by Oxford, Rain
“And boots,” I added. She looked lower and blushed before her eyes returned to my chest. “But my money is not Kahún currency.” I would never tell a woman I had no money; instead it is better to say my money is foreign.
She frowned, glancing at my face. “We take Vaigda, Malta---”
“Do you take Duran money?” I interrupted. She winced. Duran was a world unfriendly to visitors because they believed only the gods had control over planetary travel.
“There is an extra fee for exchange.”
“That will be fine,” I said. I was very lucky that anyone took Duran money. She grinned widely, as she probably thought I was lacking in money, but I would show her otherwise. “So I need a shirt. Actually, a few changes would be good.”
She led me over to the men’s clothes and I searched diligently for the blandest clothes available. I tried a dark blue shirt on and she decided to see if it fit by touching nearly every inch of my torso and arms. I actually forgot about Cylo. With Dylan at home, I was rarely away long or often enough to be with a woman.
I picked out several shirts, pants and a nice pair of boots. She bagged them and I gave her money.
“I can take a break and we can go to my home,” she said, frowning as I pulled a shirt back on. I opened my mouth to respond, but Cylo interrupted.
“Would you like me to come back later?” he asked.
I weighed it in my mind; work, or pretty little woman? I finally figured there were worse things I regretted. “I am sorry, but I am actually very busy,” I said.
She pouted. “Maybe you could come back?”
“I would love to,” I said.
We left and Cylo waited until we did before whistling. “You should have taken her up on her offer. You did everything from sticking your chest in her face to letting her feel you, then you turn her down? That was cruel.”
“Was it? I had not meant to tease her.” I tied the sack of clothes to my book bag.
Cylo led us to another shop, but paused to ask me not to proposition the travel assistant. I rolled my eyes, a bothersome habit I picked up from my brother. However, upon entering the simple, sparsely furnished store, I realized what he meant. The woman who greeted us was exceptionally beautiful. She had long black hair, dark green eyes, and a flawless, porcelain complexion. She was thin, but not unhealthy, well endowed, and wore perfectly fitted clothing. She was young, but definitely a woman. Her red blouse was a dazzling contrast to her hair and tight black skirt, and her open-toed shoes had sharp heels.
She greeted Cylo fondly and by name before she turned to me.
“Do you speak Lilat?” I asked.
She smiled welcomingly. “Of course. I am Meri. How can I help you today?”
“My name is Kiro. We are trying to go somewhere. I am not sure where, not from around here.”
She took a couple of steps closer to me. “I could suggest a few nice tourist spots… or I can show them to you myself.”
“That would be great,” I answered.
“We are on a timetable,” Cylo said.
“You are interrupting,” she growled at him in perfect Sudo.
“You speak Sudo?” I asked incredulously.
“Oh, yes, I know many languages. I especially love learning otherworld languages. So, about that tour.” She wrapped her arm around mine, then sighed. “I can show you---” she started.
“Really, Meri, we have to go to Revir today.”
“How do you two know each other?” I asked.
“Sometimes I need to change transportation in order to get my cargo by undetected. I go to Meri when I need to go island to island by ship,” Cylo said.
I gently and regretfully pulled my arm out of Meri’s. “He is right; we need to go,” I said.
“Well, maybe you can come back this way and visit me again,” she moaned. That gave me ideas, but I knew that they most likely would never come to pass. “There is a small ship leaving for Jre, so you can take that and get off at Revir.”
“Does that give us time to get acquainted?” I asked.
“No. You will have just enough time if you leave now to make it there.” She went to her glass computer and created tickets.
I stayed back. Earth had computers similar and magic usually made them crash, so I generally avoided any of them. She came back and handed me the tickets. “How much?” I asked.
She smiled, leaned up, and kissed me. She could have taught lessons on kissing. And if normal women on this world smelled like her, every man would be in trouble. I wrapped my arms around her small waist and pulled her closer. I was ready at this point to wait for the next ship. Or the next moon.
All too soon, we had to stop for air. Stupid air.
“Really? We have to go! Kiro, they took something from me.” Cylo was getting frantic.
“Who took it from you? What is it they took?” I asked.
He picked up the tickets that Meri had dropped. “I don’t know who took it. I just know if I help you, I will find them and be able to get it back,” he said.
“What did they take?” I asked again. Instead of answering, he walked out the door to street. “I am sorry, I must be off. I will try to come back,” I promised. She said a quick goodbye before I hurried out the door after Cylo. He was very upset, but looked like he wouldn’t talk in public.
After leading us down many streets, each and every one bleeding with color and population, we came to a shipping station. These ships were all white and black, a relief. Cylo found the right dock and spoke with the captain. The ship was very nice, not made of wood but of some type of plastic and metals. It was large enough for maybe a hundred people above and below deck, but not for overnight trips. Cylo joined me and the ship started to move soon after. There were only a few people milling about. I suppose people who live surrounded by water and the ocean every day would not be impressed with the view of their oceanic back yard.
