Acan and Erinle turned away.

“What does that mean, split himself in two?” Stuart asked.

Before anyone could answer, Erinle turned around. “Mortals,” he said. “I can show you, if you would see something marvelous.”

Bemused, the four of them followed the two gods. As they moved through the city, Stuart could see, in the distance, a riot of darkness by the mouth of the river. They were too far away from the city in order to see any individuals, but the blogger housed no doubts. “That’s them,” he hissed.

Doctor Gomez saw them too, and her face crinkled in worry. To have their refuge in this land threatened was a harsh reality to accept.

And then they arrived at a tree-home. It looked much like any other, but when Acan and Erinle opened it, the shining light almost blinded them. The interior was filled with glittering crystal suits. They were incandescent, soft shining blues, greens, pinks, purples, and whites. They stood like silent sentinels, empty vessels of power waiting to be filled.

“These are some of our greatest treasures,” Acan said. “At least in the martial realm.”

“I can see that,” Doctor Gomez said.

“Why would you ever leave the city without them?” Keshav asked.

“We must use them sparingly,” Acan admitted. “They need natural light to power them.”

“They were designed and created when we still lived on Lemuria,” Erinle admitted. “Sunlight was less of a commodity then.”

“How do these still even work?” Doctor Gomez asked. “Lemuria sank hundreds of years ago.”

“There is an area here, in our land, where the sun shines through the crust of the Earth.”

“We’re hundreds of feet beneath the Earth’s surface. How is that possible?” Stuart said.

Acan shrugged. “I seem to recall we engineered it, long ago, when still we dwelt on the surface. The details aren’t important. We recharge our suits there.”

“All cities recharge their heliacal technology there,” Erinle said, a little awkwardly. “It is the cause of much of our discord with Omphalos.”

“Much, but not all,” Acan interjected. “Conflict was inevitable.”

There was a dark shimmering, and more Selvagians appeared through the portal. Stuart recognized some of them, but he did not remember any of their names apart from Ninkasi. Acan and Erinle joined them, and slowly, with ritualized precision, they donned their crystal armor. Sharp angles jutted from elbows and knees. Quickly, they were completely clad in the crystal armor.

There were two score and ten of them, which claimed about half of the available suits. The armored men and women filed out to the green fields of Selvage. A snorting roar greeted them, and a tall slender woman dressed in verdant robes waited there. Behind her were animals the likes of which they had never seen.

Tall and dark, wide-backed four legged beasts. They looked like moose, but bigger; wild-eyed and more feral. Most of all, their antlers were massive. They were as long as a person; almost two meters of sharp branching horn stretched from their heads.

“What,” whispered Stuart to Doctor Gomez, “are those?”

Her eyes were wide. Her mouth barely moved as she answered. “Megamoose.”

There was a field in a nearby valley, they later learned. The megamoose could wander there, free to graze, rut, and sleep. But there was a tree home there, with one of the teleportation portals. It was the work of mere minutes to gather up the animals, and anyone in Selvage could do it. It took a mighty mount to bear the weight of the crystal clad warriors, and nothing short of a rhino or elephant up on Earth could have handled it. These megamoose were as big as rhinos, even without their antlers.

Out in that field was another creature, even shaggier, even more massive. One that all four of them had seen countless pictures of, even though the animals had been wiped out from the top of the Earth by the early Holocene. They were the mammut; wooly mammoths with shaggy pelts and tusks that stretched from their furry faces. The subtropical temperatures were far too high for the rugged beasts, and they lived in a cooled bubble the Selvagians had created for them. Leaving the temperature controlled bubble even for a short time rapidly fatigued the tundra creatures. It was for this reason alone they were not brought to the battle, for they were sorely needed.

The Selvagians mounted the megamoose and rode off unceremoniously. The four humans were left alone.

“I wish Dean could have seen those,” Doctor Gomez said. “Moose were his favorite animals. He had a tattoo of one on his thigh.” Her voice was small and her eyes far away.

Stuart was not happy with that image, but for the first time, he realized she must have been falling in love with Dean Maxwell. Already asking herself: is this the one? Already thinking about which of her friends would serve as a maid of honor. Already wondering if he wanted children, and what they would name them. Despite the somber mood, Stuart chuckled. Who would have guessed that the analytical, short-tempered Dr. Gomez was a romantic at heart?

All eyes turned on him, and he realized his response was quite inappropriate to Doctor Gomez’s statement. To sidestep explaining his train of thoughts, he turned to Keshav, and asked, “What did our friend give you? How will it help you see?”

Keshav hoisted the bamboo tube up into the air. “There’s certainly one way to find out.” He took a deep drink and passed the elixir to Baruna.

***

Stuart was the last to drink. The brew tasted bitter and earthy. But within moments of ingesting it, Stuart could see things. At first he could recognize the tree-homes around them, but from above, the way a sparrow or raven would look upon the world. From there, it took only a little concentration and he could shift his perspective. He could still feel his body, bound to the earth on the grass in Selvage. But his consciousness was free, a nomad of the purple sky.

