The Ryle of Zentule

by Michael Green

  Inxa was aghast. “He did this at will? Not like Llanyly yesterday; he was scared out of his mind and his feathers went black. Who was it and when did it happen?”

  “Martin. He changed often, when I was with the Broken Teeth.”

  She shook her head in confusion, “What? No wait, are you thinking of someone changing clothes?”

  “I’m not stupid,” Andy complained, “Martin was a friend of mine. He saved my life, and he could go invisible.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “So, that’s not something all ychorons can do,” Andy said, regretting his loose tongue.

  Inxa looked to see if anyone was watching, and besides a few ryle spawn flapping away, no one was paying attention.

  “Come on,” she pulled him forward.

  They stepped out onto the promontory. Andy looked down into the ravager pit and noticed that they were missing. He grinned at the thought of something so large going missing.

  “Where did they—"

  “Be quiet and answer my questions,” Inxa said, an eye on her surroundings. “Did your friend wear a coil?” She fretted as Andy looked unsure of what a coil was. “A piece of jewelry like this,” she took hold of the brass spider webs that draped her body.

  Andy opened his mouth, but paused. Maybe I can work a deal here.

  “I have a few questions too,” He said.

  Inxa’s eyes went wide with fury, and she grabbed him by the robes. The beetles saw this and laid gentle hands on her. She slowly released him.

  “I’m not used to impertinence,” she said in a tone almost apologetic.

  Andy wasn’t sure what to ask first. “What is Ziesqe’s plan for me?”

  Inxa shifted on her feet. “I—I don’t know as of now. It has changed, in the last hour even; I know that much.”

  Andy was not satisfied, and she could tell.

  “Why do you think he told you so much today? Why have us explain economics to you?”

  Andy agreed with her assessment. Why would Ziesqe bother explaining anything to him?

  “I don’t know,” Andy mumbled. “Maybe he doesn’t hate me as much as Pythia predicted.”

  “Ha!” Inxa scoffed. “He isn’t an irrational creature; do not expect your own failings in the ryle. When he acts, it is with purpose, and not out of emotional uncertainty.”

  “Well then, why did he tell me about the fyr? It doesn’t make sense. What does he get out of it?”

  “He told you because he suspects that you might be the next target of the Usurper. He believes that the Voice of the Dead God is stirring in you, and that through experimentation he can prove it.”

  “Who is the Usurper, or the Dead God? Does that mean there is a Living God? Why would he think that I have anything to do with them?”

  “The Dead God was the creator of the Seers, if not humanity and all existence. The Usurper is a more recent phenomenon, if still centuries old. The Usurper was the downfall of the Seers and still exists as an occasional thorn in our side. Be careful, some think you are already taken by the Usurper, a long dead hero named Caspian. This is clearly not true; Caspian was quite different. Perhaps he is hunting for you.”

  Andy stood in silent confusion.

  “Moments like this make me think that you are nothing but an accident,” she sighed, “he watched you, and had us watch too, as he slowly fed you information. He suspected we would spot knowledge that you, a child, shouldn’t have. We were waiting for the same thing when you showed fighting talent that a child cannot possess.”

  Andy was silent.

  “Why the vote?”

  “Mostly distraction. Though the data was curious, the sample was already poisoned by Ziesqe himself, when he spoke his momentous words about you yesterday. Now you will answer my question.”

  Andy took a long moment and looked out over the jungle they called the Nightmare. Countless treetops bent in the wind. I can do impossible things because a Dead God acts through me? And somehow, this Usurper is involved. She said I might be his target. Andy let his head sink in disbelief.

  Inxa clicked her tongue to get his attention.

  Right, her question.

  “Martin wore no clothes; he wore no jewelry. He went only in his feathers.”

  Inxa narrowed her brow. “He isn’t an ychoron; the term is ychorite. Did he have the power to go unseen? Completely unseen? There was no outline or blur?”

  She’s really interested in this.

  To counter her, Andy asked the first question that came to mind. “Where are the ravagers?”

  She reached out to slap him, but relented.

  “They’re being harnessed and rigged; I don’t know for what purpose. The orders were likely just given. They will be in the docks at the gateway as we speak,” she looked around, “it also explains where everyone’s gotten to. Now answer!”

  “The first time I met Martin, his face appeared to me, and his body remained invisible. There was no blur, or anything I could see that gave him away.” Andy thought back to his time with Martin. “He mentioned that he worked with a master. Now, I know that he meant a ryle master. It was Bock? Bock-something.” Andy narrowed his brows, trying to remember.

  “Boqreq?”

  “That might have been it.”

  She looked contemplative.

  Andy raised a wrist. “What are these?” He pointed to his ankles, and tapped his heavy necklace.

  “They’re well made, these torques,” she said, admiring the obsidian.

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  “They are usually used to track stock, but since I can’t see what’s written on the inside—the part that’s touching your skin—I don’t know what’s etched on them.”

  “I see.” Andy paused. “So, if I’m part god, why do I never know what’s going on?”

  To Andy’s surprise, she laughed.

  “You aren’t a god, no matter what you think. Though there is clearly something special around you. Of your ignorance, well…” she shrugged condescendingly.