“I was minding my own business, transporting documents. I felt off about them, like I shouldn’t have taken the job, but it was a simple assignment. I was already halfway across the world. That is the last thing I remember. I woke up in a cell and couldn’t even remember my name. It has been a few weeks and half of my memories are still fuzzy. I remember my parents and Kahún, but not specifics. When I try, I get a headache and things get fuzzy. I almost remember my ship. I know I am missing something very, very important. I could feel it from the moment I woke up. I dream about it… but I cannot remember it.”
“Who do you think has it? I am going after the troll king; you woke up in the goblin dungeons. Would the goblin king not be a better target?” I asked.
“He does not have it. They tried to bring me before the goblin king to be a servant, but I ended up demanding information. They laughed and said they did not have my ship. I just feel very strongly that helping you will lead me in the right direction. I have always trusted my instincts… except when I took that last shipment.”
I was not one to tell someone to argue with their instincts. The ship sailed for a long time before we came to an island. This was not a grand place with architecture build high into the sky; all I could see was trees. The boat silently pulled into the port and we were the only ones to get off. When the ship left, the only sound was the ocean. No birds. No bugs. No people.
We walked through the silent forest. “What kind of place is this?” I asked.
“It is schooling city. People come here to learn and train for things. The place is nothing but libraries, classrooms, observatories, and laboratories. I know a woman who is a teacher here and would know where to find the Stone of Iodus. She may want to know what you are going to do with it before she tells you, though. You were really vague about how you got locked up.”
“As you have figured out, I need some help from the demons. To do this, I have to find the Stone of Iodus.”
“The Stone of Iodus can summon demons, but if you take it, magic will return to the land.”
“Yes, and what is wrong with that?
”
“Magic is not welcome on Kahún,” he said.
I stared at him. “But that makes no sense. You and Meri know Sudo, which is a Duran language. The only way to get that language is to get to Duran, and the only way to do that is through magic.”
“Before the magic was banned, there were travelers who brought back information from other worlds. My mother was a traveler from Duran. Magic users and foreigners are perfectly welcome here, except for people from Duran, but magic is not.”
“Wizards accustomed to magic suffer when there is no energy. What of your Noquodi?” Prolonged absence of magic would make me physically ill. I couldn’t imagine Rasik dealt with this.
“Our Noquodi has some gift from God that gives him power. Other magic users must suffer without. We have gotten used to it; there has been no magic on this world for many years. Even before the magic was banned, magic was outlawed. For many generations, using magic was grounds for immediate death. Only with the absence of magic has the killing stopped. Before, even the suspicion of magic was a sentence. The only one allowed magic was the Noquodi, and only because no one could stop him.”
“The entire world is devoid of nominal energy?”
“Except for the Noquodi. It is said that trolls were jealous of the magicians because they couldn’t use magic, so they tricked the demons into creating the Stone of Iodus. The stone can call out demons to use as servants, but it would break the deal and return magic to the world.”
Magic was the essence of every world. For the people to be unable to use it was impractical. It was because of hatred like this that I didn’t take Dylan to travel the worlds. Every world had had some degree of prejudice and I didn’t want that anywhere near my… nephew.
We finally cleared the woods and hesitated. All around us was slightly unkempt, hilly land littered generously with buildings that were low and flat, made with small, synthetic rocks and a type of mortar. “That is the school of science,” he said, pointing to a large building before us. “There should be people coming and going. There should be people everywhere.”
A brief search of the island showed no one outside. Between twenty buildings, three observatories, and a swimming pool, there should have been someone. Scouring the library, schools, dining halls, and even the residential housing found more of the same. The place was completely deserted. What was most worrisome was how quickly it appeared to have achieved that state. Food was left on tables, books open in classrooms, and a selection of small boats were still in the long-term port. The only evidence we found of actual danger was blood on the rug in the library.
“What could have happened to all of these people?” he asked.
“I have no idea, but I learned things in my years of investigation and travel; stay out of the shadows, and avoid the library.”
“But it will be dark soon.”
“In all honesty, staying and uncovering this mystery sounds delightful, but I am running out of time.” I sat heavily in one of the cushioned chairs. “I am getting old; I used to solve many problems at once.” I reached inside my bag for my cards, but didn’t take them out since I couldn’t be sure how well they would work when there was no nominal energy.
“What is so much more important than helping all of these people?” he asked.
Now, perhaps he did not want a real answer, but I had one. A fine one I would say. “My nephew needs me.”
On the island of books and ships, we set out to find our destination. We dug through book after book until I wanted to never see Kahún again in my life. I could even hear Dylan groaning pathetically in my mind. Perhaps that should be a punishment if he did not practice his lessons; I would buy an obscene amount of books on the history of Duran and make him read every one of them.
“You have a very cruel expression. I will look in another section,” Cylo interrupted my pondering.
“No, as I said, we should take shelter in the light. Unless you want to sleep on the bloodied flooring, I suggest we find another place.” What does it say about a Guardian who is wary of the shadows on an abandoned island? I practiced magic for over two thousand years; magic was a reflex, a warning, a weapon, and a constant. Without it, I was incomplete. It was like I tried to go about my day and realized I was deaf and mute.
