Pilgrimage

by Kim Fielding

  The hour was late when they returned to their room. Goran made Mike drink more tea, and rewarded him with a quick rubdown with a towel and warm water.

  “These people like you, Gor,” Mike said as they climbed into bed.

  “They’re good people.”

  “You could come back here after I’m gone. I’m sure you’d find some way to make a living. Keep the region bandit-free, maybe. You’d have friends. A home.”

  Goran sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “I told you. The… the voices. They’ll return when you leave.”

  “So you’ll just keep running away? You can’t run from something that’s in your head, Gor.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter 15

  EVEN WITHOUT roosters they woke up early. Mike stood and stretched and began gathering his things. Goran watched him from the bed. “We can stay here another day, Mike. Let you heal a little more.”

  “I’m fine. A little achy around the wounds, but that’s all. Besides, I don’t want you spending all your money.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you could use it later.”

  Goran shrugged. “I’ll only spend it on drink.” Then he rose too.

  The landlady insisted on sending them off with as much food as Mike could stuff in his rucksack, along with a jar of ointment for his wounds and clean strips of rags to use as bandages. “I hope you’ll come back this way, boys. And when you do, you be sure to stay here at the White Hart.”

  Mike smiled at her. “We wouldn’t think of staying anywhere else.”

  They stepped out into the bright morning. Goran pointed to a boat docked nearby. “We could take that instead of walking. I have enough coppers, and we could be in Obrov by lunch.”

  But now Mike wasn’t in such a hurry for the pilgrimage to end. “Let’s walk. I think it’s better penance that way,” he lied.

  Goran returned Mike’s grin.

  It was so much nicer traveling with Goran than alone. Not just for the companionship and safety, although those things were good. But Goran’s presence made Mike feel that the world—this weird world he’d been zapped to—was spinning as it should. As if Goran were meant to be with him. Which was stupid, because Mike didn’t believe in fate.

  They camped out in the woods that night. They probably could have begged a spot in someone’s barn, or Goran could have paid for another inn, but they preferred privacy. Mike had come to enjoy glimpses of stars through the leaves and falling asleep with the crickets, owls, and other forest creatures as his lullaby. Besides, no damn roosters in the morning.

  By the middle of the next day, the terrain had changed, becoming hillier and drier. Sometimes the road traversed the top of substantial cliffs, with a sheer drop down to the Tanis River. From those heights, the passing boats looked like toys.

  “It’s like flying,” Goran said as they rested at the crest of a particularly tall precipice, his feet dangling over the edge.

  Mike kept himself back a safe distance. “I always love to watch the scenery when I fly. Reminds me of quilts.”

  Goran twisted around to gape at him. “When you fly?”

  Shit. Mike tried to think of an explanation that would make sense to Goran. Giant metal machines that hurled through the air faster than the fastest birds, higher than any mountains, and with hundreds of people in their bellies? Yeah, that sounded credible.

  “Are you a wizard, Mike?”

  “Uh, no. Are there really wizards?”

  “I didn’t think so. I thought they were just stories.” Goran frowned. “Are you… something else? A half god?”

  “I’m just a man, Gor. Very ordinary.”

  “Nothing ordinary about you,” Goran said, shaking his head. And thankfully, he let the flying thing go.

  OBROV LAY in a narrow valley, at a spot where a smaller river merged with the Tanis. It was a very strange place. Without much level ground to inhabit, the locals had carved their homes right into the cliffside. Some of these manmade caves looked large and elaborate, and they were reached by steep rock stairways that gave Mike vertigo just looking at them.

  People here seemed to live primarily off fishing. Huge nets were submerged near the rivers’ confluence. Men and women tugged them in, quickly picked out the catch they wanted, and dumped the rest back in, still alive and squirming.