  Andy felt like he could get away with being snarky, and he asked, “Where can a guy get a piece of Argument around here? I’m starving.”

  She chuckled again and jabbed him in the arm. “We’ll get you fed. You know, you aren’t so bad, for a human.”

  Andy wanted to chuckle, but he had to ask, “Do you see many, outside their nightmares?”

  She didn’t answer.

  Chapter 6

  The Right Path

  Letty opened her eyes.

  She heard Staza mumble in her sleep, “That’s good, but do better or I’ll—”

  Letty grinned and rolled over. Her clock read: 5:57 AM.

  She had the habit of waking up minutes before her alarm went off. She despised the noise it made and considered it a good morning if she turned it off before it blared. Staring at her ceiling, she got a feel for what she had to do that day.

  I need to dodge the police again. I certainly don’t want to talk to them. We figured out where Ziesqe might have Andy; Zentule, whatever that is. But I still don’t know how he got into the Netherscape.

  Letty flipped the alarm off a moment before the clock ticked over to 6 AM.

  Wait. Why don’t I just ask Andy’s parents?

  She remembered Dean saying he had spoken to them and that they seemed normal, unlike the replacements waiting for her the other day.

  They obviously don’t know where he went, but maybe they can give me a clue.

  Letty threw off her covers, stood, and felt the cold floor on her bare feet.

  Nothing like sleep to sort out problems. It’s so obvious. Why didn’t we think to ask them before?

  She walked over to Staza’s sleeping bag and gave her a nudge.

  Staza lashed out and grabbed Letty’s wrist, pulling her to the floor. Letty felt another hand at her throat.

  “Wha—oh, Letty, is that you?”

  “Rrrss,” Letty grumbled through Staza’s grip.

  “Sorry.” Staza released
her.

  “It’s fine. I should have been more careful.”

  They stood and heard the adults shuffling in other rooms.

  “Letty, breakfast in a few minutes,” her mother said, knocking on the door.

  They ate at the table, and her father turned on the morning news.

  “Thank you,” Quill said awkwardly, holding up his food. “The toast is nice and crispy.”

  Tina and Jim both gave him a suspicious look.

  “Look at that,” Tina said, pointing at the television.

  A news anchor was reporting on a human trafficking ring, discovered at a local optometrist’s office. The screen cut to a reporter talking to a detective, “have you ever found anything like this before?”

  “Nothing—it’s the most outlandish case we’ve seen in decades. Luckily, none of the victims were hurt, though several are suffering severe drug induced amnesia.”

  “What kind of leads do you have? Do you know who is responsible?”

  “We do have a few leads, and we are still reaching out to several persons of interest.”

  The detective held up a picture of Ropt.

  “If anyone has seen this man please call the local—”

  “Don’t forget, Letty, you need to be here tonight at six. The detective is coming by to interview you,” her father said seriously, ignoring the television.

  “What about—” Letty paused, staring at the Caspians.

  The police can’t know about Staza and Quill.

  “We didn’t mention them. And I’m not happy about lying to the police. I won’t do it again. Make sure you are here after school. Do you need me to pick you up?” he asked, an edge in his voice.

  “No, I’ll make it,” Letty said, knowing she wouldn’t.

  She pushed her plate away and stood. “Let’s go.”

  The morning sun was low in the sky, and there was a chill in the air. Frost stuck to almost everything still shaded by the towers. Blades of grass, weighed down with ice, crunched underfoot as Letty led the Caspians over a thin strip of lawn and across the street.

  “Remember, we meet at the burger place, but stay in the park nearby if I need to find you earlier,” Letty said firmly.

  “Yes, of course. We aren’t idiots,” Quill said, getting further away.

  “This city is bigger than you can imagine.” Letty replied, before rushing back over to them.

  “What?” Staza complained at Letty’s reluctance to leave them.

  She pulled a felt-tip pen from her backpack and wrote her cell phone number on Staza’s wrist. “If you get lost, borrow a phone from somebody and call me. This is my number,” Letty said, her face as stern as she could make it.

  “I will, but don’t worry about us, you’ve got the difficult task,” Staza said, giving Letty a hug goodbye.

  They went their separate ways, though Letty still fretted.

  She saw the school-bus coming and ducked into an empty entryway before it passed.

  She used her phone’s map to find the correct street, but then went on memory.

  I’ve seen this place dozens of times driving by, but I never paid attention.

  She sighed, realizing how many row houses were on this block.

  She texted Emma: “Hey, I’m not going to make it today. I’m visiting Andy’s parents; would you ask Dean what their address is?”

  “WHAT?” Emma replied.

  “Just do it please, for me.”

  “I cannot believe you.”

  Letty stood, staring at her screen.

  “4153 Hurst Lane. Never ask me to do something like that again. Everyone’s staring at me now.”

  “Thanks. Don’t tell anyone what I’m doing.”

  That wasn’t so bad.

  Letty walked down the street and found the house.

  She approached the door and felt a sudden apprehension.

  They aren’t going to be happy to see me.

  She took a deep breath and knocked.

  No answer.

  She tried the knob, but the door was locked.

  She knocked again, louder this time.