A little experimentation and he was looking down on the invading army of Omphalos. The first thing he noticed was that the army was not made of humans. Nor were there animals present. Instead there were many, two or three hundred, of the shambling creatures. They trod through streams and trampled grass, tore through flower fields, and stomped across shale. The beings were loutish, inhuman. Like robots made out of rocks and mud.

“Do you all see what I see?” Stuart asked. As soon as he thought of them, he was aware of the three others, beside him in the sky.

“I’ve drunk a lot of chai,” Baruna said. “But never has it done this to me.”

“I get the heebie-jeebies just looking at those things,” Doctor Gomez said.

Stuart agreed. “Keshav?” he asked. “Any idea what these are?”

Keshav was silent for some time.

“I wouldn’t stake my life on it, but if what I remember from RPGs is correct, I think we’d call them golems.”

“Huh,” Stuart said. “Well, I don’t like the look of them. They’re terrifying.”

“Well, after you’ve been swallowed and partially eaten by a plant, terrifying takes on a new meaning,” Keshav said. “But at least according to myths, golems are inexorable, unstoppable until they fulfill their purpose.”

“Why do I get the feeling,” Dr. Gomez asked, “that their purpose involves coming for us?”

Chapter 13

 

As terrifying as the golem forces were, there was something worse with that army. Clad in white robes, each clasping a nut brown stave, were the twin aspects of Ra: Authority and Mind. They were falcon-faced twins. They moved with a divinely lethal grace and were wrapped in power so strong they shone with it. The only way to tell them apart was that Mind had a red diamond on his forehead; Authority had the same symbol emblazoned on his chest.

“Look at those wankers,” Keshav said. The Selvagians were closing in, riding their mighty megamoose at an easy pace. The golems split. Those made mostly of rock and stone shifted to the front, forming a veritable stone wall. The earthy ones jerked to the either side, giving wings to the wall of stone golems. A small brook bubbled merrily behind the terrible beings.

Without breaking their stride, the charging Selvagians shifted into a wedge formation. Acan and Erinle were riding together, over on the left side of the wedge.

Stuart could feel his heart beating quickly, and his mouth felt dry.

“I wanted to go the Maldives for our honeymoon,” Baruna said suddenly.

The charging moose accelerated. The golems braced themselves, leaning into the earth itself. Looking as comfortable as two gentlemen strolling across a croquet pitch, the two falconmen held their staves before them.

The air began to crackle with energy. Stuart sensed more than felt a great wash of heat emanating from the staves of Ra’s aspects.

Some of the megamoose stumbled from the heat. Three would never rise again, but others struggled to find their footing. The charge faltered, fizzled, but was not finished. With a roar, the Selvagian forces met the golems.

Even with expanded consciousness, it was difficult to see what happened next. Stuart saw the sprawling antlers of the megamoose hit the stone golems. Some golems were torn apart, but so too were many of the antlers snapped, necks broken. The battle became a series of snapshots.

A dismounted warrior in crystal armor charged the two aspects of Ra.

Acan and Erinle rode through earth golems, their steeds trampling enemies into the earth.

The largest stone golem, his hands big as boulders, clapped his hand around the head of an opponent. Even with her crystal helmet, her head, was pancaked and her twitching body fell to the earth.

A dead warrior at the feet of Mind and Authority.

Laser pistols fired into golems, creating holes that quickly sealed up and hurt the golems not at all.

Brown earth and red blood filling the once-clear waters of the brook.

The smell of ozone and blood and smoke and ash and above all, the earthy smell of a summer day just before rain.

The aspect of Ra known as Mind strode forward, his skin turning red with power and energy. His mere touch turned megamoose into cinders, their bodies collapsing in piles of ashes.

Stuart felt his body calling to him, and he realized that the powers of the tea were fading. With an effort that made his head ache, he focused, willing the vision to last as long as it could.

Authority was surrounded by several warriors of Selvage. It struck out against them, but their crystal armor protected them. They pressed in on him, lashing out with blades of crystal and obsidian.

Mind was flame red now. It raised its hand and shot a jet of flame.

The warriors of Selvage began to break, to retreat. But behind Mind one warrior came sprinting in. He plunged his long spear though the head of a golem and sprang through the air.

Mind turned, head cocking upwards.

Too late. Be too late. Stuart pleaded. The vision was going fuzzy, the reception becoming unclear. His eyes watered with the effort of watching. Already he could sense that Keshav and Doctor Gomez were gone, back in their bodies.

The charging Selvagian, while still in mid-air, pulled out a blade and drove it through the head of Mind. The falcon-headed creature crumpled to the ground. His skin bleached color, returning to snow white in the matter of seconds. But it was not dead. It stood and raised its stave at the Selvagian warrior.

