by Ren Cummins
After she had gone, he sat again on the floor, book in hand, and waited to hear her footsteps fade down the hall. He quickly reached into his vest and drew out the Looking Glasses. Briseida often remarked that his reliance on the glasses was hampering his ability to comprehend the stones, and she was probably right. But this once, it seemed a worthy risk.
Placing the complex goggles over his eyes, he looked again at the arrangement of stones, picked up his book and pen and began writing.
Chapter 8: Someone Always Forgets the Cake
Cousins was notably shaken when he put the stones away and slid the Looking Glasses back up onto his head. They offered an unusual sense of comfort to his uneasy thoughts, though he suspected it was fairly mussing his hair. The stones, assuming he was reading them correctly, had an ill foreboding to them, both in the short term and long. What was worse, he suspected Briseida and Goya already shared such thoughts about the future. Even though he wasn’t entirely convinced he had any such knack, it was a simple conclusion to be reached, what with all the trouble they seemed to have been getting into of late.
Rom spent more and more time sleeping days and “patrolling” at night; this morning, Ian and Goya had insisted she stay in and get some well-deserved rest, but he was fairly sure she’d spent most of that time pacing uncomfortably in her room. She must have gotten to sleep eventually – what with all the delectable aromas wafting out of the kitchen, Cousins was surprised she hadn’t run downstairs with her entire menagerie of strange not-entirely-dead creatures. Cousins smirked to himself. Since she’d come home with the dark blue mundaline, she’d been much more enthusiastic than cautious. Whispers were starting to make their way through the city about the return of an actual Reaper to Oldtown, first one seen in years. Cousins had complained to her and to Goya about this – the more times Rom was seen performing actions capable only by the legendary Sheharid Is’iin, the more likely it was that they’d be found. Still, he was impressed that she’d at least agreed to try and contain her hopping about the city to night time. It was as much of a concession as he could have hoped for, but it didn’t do much to assuage his growing sense of concern.
His eyes looked again to the leather pouch that held the seeing stones. Something was definitely coming; something awful. And he hoped that, if they weren’t able to be ready for it, they’d at least survive it.
A chime and a light cheery greeting from the chop area heralded the return of Kari from her rounds. She stepped into the doorway, carrying something covered in an off-white sheet.
“Oh, hey, Cousins!” she said, he voice dropping to a near-whisper. “Is Rom here?”
He shook his head. “She must be sleeping in,” he said. “Haven’t seen her all morning.”
Kari set the covered object on the table, her forehead scrunching up. “No, she was gone when I left earlier,” she said. “I hope she comes back soon, it smells like lunch is almost ready!”
Cousins nodded; his nose could pick out something roasted, something seasoned with the herbs Briseida grew on her rooftop baskets, and something decidedly sweet. He wished he hadn’t thought about it, now he was hungry.
“Haven’t seen Ian today, either,” he said. “Perhaps the two are out practicing some more.”
She shrugged, clearly not concerned. “Well, that’s fine anyway, this way I can surprise her when she gets back.”
“You realize, it’s customary for the birthday girl to receive presents on her special day, and not to give them, yes?”
A sad expression passed quickly over Kari’s face. “Well, it doesn’t matter to me if Rom has a real birthday or not. When I got to the Orphanage, she didn’t even know how old she was - - so we decided that we’d be the same age, since we were both the same size. And we just figured we should have the same birthday, too.”
“No, I understand,” he said. “Really. Sometimes it’s better to pretend.”
She thought about this a moment, and nodded, smiling. “Yes, I think so, too.” She looked at him more closely while her hands smoothed the material covering the box. “Are you okay?”
He nodded reflexively; too quickly, he supposed. “Fine, fine,” he said, pressing back the images the runes had emblazoned into his mind. “Just been studying all morning, it’s making my head spin.”
Goya’s presence at the top of the stairs leading down into their room effectively wrapped the conversation before Kari could press the issue further. Kari took the steps two at a time until she reached the step below the landing, and turned around so she could help the much older woman down to the main floor. Goya fussed for a moment in a brief flash of stubbornness, but accepted the young girl’s assistance nonetheless.
Just as they were reaching the last pair of steps, Cousins heard the small bell above the apothecary door ring out again, and Rom’s voice sounded into the room. Cousins smiled as he tucked the rune pouch back into his shoulder bag. It was starting to feel like he imagined a family felt; some odd collaboration of diverse personalities and perspectives, all mingling beneath the same roof. If this wasn’t a family, he reasoned, then it would surely be the sort of thing families aspired to be.
He stood as Goya approached, offering her his chair. “You can sit here,” he said. “I was just up to help Briseida out in the kitchen.”
Rom entered from the side door as he was leaving, nodding to him as she continued her conversation with Ian. “So what did you do then?” she was asking the tall former Sheharid.
Mulligan hopped from her shoulders, extending his dark grey wings to coast down to the nearby table. He sat in his favorite spot, where a small saucer was usually left for him. He always insisted he did not require food or drink, but he did enjoy the taste of a saucer of cold milk now and again.