  The door opened. “Yes?”

  Letty saw Andy’s mother. Her eyes were dark and bloodshot; she seemed stooped and her hair was a mess.

  “I’m sorry, I—” Letty stammered, unnerved by the woman’s appearance.

  “I know you. Don’t you go to school with Andy?”

  “Yeah; everyone’s worried about him.”

  “Will you come in, for a minute please?” She asked, choking back a sob.

  Letty felt conflicted, but agreed, and went inside.

  “Honey, we have company,” she said, loud enough to be heard further back in the house.

  “Who is it?”

  “What’s your name, dear?”

  “Lysette,” Letty said, sitting down at their kitchen table.

  “Ah, I remember meeting your mother, the other day…” she trailed off, and wiped her eyes, “please forgive us, Adam hasn’t been…”

  “It’s fine, I just wanted to talk,” Letty said, feeling responsible for their pain.

  She tried to stay calm, but watching Andy’s mother fret confusedly in the kitchen was too much to bear.

  These poor people.

  She bit down on her cheeks to keep from crying.

  “You must be hungry, please eat.” Andy’s mother came back from the kitchen with a plate full of scones and some fruit and butter. She put the plate down, and a door opened.

  “Who is it, Joss?” A man came out. He was unshaven, wearing a white shirt and wrinkled slacks.

  “It’s Lysette, a friend of Andy’s. They’re worried about him over at the school.”

  He offered his hand to shake. Letty shook it. “Adam Vanavarre. I remember your mother, she seemed rude, but actually wasn’t. I suppose you’re the same.”

  “Uh—” Letty shied away.

  “Be polite, Adam,” Andy’s mother insisted.

  “You were there the day he went missing,” he said plainly.

  “I—”

  “And now that place is on the news. People are waking up with amnesia, and some of them are claiming to have children that no one can find; they can’t even find records of these missing children.”

  “Stop scaring the poor girl! What can she know that we don’t already?”

  “Did Andy say anything to you at school? Was there anything strange?” He asked, ignoring his wife.

  “We…” Letty didn’t know what to say. The man’s bent face almost broke her heart. She wanted to confess to everything. She opened her mouth, but Adam continued before she had a chance.

  “It’s just that he didn’t want to go. He was insistent about not going—and we made him. I forced him to go get his eyes checked. It’s routine—” he coughed and shot up from the table, the chair toppling behind him.

  He left the room and slammed the door.

  Andy’s mother came back from the kitchen a minute later with another plate. This one was full of reheated bacon and eggs. Letty almost felt hungry, but she knew it would stick in her throat.

  “What happened? Can you please tell me?” Letty asked after choking down a piece of bacon.

  “We were in the car, leaving the… place. Andy just opened the door and bolted. Adam lost sight of him a few streets over,” she paused, taking a small bite of bacon. “I’d swear he yelled something at us, something like, ‘I’ll be fine.’”

  “What streets were you on when Andy got away?”

  She shook her head. “We’ve been all over. Someone said they saw him in the park. The—I can’t even remember what it’s called, it’s a few blocks east of the optometrist’s. But someone saw him. It was just some pedestrian, but they said he was bloody and drinking from a water fountain.” She shivered.

  Now we know where he went.

  “We’re going to look for him,” Letty said plainly.

  She smiled a small, hopeless smile. “You’re a good girl to come here and comfort us. Thank
your parents for me.”

  Letty ate a few more bites, out of politeness, before getting up and heading for the door.

  “Will you come back and see us again?”

  “I’ll try.”

  Letty opened the door, but Andy’s mother followed her out onto the porch.

  “How did we avoid what happened to those other people?”

  Letty took a deep breath and tasted burning diesel in the air. “I think Andy and I might have screwed it up for the doctor,” Letty answered plainly.

  Andy’s mother smiled. “That sounds like my boy. I only saw that doctor for a moment, when we had to carry Andy out—he passed out from vertigo during the test—but when I saw him, I knew something was wrong.”

  Letty nodded and walked away.

  She heard Andy’s mother sobbing.

  Letty didn’t look back.

  Poor people.

  She turned and headed towards the park. It would take some time to get there, giving her a chance to think. However, a few blocks down the road she was startled by a siren. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a police car pulling over.

  Letty continued walking.

  “Young woman—hello!”

  She looked and saw the officer pointing her way. “Stay right there,” the woman commanded.

  Damn. What did I do?

  The officer parked and got out.

  “Let me see your ID, please.”

  Letty got her wallet out of her backpack and found her school ID. She handed it to the officer.

  “Why aren’t you at school, Mrs. Van Arndt?”

  Letty knew she looked guilty and doubted whether she could talk her way out of this.

  After a prolonged silence, the officer opened the passenger door of her cruiser. “Come on. We’re going to school.”

  Letty hung her head in shame and got in.

  The officer radioed in the situation, and Letty felt her face redden.

  This is ridiculous. I hope nobody sees.

  “Is there anything you want to tell me, Lysette? Anything going on at home?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “What are you doing out here instead of in class?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Letty said, sighing and looking out the window.

  “Try me.”

  “You’ve heard about the people they found at the optometrist’s?”