“Stuart,” someone was saying. “Stuart.”

For a moment, Stuart could see the concerned faces of his companions. He was sitting cross-legged on the grass, and his legs were asleep. With a great effort of will, he closed his eyes, and his consciousness escaped for one more moment.

Mind was bleeding and running away. Authority limped over to aid him. The golems were broken, lumps of earth and stone, possessing no sentience whatsoever.

The remaining Selvagians were gathering their steeds and returning to the city. They had won. Only then did Stuart return to his body.

***

That night, they ate in the public hall. It was both celebration and wake for those who had fallen. Tall pitchers of brown, green, and blue beverages were stacked on tree trunks. On another, plates filled with sizzling mushrooms awaited. Stuart sat next to Keshav and Baruna. He looked expectantly for their fourth, but when she joined them, Doctor Gomez sat next to a thin Selvagian man whose long brown hair was gathered into a ponytail. All Selvagians were wiry and tall, but this fellow was damn near gangly. He would have been a comic figure had he not possessed the grace and bearing of a demi-god. A grace that was somewhat belied by the scruffy goatee he wore, calling to Stuart’s mind images of Florida trailer park trash.

Nala, he was called. And soon he had Doctor Gomez laughing at every little comment he whispered to her. He told loud tales of his prowess; it had been he who had wounded the aspect of Ra known as Mind.

Stuart watched them; the mushrooms tasted like acid in his stomach.

“It is hard to see, is it not?” Keshav said softly. “If it helps, she is not for you. You know this somewhere, I think.”

“Yes, that really does help. Thanks so much,” Stuart said, sarcasm not hidden one bit.

Keshav ignored his tone. “This is why I married. I did not know Baruna beforehand, but the problems of marriage are better than the alienation of being single.”

Stuart was surprised enough that he forgot his clenching jealousy. “You were an arranged marriage?” The Selvagian next to him passed him a pitcher full of blue liquid and Stuart filled his cup. It tasted of fennel and rosemary. He couldn’t say if it was alcoholic or not.

“Of course,” Keshav laughed. He nodded to Baruna, but like most of the others, she was absorbed by Nala’s story of the battle. “It still happens today. It’s as good or better a system as love, believe it or not.”

“I don’t believe it,” Stuart said.

“That’s what you’ve been trained to believe,” Keshav countered. “Think about it. My parents know me better than anyone. They have searched for someone suitable for me for all of my life. Oh they may very well be wrong, but we’re talking about an informed decision.” Here he emphasized the word decision. “One made by two people who love me and understand me. How does that compare with some chemical reaction in your body that you yourself don’t even understand?”

“Love is more than a chemical reaction,” Stuart protested.

Keshav cocked an eyebrow at him.

“It is,” Stuart repeated. He didn’t know how he knew this, but know it he did. “Though I admit you and Baruna are well-matched.”

“We are well along the road to love,” Keshav agreed. “But it takes work. Though I am a Sikh, and all that that entails, I am also an Englishmen. I have never lived in India.”

“Have you been there?”

“Once,” Keshav said. “I found it a challenging place. They tell you to expect the unexpected, but though I was not troubled by touts, and I grew use to the starving animals and shit in the streets, I could not accept the starving children and old men. Death is held away from us in the west. In India, you see it every day. Death is life there.”

Stuart wondered idly about interviewing Keshav for his blog. The man was eloquent.

“But that’s not the point. I am Indian, and I am English. Two men in one. It is similar with Baruna. I am me, Keshav. But I am also Keshav and Baruna. Do you see?”

Stuart was not able to reply. Nala stood then, his eyes meeting everyone there. “And the only way I survived,” he said, raising his voice so that all could hear him. “Is because I train every morning, running to the valley of the moose and back without rest. There is no greatness without fitness.” His ponytail flounced as he proclaimed this.

It was oddly encouraging to Stuart that even here, in a city of gods at the center of the Earth, there were still douchebags.

***

After the dinner, when most everyone had left, Stuart was mulling over Keshav’s words. Two men in one. How many men was Stuart? Just one, surely. Was that his problem?

Stuart rose and walked through a portal to an empty tree-home. Once inside, however, he didn’t feel like sleeping. He slipped out the front entrance and walked around the city. A few people were out, but it appeared most were sleeping, though it remained as light as ever. He didn’t see Acan until he bumped into him.

Acan smiled. “Great thoughts for great minds?”

Stuart smiled. “Something like that.”

“The battle today was unlike any we have had for some time. We here at Selvage are something like a collective. None of us have power over the others, apart from the power of persuasion. Not even Ninkasi can command us against our will. But Omphalos is different. He of two horizons is the lord of the city. He holds absolute power. For all of that, he rarely intervenes personally. Sending his aspect to us today was a marked message.” He paused for a moment. “You saw the battle today? Your inner eye was clear?”