“Well, I couldn’t simply make the rascal vanish right in the middle of the grand assemblage,” Ian replied, fully lost in the retelling of the tale. “So, as the orchestra was still playing, I slung the body over my shoulder like a cape and finished the dance.”
“No!” Rom giggled.
Ian shrugged. “Her highness was quite impressed, in fact – though I was regrettably forced to decline her insistence that I accompany her for the remainder of the gala.”
“And which princess was that, you great old fool?” Goya said, easing into her chair.
Nonplussed by her insinuations, Ian scratched his thin beard. “I’m fairly certain it was at King Beresad’s coronation, so it must have been the Countess De Rienni. Long, dark hair, eyes like a winter’s sunset? Yes, it was the Countess.”
“How do you keep track of them all,” the shaman said dryly.
“With some difficulty,” he confessed. “There was only ever one that has remained freshly in the center of my memory; the rest are all something of a blur,” he replied, turning abruptly to look at the wrapped package on the table. “Ah, yes, Romany, I believe you had something in your room to add to this festive moment?”
Rom’s eyes followed his, and she nodded, grinning before bounding quickly upstairs.
Ian then walked to stand behind Goya, placing his hands on the back of her chair and gentlemanly assisting to push her closer to the table.
Barely a moment later, Rom returned, taking all of the stairs in two quick steps and somehow managing to not bowl into Cousins and Briseida, who were entering from the kitchen, serving plates in hand.
Goya was wearing a broad smile as the three of them began to cover the table with their respective cargo. As they all took their seats, she spoke her thoughts aloud. “I can remember a time when no youthful feet climbed these stairs, and now I fear they will burst from the excess!”
They laughed at this, and it occurred to Rom, as the platters were passed around and the sounds of light conversation and the partaking of a delicious meal filled the room, that she couldn’t remember a moment like this in all her life. Around the table were the people most important to her: Kari, Ian, Cousins, Goya, Briseida, and, of course, Mulligan. If only Memory, Force and Inertia
could be here as well. Her mood fell.
The three Sheharid Is’iin slain and kept trapped within the world of spirits by Artifice herself had come to terms with their fate, but every day that passed was another day of their imprisonment. It was a matter of time, Rom knew, that she would have to come face to face with Artifice herself, and defeat her so she could return balance to life. But every spirit that moved on added to Artifice’s knowledge and power, making her that much more likely to triumph over Rom, delivering her to the same fate as all the previous Sheharid had met.
Mulligan interrupted her thoughts with a nudge against her arm, and she looked up to see Kari holding up a platter of fried vegetables out for Rom. The darker thoughts crept away, to lie once more in wait, all but forgotten in the moment of their communal happiness.
After the main course was completed, Briseida disappeared back into the kitchen and returned with a tray of milk and caramel puddings surrounding a large frosted pastry. The puddings were served in glass dishes, and Ian was given the honor of cutting and distributing even portions of the cake.
Rom raised both hands and squealed, and Kari joined in, eliciting another round of laughter from the gathered friends.
Her eyes wide like her smile, Rom drummed her fingers upon the table. “This is the best birthday ever!” she said.
Cousins shrugged. “I suppose birthdays were not a great deal for the Matrons?”
But Rom and Kari both shook their heads.
“No,” Kari answered, “they’d give the children with birthdays a day off of chores, but it wasn’t anything like this. They always tried to make it seem like it was at least something like a special day, but…”
“Someone always forgets the cake!” Rom chimed in, and the two girls laughed again.
Briseida returned to the far end of the table, a contented smile still playing at the corners of her eyes. With Briseida’s help, Goya stood and addressed them all.
“Many years ago, a war was fought over the simplest of ideals – a belief, a faith, a choice. As a result of that war, we find ourselves here, exiled and banished, and, one might suspect, expected to perish.
“But we are here,” she continued. “We remain. We thrive. Against the most incredible odds, we, representing only the merest few of the generations of Oldtown, gather here to celebrate a wondrous day. We sit at this table to share food and drink and laughter in honor of our two daughters, Hikari and Romany, both celebrating their twelfth year of life, life beyond the Wall.
Turning to Kari, she continued: “Kari, you come to us from loss and through the endurance inspired by the brightest hope of friendship and loyalty, and represent the hope that one day, the brilliant guiding lights of Science and Art will one day co-exist, to the betterment of us all.
“And, Rom, you come to us as a symbol of our hope, of the persistence of life, and the immutable endurance of the soul. Though you have come to us in an hour of our greatest need, you send our vision in a direction we have long since been too grieved to bear; you give us cause to look…up.
“I have no other gifts I can give you that can serve as an appropriate quantity of gratitude for being blessed to see you both with my own eyes as my own chapters come to a close. I could have asked for no greater endowment to a long and well-lived life. And for all this, I submit blessings in all the names of the old ones to be upon you both in all your endeavours.”
The room seemed to fill with warmth for a moment, and the inexplicable scent of wildflowers passed across the table. With some effort, Goya took her seat again at the head of the table, looking substantially more tired than she had appeared only moments before.
Ian raised his glass. “Blessings,” he said.