We found a residential compound with many bedrooms and few bathrooms. Each of the rooms had two beds, a closet, and good lighting. I took the opportunity to bathe. The goblin city was a very unsanitary place, and I couldn’t tell how long I had been unconscious.
Right before I entered my room, freshly washed, there was a soft knocking. I stopped and listened and as it came again, realized it was not a soft knocking so much as a faraway pounding. After grabbing a candle from the bedside table, I headed down the hall in search of the noise. I could hear Dylan in my head complaining a thousand times over about what I was doing.
Several levels up and down countless hallways, and I was ready to turn back, but the pounding kept coming and I was getting closer. Despite my lack of power and the possibility of death, I was a Guardian; it was in my blood to protect those who needed protection. Finally arriving upon an old bathroom, the pounding stopped. I opened the door and shown the light ahead of me. The bathroom was empty, but when I turned to leave, my blood went cold.
On the mirror, of all places, there was a message in white paint, either hastily written or by someone with terrible Lilat handwriting.
Run
The storm is coming back
Five dead
Stay away from the water
The statues are
The warning was cut off with a spatter and some fingerprints. Whatever made the pounding was gone, but the paint was still dripping. The small window lit up with the lightning outside.
* * *
The first glimpse of light was met with dread as it was apparent I had been found. Instead of the nothingness that Erono liked to expose me to during his presence, I was in a dream-like version of Divina’s cabin. Whether this was because she was more sago than the other gods or because she was not trying to intimidate me, I didn’t know.
“Don’t worry, the others can’t find you,” she said.
Expecting to hear her voice in my mind instead of out loud, I turned to find her standing, nearly solid, behind me. Only a slight fade in color and softness in shape let me see that she was not really there. Still, what a sight.
Even in times of peril, she had to dress to kill. Her hair was done up in a band and she wore a dark red shirt that stretched across her chest with a neckline hardly covering her goods. Her skirt was short and denim and her boots only reached her calf. It wasn’t often that she wore boots short enough to expose her legs, but she certainly had nothing to be ashamed of. Normally her outfits were exotic and aimed specifically for driving Dylan out of his mind; this attire looked more like she just threw something on.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“I haven’t. I don’t even know how you managed to hide from us, but I think only Dylan can find you.”
“Don’t let him. I need to do something first and if he finds me, he will be in more danger.”
“I figured as much. He is worried for you, though. You know he has his own mission on Earth. He’s with Mordon.”
“I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to him.”
“We are all fighting our battles right now. He will need you soon.”
“With any luck, I will succeed and be able to return with some backup.” I wouldn’t say anything else in case she was wrong and another god could hear us. Luckily, she didn’t ask for further details.
“I cannot keep you for long, the connection is so weak. I wanted to ask if there is anything you need me to do to help you.”
“That’s a first; a god offering their assistance. I cannot ask you for help in my current situation, and I know you will look after Dylan. I could use your help in the end. At the very least, can you tell me why this is all happening?”
“Yes,” sh
e said simply, with a sad smile. Then she showed me.
* * *
Profound information given to me in my dreams always made me grouchy in the morning. Really chatty people who wanted to ramble about things mundane or obvious like the weather made me murderous in the morning. Cylo wanted to try to find the people again, convinced they were trapped in an underground chamber of some sort. I told him he could do what he wished while I looked for information on the Stone of Iodus.
“Why is that stone more important than the lives of so many people?”
“Because finding it will save the lives of more people, and more importantly, my nephew.”
“What makes your nephew so important?”
“My nephew is special. He is the last thing I have left of my brother. He is my apprentice, my nephew, my adopted son. I have faced death with him and he saved everyone with his heart.”
“What do you mean, with his heart?”
“When I started training him, he was barely an adult and he knew no magic. He had had a very difficult life and was frightfully powerful, but he thinks with his heart. He treats everyone as his friend until they prove otherwise. People seem to compulsively like him, and he is always right there to help them when they need it. It is no wonder that when he is in trouble, there are many people willing to help him.”
“Is he in trouble often?”
“No. Only rarely in the past three years. I know the time is coming for him to change everything. I hope he has people with him when he does.”
“You are willing to return magic to this world and raise demons from their sleep, but how do you plan to control them?”
“When magic returns to this world, so will my magic return to me. Besides the threat I pose, they will want what I offer in return for their help.”
I rummaged in the library for hours while Cylo searched for people. While the quiet was undoubtedly nice, I was getting nowhere. I found not one book about the Stone of Iodus. I did however, notice another incident of possible danger.
Perched haphazardly upon a stand in front of a bookshelf was a stone statue. This statue must have been a replica of a mythological creature, because any beast that creepy would probably have been killed on sight by the people of this magic-fearing world. Not only did the beast have two reptile-shaped heads on a cat-like body, but on each of its front paws were three of the longest and sharpest claws I had ever seen. It was there that I found the problem; on one of the paws was fresh blood.