“Yes,” Stuart said. “What was in that beverage?”

“Mushrooms and fungus of a powerful nature, ones that free your consciousness. You have something like it on the crust, but those are merely a fraction the potency, a campfire compared to a sunset, and the crop has been twisted so that many see evil and wrongness.”

“You gave us magic mushrooms?” Stuart asked. He had never done drugs before.

“There was nothing magic about them, though it is an amusing name. You should get some sleep. The next few days may be taxing.”

“I’m not tired,” Stuart said. “And why taxing?”

“We need something of you,” Acan said.

The evasion bothered Stuart. “Listen, there are sick and dying people waiting for us. Dozens of them. If you can help us get back, it needs to be soon.”

Acan looked mournful. “We lost twelve men today, eight women, and two score of our animal friends. And that was against just a finger of strength from Omphalos. We drained most of the power from half of our armor. If we fight them for the power of the sun, their forces will be far stronger, and we will be weaker. And you should know this. Those golems today. They came for you.”

“How does Ra even know we are here?” Stuart asked.

“Those men who almost killed me served him. They will have informed upon your arrival. Besides, though he of two horizons may not be omniscient in the strictest sense of the word, he has a good idea of what happens in his realm.”

“What does he want with us?” Stuart asked.

Acan held his hands up. “I cannot guess. He is very interested in those from the above realms. Those of the below as well.”

Below? Stuart thought, but before he could ask, Acan continued.

“They were not here solely for you, of course. Twenty Selvagians would not have died if that were the case. He also seeks to protect the sun disc.”

“I’m sorry for your losses,” Stuart said, feeling helpless. “We didn’t ask for any of them to fight.”

Acan shrugged. “I know. The falcon lord has the sun disc. With its power, we are poorly matched.”

“How can we help?”

“We need an ally. Selvage is a great city, Ompahlos, for all the flaws of autocracy, is an even greater. There are other, smaller communities. Ek Chuaj lives in one such place. But there is a third great city: Graben. You can help by traveling there and enlisting their aid.”

“You have portals in your homes. Why don’t you just teleport there?”

“It’s not that easy. The Grabens are aloof, they do not take sides, and they do not approve us or of Omphalos. They cut off communication with us long ago.”

“So we are to be your intermediary?” Stuart asked.

Acan nodded. “It will be dangerous. Many are the perils of our world for those of your weaknesses. Even if you do make it to their stone city, there is no telling what you may find. They may not let you into their city at all. It has been a long time since an outsider has visited Graben. But the fact remains. If you want to return to your home world, you’ll need the sun disc. If we are to free it from Omphalos, you’ll need the help of the greatest of cities.”

“And we have to do this?”

“Not at all. It only becomes necessary if you ever want to return to the surface world.”

Stuart rubbed his hair in frustration. “I see. Thank you for explaining.”

Acan bid him farewell soon after. Stuart walked around for some time more. His head was full of questions and problems, but it felt good to have a direction. He started humming something that only after a while did he realize was a White Stripes tune. But something like an hour later, when he finally returned to the tree-home assigned to him, he saw Doctor Gomez and Nala entering her home together.

Chapter 14

 

It wasn’t really the next day, but everyone had slept, or otherwise been occupied, for seven or so hours when they met again. There was no way to tell how much time had passed, but if felt like more than five hours and less than ten. Acan gathered them together and brought them into the large public tree-home. They entered a room they had not seen before, a leafy green chamber with red flowers sprouting along the walls like wallpaper. Acan explained to them all what he and Stuart had discussed the previous night. This time he went into more detail, explaining that with the sun disc they could achieve any number of great things.

“It can certainly create a portal between our world and yours,” he said. “That will be the easy part, once we have the sun disc.”

“How did we get here?” Doctor Gomez asked. “A cave just appeared in front of us.”

“This happens,” Acan said. “More so in places like Antarctica, the Bermuda Triangle, Siberia, Göbekli Tepe. The fabric of reality is stretched there, and natural laws don’t always flow the way they do elsewhere.”

Stuart thought of the different stars, of his floating body. He wondered if that also explained things like alien sightings, ghosts recorded on film, and other inexplicable phenomena.

“Now,” Acan said, gesturing to a stump piled up with clothing and supplies. “I have provided you with food, and some of the pistols you saw the day you rescued me. What’s more, I have cloaks here, cool in the heat, but will warm you in frigid conditions. Best of all, I have a pair of wandering boots for each of you.”

“Why can’t we just teleport through one of the portals?” Keshav asked.

Stuart loaded his backpack up with food and a pistol. It made it heavier than he would like, but he’d prefer a little inconvenience if it meant being better prepared.

Acan looked at him blankly and then laughed. “Of course, you don’t know. The portals are Selvagian technology. They need to be linked, connected, grown. The people of Graben would never consent to our building a portal into their city. I’m afraid it will be a long journey, but one my gifts will help.”

