the grasses below.

  He laughed, and Gordy stared at him. “What?”

  “Nothing. Just… nothing.” It was too hard to explain.

  He rubbed Elly’s neck. She was a steady mount who had served him well since he’d bought her from Marissa and Matt at their farm out on the Verge. They’d traveled the width and breadth of the world together, along with Dax and his horse, Terra.

  Kiryn had laughed at that. From skeptic to true believer.

  He spurred Elly on, leading them along the base of the bluff. He came up even with Belynn.

  She turned to face him. “Where is this place we’re going?”

  Now she talks to me. “There’s a cavern entrance up ahead. Aine says she will take us to where the inthworld is hidden.”

  “That’s convenient.” Some of her old self shone through for just a moment as she flashed him a little smile.

  He laughed. “The world mind made it for us.”

  “She couldn’t have made it from the Halfway House?”

  He shrugged, pointing at the North Pole. “You’d have to ask her. I guess it was closer from here?” He sighed.

  I’m sorry.

  Just the briefest of touches inside his mind. But it was a start.

  Me too.

  She started in her saddle as the thought entered her own mind unbidden. “Your abilities have grown.”

  He nodded. “A little.”

  She pressed her fingers to her temple.

  “Headache?”

  She nodded. “The world hurts.”

  “What do you—”