  A handsome shirtless man leered happily at Mike and Goran as they neared the cliff. “Welcome to Obrov!” he boomed. He was in his early twenties and very muscular, although not as much as Goran. “If you’re planning to stay, I have room for you both.” He pointed up at one of the cave houses, but his lascivious gaze made it clear he was hoping for something other than a few coins’ payment.

  Goran didn’t look amused. “My master is on a pilgrimage,” he said.

  “To Alina’s shrines?” The man spat to the side. “Waste of time. Agata offers much more enjoyable pastimes.”

  “I know. But he’s dedicated to Alina now.”

  “Shame.” The man turned as if to walk away.

  Goran stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. “Can you tell us where the shrine is?”

  “Fifteen minutes down the valley. You can’t miss it. There’s an enormous boulder taking up almost all the land. Do you know what happened there?”

  Mike didn’t really want to know, but he also didn’t want to be rude. “What?”

  “There was a huge cave—a natural one, not dug from the rock like ours. Once every four years, all the youths who’d recently come of age would spend a month living in that cave. It was supposed to help them learn to live on their own, and most of them would find mates that way too.”

  Mike nodded. Sort of a bar mitzvah, prom, and freshman dorm, all mixed up in one.

  “A hundred years ago, a group of youths went to the cave. There were twelve of them. And the earth shook. A huge chunk of rock broke from the cliff above them and fell in front of the cave mouth, blocking it. Everyone in the village worked for weeks trying to save them, but they couldn’t get through or around that rock. All twelve of them are still there. People say their ghosts haunt the valley.”

  “That’s awful,” Mike said with a shudder. He didn’t want to imagine the horror of being entombed alive.

  Goran asked, “Why make it a shrine to Alina?”

  The man spat again. “She took them. Might as well give the bitch her due.” His posture relaxed a little, and his crooked grin reappeared. “When you’re done with her, come look for me. I promise you more fun than she can give you.”

  “Wait!” Mike said before the guy could walk away. “What am I supposed to offer her here?”

  “Something truly valuable to you. Because she took what was most valuable from us.” With a wave, the man walked off.

  Mike didn’t know what the secondary river was called, and he didn’t ask. Whatever its name, the valley it had carved was more accurately a canyon. The river itself wasn’t very big or fast, and it was hard to believe it had managed to dig so deeply into rock. But he’d been to the Grand Canyon once, and that was all done by a river too. The strength of water was amazing.

  Nobody seemed to live in the canyon. Maybe floods were an issue, or maybe they just liked the wider spot where this smaller river met the Tanis. It was pretty terrain—the cliffsides stained in red-and-brown stripes, colorful wildflowers burrowing their roots into little crevices and outcroppings, birds riding the thermals high overhead. Occasionally, very narrow side canyons ran off at angles, most of them with a shallow stream that trickled into the river. Once an enormous animal darted out of one of the canyons, took a look at Mike and Goran, and hurried back to safety with an alarmed bray.

  “What the hell was that?” asked Mike.

  Goran laughed and clapped him on the back. “Bundabeast. They taste good, and their hides make good coats. But it’d be a huge waste to kill one just for the two of us.”

  “Are they dangerous?”


  “No. You saw—they’re terrified of everything. There’s an old story about a bundabeast that saw its own reflection in a pool and dropped dead of fright.”

  “Oh.” Bundabeast. Mike wondered if squirrels and sparrows would seem as exotic to Goran as the creatures of this world seemed to him. But then he chased that thought from his head. Goran would never get a chance to see Mike’s world, and even if Mike were able to tell his secret, talking about it would only be a tease.

  Their new friend had been right; the boulder was easy to spot. It was as big as Mike’s old elementary school. The river had rerouted around the boulder, finding the path of least resistance against the opposite canyon wall. What would have happened if the boulder had dammed the river completely?

  Twelve small statues had been set into the ground in a semicircle very close to the boulder. Each statue was about three feet tall and shaped vaguely like a person, but without a face or hands or feet. They were really creepy. In front of the semicircle was a small pile of debris. Mike could make out the glint of metal—coins or jewelry—and some folded cloth, but couldn’t identify the rest.