He had the proprietary manner of a lecturer, and it reminded Stuart of his dream, back on the cruise ship. These gods were dinosaurs, in a certain sense.

“What do the boots do?” Stuart asked. From where he sat, they looked like any old pair of hiking boots.

“They will carry you thrice as fast as your natural speed. Your feet will never tire. Your toes will never blister. When pointed at a target the wandering boots will carry you there, and you cannot get lost.”

“What are they made of?” Keshav asked. “We cannot wear leather,” his voice was apologetic, but steady.

“Haven’t you guessed?” Acan asked. “I have not made this so much as grown them. The primary substance, is of course, fungus. They will help greatly on your journey.”

“You speak as though you’re not going to be there. Aren’t you coming with us?” Stuart asked.

Acan’s face fell. “Alas, I cannot. After our losses yesterday, we need all of us here to defend Selvage. I am no fighter, but my healing is necessary. Should the Falcon Lord attack again, we need to be ready.”

“We, we will not be alone,” Doctor Gomez said. “Nala said he would accompany us.”

Acan’s eyes flashed. “That is most unwise of him,” he said. “Though it is ultimately his decision to do as he wishes.”

“What is Nala the god of?” Keshav asked.

All eyes turned to Doctor Gomez. “I actually have no idea,” she said, but a little smile on her lips suggested this was a restrained answer.

“He was not known by one name in your realm,” Acan said. “He is a minor aspect of speed, a Hermes-light.”

“They won’t let him into the city either, right?” Stuart asked.

“That is not for me to say,” Acan said. “Though his aid in the first leg of your journey will be helpful.”

“Helpful why?” Stuart asked.

“What is the first leg of our journey?” Keshav asked.

“I don’t think the two Aspects will be looking for you. I do suspect they wanted to capture you during the battle, but I don’t think that was their primary purpose. Nala will provide you some protection in case I am wrong. As to the other,” Acan hesitated, a little reluctant to answer, “it isn’t as bad as it sounds.”

“Where are we going?” Stuart asked.

“You must sail across the Sea of Monsters,” Acan said.

***

Their boat was a simple craft, powered by the wind, and technologies they could only guess at. Nala sat at the helm, his hands alternately touching a series of four crystals. The Sea of Monsters was glittering blue and stunningly beautiful. If there were monsters, none had shown themselves yet. It felt like they were sailing on the Aegean, or through the South Pacific.

They had traveled through a tangled mangrove swamp to reach the sea. The wandering boots really were wonderful, shedding sucking mud, and giving them the pace of a run with only the effort a casual stroll. They had seen large animals prowling the swamp; a Volkswagen sized armadillo with a spiked club tail that looked like it could shatter through a castle wall. These had been peaceful, grazing animals. Worse were the cats; lanky, sneaking creatures that had stalked them until Nala had shot one with his laser pistol. The one he killed did not have long fangs, but Stuart suspected he had seen a few saber-toothed cats in the bushes. Watching them with the infinite patience of the hunter. Some preternatural sense warned him that he was being hunted, but they had made it to the boat without further violence.

“Are there any deserts in this land?” Doctor Gomez asked. She was sitting next to Nala, who was dressed in a red vest tunic, leaving most of his legs, arms, and hairy chest visible.

“There are,” he said. His voice was high and belied his muscular frame. “Omphalos squats in a wasteland, a dry rotting desert of rolling dunes. South of Selvage is another, a high desert, with scrub brush, cold nights, and lurking scavengers. Why do you ask?”

“Well,” she said, musing. “I’m thinking about those armadillos we saw. They were massive.

“What does that have to do with deserts?” Baruna asked.

“As continents get drier, forests disappear. The open plains spread and, over time, that gives animals room to grow larger. It explains some of the creatures we’ve seen here.”

Nala laughed heartily. “Those things may be true in your world. I assure you they are not here. With the power of the sun disc, Ra could boil an ocean away, creating overnight a wasteland that he could populate with terrifying creatures.”

“Is that supposed to make us feel better?” Keshav asked.

“The truth rarely does, especially for lesser life forms.”

“Hey,” Keshav said, his tone light.

Nala shrugged. “We are gods. You are not. Do you expect rabbits or ants to understand the world around you?”

Keshav scowled, and Baruna stroked his arm. “It’s not worth it, jaanu.” she said.

“I’ve had the misfortune of dealing with some right wankers,” he said, loud enough that it was clear he wasn’t only addressing Baruna. “But this guy is well up there.”

“What’s that?” Stuart asked. He had been watching the sea, lost in thoughts. Now, however, on the horizon he could see … something.

The others looked two, eyes squinted in concentration.

“Well,” Nala said. “This is ill luck indeed.”

“What is it?” Doctor Gomez asked. “They look like clouds.”