Cousins and Briseida raised their own glasses and echoed the sentiment. Finally, Kari and Rom did as well, smiling as they clinked their glasses together.
A short while later, after Briseida and Ian helped Goya return upstairs to her bed, Cousins sat by while Rom and Kari exchanged their presents.
Kari’s present for Rom was a new dress, replacing her present one which had already seen better days. This one had better pockets, she explained, including a better place to hide her silver pocket watch. Rom’s eyes bulged and she might have put the dress on right then, had Cousins not waved his arms to remind them that he was still in the room.
Rom’s present for Kari was a box of chalk, all fifty pieces perfectly shaped and evenly measured. “Fifty!” Rom said, and the two girls laughed hysterically.
The two friends hugged in appreciation for their gifts, and parted when Cousins cleared his throat. When they looked back, two new presents sat atop the table. Cousins tried – and nearly succeeded – to keep his face from blushing.
They snapped up the gifts and opened them, laughing. Rom’s gift was a thin silver chain, “For your pocket watch,” he explained.
Kari’s gift was a thin bronze pole, atop which sat a perfect blown glass sphere. “It’s a desk lamp,” Cousins exclaimed. “It runs off…well, I don’t exactly remember how they explained it, but if you turn it upside down and back upright…” he paused, giving Kari a chance to do as he’d described.
Flipping the pole upside-down revealed a thin stream of crystals that mixed into a gaseous compound present in the sphere; as the crystals passed through the gases, the gases reacted with a gentle pale light.
“Oh, Cousins!” Kari sighed. “It’s beautiful!”
“It’s supposed to last for about two hours at a time, then you just flip it again to turn it back on. This way,” he explained, “you can work in your lab even when it’s dark outside, and you never have to leave your desk!”
Ian stood unnoticed at the top of the stairs, and only came down when Kari and Cousins excused themselves from the table, calling it a night.
He passed them on the stairs with a kind nod, and gestured for Rom to stay at the table while he approached.
“What is it, Ian? I thought we weren’t going to go hunting tonight?”
He shook his head, pausing to stroke Mulligan’s soft fur. “I was speaking with Briseida and Goya,” he said softly. “We have discussed your desire to travel around Aesirium’s wall.”
Her heart skipped a beat, and she was suddenly too nervous to speak.
“We have agreed that it is time you took that journey,” he explained. “Tomorrow will have pleasant weather, and should be ideal for traveling. Briseida will have food prepared for you, and I would suggest you leave very early in the morning so that you will not need journey at night.”
“It’s that far?”
He shook his head. “It is not a question merely of distance, but in appreciation. I expect you will want to explore as you go, and I would not want you to be caught without shelter when the sun goes down.”
“Okay,” was all she could think of to say.
Ian smiled at her. “Be careful, Rom. I’m not yet ready to say good-bye to my newest apprentice.”
He petted Mulligan again, and nodded, turned and excused himself from the room.
Rom sat with Mulligan for several minutes, the silver bell’s echoing ring at last fading from the rooms.
“Wow,” she breathed.
Chapter 9: The Long Way Around
“Rom, I really think we’ve come far enough,” Mulligan said, holding tightly to her shoulder as she landed with a slight hop on an old warehouse.
“Hmm.” She grunted, unwilling to admit that he might be correct. They’d left after an early breakfast and had been going full speed from rooftop to rooftop. She’d never traveled this far; she’d long since lost sight of the tall clock tower behind the vertical curve of the wall. She took one more powerful jump to the nearest tall building she could see – a four-story multi-dwelling building, from the looks of all the laundry hanging outside the windows.
“I wouldn’t call this exploring,” Mulligan grumbled. “It’s just been one continuous ‘hold on for my life’ day.” He unfolded and re-folded his wings, shaking his head. His horns had fin
ally begun to grow out, and were each about as wide as her pinky. She thought they were cute; he thought they were fearsome. It was just one more of the many things they disagreed upon.
She pointed in the general direction they had been going. “The Matrons said once that there was no end to the wall,” she explained, “But there’s no such thing as something that has no end, right?”
“Not technically, no.”
“But if there is, then I want to see it.” Her eyebrows came together a bit. “Or, if there is an end, then I want to see that.”
“What makes you think the end is this way?”
Rom shrugged. “If something has an end, it doesn’t really matter which way you go to find it, does it?”
Mully stopped preening himself long enough to pause and consider her logic. “Actually, I suppose it doesn’t.”
Rom smiled and looked as far as she could see. “So there you go. You know, I think these older buildings stop pretty soon,” she said. “And there’s something way out past that. Do you see?”
He looked in the direction she indicated. “I think you’re right! We can probably get there soon at the rate you’ve been jumping.” He looked back behind them. “But remember, every jump you take this way means another jump you have to make, coming home.”
She rose forward onto the balls of her feet, arms outstretched. “I’m not even tired at all!” she grinned triumphantly.
Mulligan looked down over the rooftops. “There aren’t any people in these old buildings,” he observed. “Maybe you should ask Yu to carry us.”
“It’s a lot more fun to do this myself,” she said. “You’re the one who’s always saying I need to keep exercising.”