  “Here,” Goran said. Mike turned and saw Goran holding out the book. “It’s worth a lot of money, Mike. Even more than my sword.”

  “But it’s yours. It’s your payment.”

  Goran sighed noisily. “I don’t want payment from you. Not anymore.”

  “Consider it a gift, then. Besides, that stupid book isn’t worth jack shit to me. It’s the most useless guidebook I’ve ever seen.” And then a thought struck him. “Except if you hadn’t seen me reading it, you wouldn’t have asked me to hire you, would you?”

  “Probably not.”

  “So it’s extremely valuable,” said Mike, earning a soft smile. But then he shook his head. “But it did its job weeks ago. Now I have no use for it.”

  “Then what will you give?”

  Mike looked down at his feet unhappily. This was going to hurt.

  “Not your boots!” Goran protested. “You can give my knife instead.”

  Goran was willing to allow himself to be half-disarmed so that Mike would have comfortable footwear? That wasn’t a sacrifice Mike was willing to let him make. “I think it has to be something important to me, Gor,” he said softly. “And the only important things I have here are my boots and you. And no way I’m giving you to Alina.”

  He sat on a handy rock and began to undo the boot toggles. He really should have shown the shoemaker how to do shoelaces.

  “Wait,” Goran said, hand on Mike’s shoulder. He rummaged in the cloth sack at his waist and pulled out a small ball of blue fabric, which Mike recognized at once: his briefs. He held them out. “These.”

  “You think a god wants my used underwear?”

  “They’re the only thing you brought with you from California. You made sure to wash them every chance you got. I think you value them a great deal.”

  Mike thought about it. Damn if Goran wasn’t right. Boots were replaceable. But if Mike never returned home, those briefs would be all he had of his original life.

  He refastened his boot and stood, then took the underwear from Goran’s outstretched hand. “Thanks. These are perfect.”

  Goran was his only witness, but Mike felt as if a dozen pairs of eyes watched as he walked into the space in front of the statues and set down the briefs. “They don’t look like much,” he said, addressing Alina. “But they’re the only ones in this wor—in this place. They’re comfy. I always thought they showed off my package and my ass pretty nicely. My mother gave them to me, and they’re the only souvenir I have of home. So please accept this gift. And please forgive the wrong that was done to you.”

  That was as eloquent as he could be.

  He and Goran discussed what to do next. The sensible thing would be to return to the village of Obrov and find a place to spend the night. Neither wanted to accept the offer of that handsome young man, but perhaps someone else could spare them a bed. In the end they decided to stay in the canyon. Mike couldn’t explain why—and he knew he was being ridiculous—but he felt that sleeping near the shrine would help honor the memory of the twelve lost youths.

  “You’re not afraid of ghosts?” asked Goran.

  “Don’t believe in them. Besides, you’d protect me.”

  Goran grinned hugely.

  They found a level spot near one of the cross-canyons. Goran built a fire, and they ate most of the food left over from the White Hart. Then they lay down together and made love.

  A SMALL noise woke Mike. The fire had burned out, but there was enough moonlight to see a shadowy movement at the mouth of the smaller canyon. His heart began to beat very quickly, and he almost woke Goran up—but then he stopped. He couldn’t disturb his lover at every little bump in the night.

  At least it was very unlikely to be outlaws, he decided. Bandits would hardly be able to make a living off the few travelers who visited this shrine. Maybe it was a bundabeast. Were they seminocturnal?

  “Miiiiichaellll….” The voice was hardly more than the whispering wind, and it made the hairs on his neck stand up. Another movement was just barely visible from the corner of his eye.

  Dammit, grow a pair! he told himself angrily. He would go investigate. But he wasn’t an idiot—he’d stay within earshot of Goran. He already knew how fast Goran could move when he wanted to.