“They’re sails,” Nala answered. “Two of them. Unless I miss my guess, and I never do, they are the boats Mandjet and Mesektet.”

“That sounds familiar,” Doctor Gomez said.

“It should,” Nala said. “They are the boats of the two aspects of the Falcon Lord. He must be angry for the blow I struck against him. They are coming for me, surely as leeches after a rain.”

“Inconceivable,” Stuart said. No one laughed. No one ever laughed at his jokes.

There was silence for some time. “Turds! We can turn around,” Baruna said. “We are not too far from the shore.”

“We could,” Nala said. “They would catch us. Their ships are as fast as a winter sunrise, as steady as a twinkling star. Even if not, we would have to report home as failures. The next attack, or the one after that, could utterly destroy us forever.”

“So we push on?” Doctor Gomez said. “Can we get this ship to go any faster?”

“Can you make the wind blow harder?” Nala asked sarcastically. His ponytail bounced a little as he scowled. “I shouldn’t have come. I’ve endangered you all, and simply because I underestimated just how badly the Sun Lord would want to revenge himself.”

“You almost killed one of them yesterday,” Doctor Gomez said.

“Yesterday I had my armor. Yesterday we had our mighty steeds, and I had the companionship of my peers. Today I am babysitting lesser creatures.” His eyes fell on them as the tirade trailed out. He put his arm around Doctor Gomez’s shoulder. Stuart half expected her to shake it off, but instead, she snuggled more closely into his body.

“It’s worth it, of course,” Nala said to her. “To be with you. And someone has to look out for these puny humans.”

“We were doing fine before you came along,” Stuart said, feeling acid in his stomach again. Why was he so bothered? He had no claim on Doctor Gomez, and having Nala along gave them a great sense of security.

Nala looked at him the way you look at a child who tells you he can fly or turn invisible. His silent reproach was more eloquent than any words.

But Stuart had had enough. “You can go home now, for all we care!”

“Stuart,” Doctor Gomez admonished.

“Acan said it was foolish for him to come along,” Stuart said.

“Acan,” Nala said. “That bent potion brewer? He prefers the company of men to women. How can you take anything that pervert says seriously?”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Baruna said. “I think we might have even bigger problems.” She pointed into the water.

Instantly everyone peered over the side. The water was clear, and they could see the creature beneath them. It had four legs and swam at a great pace; certainly faster than their craft. It looked like a pig crossed with an elephant and hippo. It was large, enormously large.

“What the hell is that?” Stuart asked.

“I think it’s a Myratherium ,” Doctor Gomez said.

“Is that what you call them?” Nala said. “A clumsy name for a clumsy animal. But it is no threat to us. They are large enough that even sharks and crocodiles will not bother it. But they are gentle creatures for all their size.”

“I wasn’t talking about the swimming pig-elephant,” Baruna said, her voice a little cross. “I was talking about that.”

Stuart looked again. Swimming up from under the Myratherium was a true monster. It looked like an orca crossed with the loch ness monster, but it was far larger than either. Something like four times longer than a great white, it must have weighed several tons.

“Basilosaurus,” Doctor Gomez said. “I never had any idea I would be meeting so many of these creatures.”

“A gamachus,” Nala grunted. “Ill luck to meet one here.”

“Can we shoot it?” Doctor Gomez asked.

“A creature that size?” Nala said. “It will just make him angry. And that goes double for our divine enemies.”

As they all stared in transfixed horror, the monster swam up, and took a tremendous bite out of the swimming pig-elephant. Even the Basilosaurus was not large enough to swallow a Myratherium whole. But half of the creature was gone, and the cool water was suddenly murky with warm blood.

“What’s to stop him from coming after our boat?” Stuart asked, horrified.

The Basilosaurus snapped its jaws shut again, all that remained of the peaceful Myratherium was blood in the water, and a few scraps of food. Stuart reached for his pistol.

“Forget it, I said,” Nala said. “These pistols are powerful, but they would only serve to anger the gamachus.”

“Next time some wanker suggests we go into the sea of monsters,” Keshav said. “I’m going to give it a miss.”

“The sails are coming closer,” Stuart said. “Much closer.” In a short time, the ships of Ra had closed over half the distance. They were close enough now that their shape was clear: long canoes with a high prow. Mind and Authority were just visible, holding their staves into the air as though powering their craft with magic and will. The ships shimmered and were suddenly only meters away.

It was then, as all stared at the approaching baleful gods, that the Basilosaurus struck.

Chapter 15

 

Their ship was stronger than it looked, and the mighty monster of the sea did not hit them as hard as it might have. But it was enough. The vessel flew into the air; one meter high, then two. Stuart saw the impassive faces of Ra’s aspects, turned up mutely as they watched the boat soar into the sky.

