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“EXPLAIN THIS MYRCH person to us,” Bel said. It was an instruction, not a question.
“Well,” Dun said, “I’ll tell you what I know but that’s not much.”
“Do go on.”
The conference room was busy with about four sub-meetings going on. Most of the chat around the long table was about the move. Nev and Kaj came in bringing a fresh pot of racta.
“He wasn’t Folk that’s for sure.”
“Oh? He was what then?”
“Honestly, don’t know. We only really got a chance to find out when it was too late. He had smooth skin, was tall, and smelled weird in the end.”
“What did he smell of normally?”
“Nothing really.”
“Like he was wearing hunter’s balm all the time? Not there?”
“No, he was there all right. It was almost like he had a smell, but it was a smell no one noticed.”
“How come he fit in so well to the tribe?”
“That’s just the thing, he fit in perfectly. He was an adviser to Ardg, our Alpha leader, and there was never any question about it.”
“When you say advised?”
“I guess inter-tribe stuff? I never really spoke to anyone about it. Ardg seemed to like him.”
“Do you remember him arriving?”
“Now you mention it, no, he was always an adviser. Although to be fair, I don’t remember the Alpha before Ardg either; I’m not that old.”
Behind him, Tam coughed.
“Hmm,” Bel said. “And now, this Myrch, is talking in your head?”
“You make that sound like it’s something unusual,” Dun said.
Nev added, “Nothing unusual around here.”
Kaj laughed.
Dun wondered about the two of them; they’d been hanging out a lot and Kaj had hardly spoken to him since their debriefs. In fact, almost everyone had been avoiding him socially.
“What did Myrch say?” Bel asked.
“What just now or back then?”
“Either.”
“Now, he just called my name.”
“How do you know it was him?” Tam said.
“Voice. Unmistakable.”
Bel pressed for more detail. “So then? What else did he speak about? ”
“He spoke about all kinds of things. He kind of knew his way around but didn’t—”
Bel cut him off. “I don’t understand.”
“He knew the tunnels very well. Knew the Stone-lanes when we got there. Even seemed to know what went on up in the Over-folk without any of the Bridge-folk ever having been there. Knew all the Inter-folk factions and squabbles really well, but in other ways, he was like a pup.”
“How so?”
“He couldn’t fish worth scrap. Didn’t know one mushroom from the next. Couldn’t weave. Basic stuff. He had to have everything done for him or quietly did stuff on his own. He didn’t starve, so he must have eaten somehow. And now he’s talking to me.”
“You know that’s impossible, right?” Nev said.
“I know; he bled out in my arms. His body was cut to pieces by needles. But...”
“What?” Nev said.
“I’m just not sure I know what’s impossible anymore.”
The meeting returned to the urgent matter of when to move, where, and how exactly and Nev was tasked with bringing more racta and snacks from the kitchen. More scouting parties went out to check over prospective new haunts for security and access. Dun trailed off back to his room. Then the headaches came again.
“DUN”
Dun sat on his bed with a thump.
“DUN! Talk to me. Just think it. Focus on my voice.”
“What the hell?”
“DUN, it’s Myrch.”
“It can’t be, that’s rat shit.”
“It’s me.”
“No. It can’t be. It’s some kind of Duchy trick.”
“It’s me, Dun, you know it is.”
“How can it be? You’re dead.”
“Well, yeah. No. Kind of...”
Dun found himself laughing hysterically.
“What?”
It took him a while to compose himself. He reached for a canteen, started giggling again, snorted water down his nose, and then wiped his face with a rag.
“Better?”
“Yeah, loads. It just comes as a shock that the big ominous voice in my head isn’t all that sure about stuff. You’re new to all this shamanism thing, huh?”
“Right enough.”
“Word to the wise, practice ominous.”
Dun held his temples in the arc of one hand. A sharp, odd feeling, that went almost as soon as it came. Not painful, but uncomfortable.
“You can’t laugh, can you?” Dun said.
“No.”
“But it is you.”
“Yes.”
“And I can feel the humor but not the laugh.”
“And much more besides if you feel for it.”
“But you’re dead. I was there. I felt you die. They destroyed you.”
“Not exactly. Not really.”
“How can you be not dead?”
“It’s complicated.”
“What’s going on, Myrch?”
“That’s a much better question.”
Outside disturbances drifted into Dun’s consciousness. Running about, shouting. Clearing decks. Unstowing of weapons.
“Wait,” Dun said. “Something’s happening, outside, I need to go and check.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“I know. I can sense things out there. Dun, I need you to listen.”
Dun heard definite sounds of combat beyond the door now.
“Focus, Dun.”
“But I need to help them.”
“Your best way to help them now is to listen to me.”
Shouting gave way to screaming.
“They need me...”
Dun hopped off his bunk and headed toward the door. It was locked.
“What the...”
“I locked it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“No, you don’t and, right now, I don’t have time to explain.”
“But we’re being attacked.”
“Yes. There are a hundred Duchy-folk, and they’re not looking to hurt anyone.”
“Are you on their side now?”
“No. Dun, I need you to trust me.”
“You’ve locked the door, and we’re being attacked. And you want me to trust you?”
“They’re not attacking, they’ve come for... Listen, we haven’t got time for this.”
“I’ve got lots of time,” said Dun firmly.
“No. You haven’t.”
“Humor me.”
“They’ve come for your technician.”
“Nev?”
“Yes.”
“What do they want him for?”
“He won’t be harmed.”
“I’m not massively reassured.”
Dun struggled with the door handle. He heard Nev shouting too.
“You need to let them take him.”
“Like hells!” Dun said.
“I promise I will explain everything. For now, you need to know: Your best way to help everyone is to let them take him.”
“Screw you! Betray my people and then leave?”
“They were never your people.”
“I was starting to get along here.”
“You were starting to become someone not even you recognize.”
“How do you...”
“Complicated. Like I said, I’ll explain. When this dies down, you need to find me.”
“Okay. Where are you.”
“I don’t know.”