  Mike was already dressed. After he and Goran had sex, he’d put his clothes and boots back on against the night chill. Now he only had to extricate himself carefully from Goran’s sleeping embrace and he could creep to the mouth of the side canyon.

  “Miiiichaelll.” The voice was a little louder now, a little closer. Taking a deep breath for courage, Mike stepped into the narrow space between the sheer rock walls. His boots splashed through the small stream, but he didn’t care; they were waterproof. Very little light made its way into this crevasse. Mike kept one hand on a wall for balance and hoped it would keep him from tripping and falling on his healing face.

  Something dark materialized directly in front of him. If he hadn’t been immobilized with shock, he would have fallen on his ass.

  “Michael,” said the figure. And then it began to glow slightly from within, as if a few LED lights had been implanted in its skin. The glow cast just enough light for Mike to make out its face.

  “Agata!” he exclaimed.

  “Shh! Don’t wake up that man of yours.” She smiled slyly. “He’s quite a man, isn’t he?”

  “I… what… what do you want? Ma’am,” he added hastily, because it couldn’t hurt to be polite.

  “I wanted to tell you how pleased I am with you. A little praise always works well with humans. I didn’t expect you to come this far.”

  He blinked at her. “You didn’t?”

  She twitched one shoulder. “I understand this was quite a shock to you. And I mistook your nature at first. Lord Meliach is a weak man. I expected you to be as well. But you aren’t.”

  “Um, thank you.”

  This time, she gave him a regal nod. “Soon you will finish your task. My sister will be so put out!” She cackled like a naughty schoolgirl.

  “And afterward….”

  “I warned you. Do not ask a favor of me.”

  “Fine.” He wasn’t even sure what he’d ask her for at this point. Beg her to send him home, or beg her to let him stay? “But… it’s getting really hard not to tell Goran where I’m from. I haven’t though! He has no idea I’m from another world. And it’s not fair. He told me all his secrets, and I have to keep this from him.”

  “You love him, don’t you?”

  “I care a great deal about him.”

  “Yes.” She reached out and stroked Mike’s uninjured cheek very lightly. Her touch was as hot as fire.

  He gasped and his cock instantly hardened. “I don’t—”

  “Oh, I know. Don’t like girls. Do you fancy me better like this?” Her face and body shimmered and changed, and now a very handsome older man stood
before Mike, still glowing. The man had short gray hair and a square chin. He was built powerfully and wore tight leathers. He shimmered again and changed back to a middle-aged woman.

  “H-how…?” Mike stammered.

  “I am a god. It’s a simple trick. This body and this face are of my own construction. I can appear in many forms. And all of them will make you hard and aching, Michael, for that is part of my power.” She smiled. “Lust. It’s an easy thing. But you have more with your man, haven’t you? I can tell. Your heart beats with his.”

  Mike shook his head sharply. “I told you, I care for him. But I can’t do more than that. I’m not capable of more.”

  She waved a dismissive hand. “That is preposterous. You’ve known him only a short time and yet already he is etched upon your soul.”

  “I don’t believe in true love!” That came out louder than he’d intended. He looked nervously behind him.

  Agata grasped his chin and turned his face toward hers. “True love, fate—whether you believe in them is immaterial. What matters is whether they believe in you. I told you this.” She laughed softly and dropped her hand. “Go back to your man now, and keep your secret. Your pilgrimage will be completed very soon. And what happens before and after that, well, only my sister Ariana knows. She is the Weaver.”

  Without even a puff of smoke, Agata disappeared.

  “More sisters? Fantastic,” Mike grumbled as he turned to make his way back to Goran.

  Chapter 16

  THE FINAL shrine was near a town called Tesriya. Neither Mike nor Goran were unhappy that Tesriya was over a week’s walk from Obrov. Both were glad for the excuse to spend a little more time together. But something was troubling Goran—something more than their upcoming separation—and as they cuddled together in a hayloft three days from Obrov, Mike finally brought it up.