They came down with a whoosh and a splash. The water was warm as it coated them all. Some lake weed landed in Nala’s goatee, and he scowled as he picked at the slippery stuff. Baruna halfway fell out, and it took some scrambling from Stuart and Keshav to pull her back into the boat. Meager though it was, the protection of the boat was vastly preferable to the naked vulnerability of the water.

Nala drew his sword. “I’m going to fight them,” he said. “Try not to get eaten alive by the gamachus.” He leapt from the boat, almost capsizing it, and sprang through the air. The boats Mandjet and Mesektet were four meters away, but Nala cleared the distance easily. He landed to face the two falcon-headed enemies.

The Basilosaurus was silent and unseen. Stuart glanced down and saw nothing beneath them. A bright flash of red brought his attention back the battle of demigods.

Nala was fast with his sword. He moved in blurry jerks, too fast for their human eyes to follow.

Mind and Authority, for now they stood side by side on the Mandjet, were slower, more methodical. But for each hyper-quick sword slash, every cut and stroke of Nala’s sword, they parried with their heavy staves. Nalas’s growl of frustration was audible across the water.

“What do we do?” Baruna asked.

“Where is that damn fish?” Stuart asked.

“It’s not a fish,” Dr. Gomez said.

“Whatever! It’s the only thing currently trying to eat us,” Stuart said. “Let’s get this boat going, head toward land.”

“Not without Nala,” Doctor Gomez said. She crossed her arms against her chest.

“Did you see him jump?” Stuart said. “He’ll be fine. It’s us that we need to be worried about.” That sounded plausible, but Stuart didn’t kid himself. He’d be happy never seeing Nala again.

The two parts of Ra were getting the better of Nala. He was now on the defensive, ponytail bouncing as he parried attacks from both of his opponents. Their ships were much larger, their sails much wider and broader than the Selvagian craft the four of them sat in. But mightier though they were, they shook as the Basilosaurus emerged from under them.

“It’s over there now,” Keshav said.

“We should go,” Baruna said.

Stuart was already at the helm. He moved his hands across the crystals.

“I can’t just leave him,” Dr. Gomez said. “We can’t just leave him. You should know better than that.”

Stuart found that touching the crystals on the right and the left and pressing forward on them made the craft leap forward.

“Too late now,” he said. “We’re going forward.”

A roar made all of them look back. The sea monster reared its head, screaming an animal challenge at the men below it. It was massive, with a long snout full of sharp teeth. Apart from the sail and mast, it could almost certainly swallow the Mandjet or Mesektet whole. Instead it struck down, smashing the Mesektet into slivers of flotsam and jetsam.

“Pendejos,” Dr. Gomez said. “You know the right thing to do.”

“He said to avoid the monster,” Stuart said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing.” Their little craft was picking up speed now, really skipping over the waves.

The Basilosaurus snapped at Authority. The falcon-headed man sidestepped it. As the sea monster pulled its head back, aiming another strike at it, Authority raised his staff. A bright flame flowered from the tip, engulfing the monster and, within a few heartbeats, the creature was reduced to scattered ashes.

“Fuck’s sake,” Keshav breathed. “I was afraid of the wrong monster.”

Nala took advantage of the distraction and struck his long blade into Mind’s leg. The creature did not react to pain or from the force of the blow. It struck out again with its stave. Nala leapt away, back into the water. Halfway into his jump, he twisted, turning it into a dive. His body sunk into the water and did not visibly emerge in the next several moments.

Neither of the aspects of Ra paid him any heed. Mind bent down, removed the blade that remained stuck in its leg, and cast it into the sparkling blue sea. The two of them on one ship now, they began to sail forward, toward the Upworlders.

“Faster,” Keshav said. They had a small head start, but not one that would matter against these powerful entities.

Stuart pressed down on one of the middle crystals. The boat slowed dangerously. He moved his hand the other way, pulling up on the crystal. The boat sped up.

Keshav cheered.

Baruna did not. “We’re leaking,” she said, panic rising in her voice. “Look at the bottom of the boat.”

Stuart glanced from the horizon. He thought he could see land there, vague on the horizon. But now his gaze moved to the bottom of their ship.

Baruna was right. The boat had been damaged by the initial attack, and now the high speed it sailed at further weakened the frame. Water burbled in a long thin line small enough that the eye could not see it. Judging from the line of water, though, the crack was at least a meter-and-a-half-long.

“We can’t stop now,” Stuart said.

“Keep going,” Doctor Gomez said. “Go faster. We’ll swim the last way there if we need to.”

“The ship will break in two,” Keshav said. “That’s what a hairline fracture will do.”

Despite himself, Stuart smiled at the orange turbaned man’s inadvertent rhyme. He pushed up on the crystal, willing the ship to go faster.

The horizon approached rapidly. Blurring distant objects began to resolve themselves as trees, boulders, and stone fortifications. But their boat was now full of water, suffering from a too-high speed. Worse, the Mandjet was quickly catching up with them. Everyone stared as the two aspects of Ra drew closer, propelled by sorcery. They were no more than two meters away.

A voice sounded, in their boat. It didn’t belong to any of them. “Citizens of the upper world,” it said, in a voice that sparkled, shiny and rich with timbre. “Do not flee. We mean no harm. I mean no harm.”

The four of them frowned together. There was something convincing about the voice, the paternal assurances filling their heads, their minds with calm confidence.

The ships hurtled toward the shore as the four of them stared at each other, uncertainty blooming in their eyes. The boat began to vibrate, as though being shaken by a giant. This seemed to break the spell of Ra’s voice, and it seemed like the air was again clear.

“I’m not being funny,” Keshav said. “But I think our boat is about to sink.”

Chapter 16

 

The water was warm and buoyant, as comfortable as a bath after a long day in the snow. Stuart had taken the boat as far as he could, but they were still a hundred meters or more from the shore; it was hard to estimate, but now the pine trees and stone walls were much closer, much larger. All of them had splashed into the water as the boat gurgled and sank. With it went their provisions, their gear, their way back to Omphalos.

The worry now, however, was getting to the shore without being attacked by whatever might be lurking in the water. The two aspects of Ra sailed to the shore where they unhurriedly left their boat and waited on land. They could afford to wait for the humans.

Keshav swam to help Baruna, who was not a strong swimmer.

Doctor Gomez was in fact an excellent swimmer, and she swam with confident sure strokes, outdistancing them all.

Stuart stayed back with Keshav and Baruna, knowing that his help could be needed. First, however, he needed to know if they were safe. He plunged his head into the salty water and opened his eyes. It stung, but the water was clear enough that he could see all around him. No sign of big monsters. No sign of anything, save for some tendrils of lake weed floating close to the shore.

Stuart emerged. “Coast is clear,” he gasped. “Come on.”

Baruna was stolidly doggy paddling and Keshav swam next to her.

It was slow going, and Doctor Gomez reached the shore well before them.

Neither of the aspects of Ra approached her, but Stuart thought he could hear a faint murmuring from afar, almost like the buzzing of bees.

Doctor Gomez, leaning on a tall tree to catch her breath, had a wondering expression in her eyes.

The trio was three meters away, bobbing in the warm salt water and almost close enough to touch the bottom, when something grabbed Stuart’s leg.

He panicked, kicking, and thrashing. His head sunk under as the force on his leg pulled at him. His last vision was the purple sky, and Keshav’s concerned expression.

Once under, he saw exactly what had happened. Swimming low to the ground, his hands still on Stuart’s leg, was Nala. He raised one hand to his lips, while the other clutched at lakeweed to him close the bottom. Shhhh. Stuart nodded emphatically, his lungs burning.

Still the man didn’t let go. He pointed towards the shore and made an elaborate gesture with his hand. Stuart had no idea what it meant but he nodded emphatically. He hadn’t much time left before expelling the last bit of air.

Nala did not let go. He continued to make the same gesture with his hand, opening and closing two of his fingers, tapping them into his thumb. Stuart’s breath expelled in a burst, and he kicked at Nala. At last the man understood and relinquished his grip.

Warm salty water filled Stuart’s lungs, and he emerged coughing and hacking. As he gradually regained control of his body and wiped the water from his eyes, it was evident that everyone had reached the shore.

The two aspects of Ra stood some distance away; they remained closer to their ship than the wet trio of humans. The remnants of a stone wall stretched behind them all, culminating in a crumbling tower as tall as four men.

Stuart’s feet found purchase, and he scrambled up the shore, still coughing out water from his lungs. “I’m alright,” he said. His new clothes dried instantly as they met air. His backpack, made of Earthly material, was wet and had come unzipped. Anything could have fallen out, but just as he checked, he was interrupted.

“Greetings,” a stereophonic voice said. It was in the air all around them, as if it came from invisible speakers. “There are things you must learn about our world. My world. Selvage and Omphalos are.”

At this moment, Nala sprang from the water, and interrupted the interrupters. He was unarmed but he launched himself at the two aspects of Ra. Their falcon faces betrayed no surprise, but he managed to attack them before they raised their staffs.

Stuart rushed to the others. He still had no idea what Nala had said, but he wasn’t above faking it. “Come on,” he said. “We have to get away. Nala told me so, underwater.”

The pony-tailed Selvagian was using his fists, his elbows, his knees, and feet in an intricate dance. Mind and Authority were moving in conjunction, but he was too fast for them.

“But,” Doctor Gomez said.

“Hurry!” Stuart said. “There’s no time.”

He physically pushed them away, toward the trees, and away from the shore.

“We cannot help him now, Doctor Gomez,” Keshav said.

Doctor Gomez reluctantly followed as they fled into away from the battle. They ran blindly, sprinting and leaping over stones, dodging trees, bounding over roots embedded in the moist earth. After some time, they came to gasping halt to catch their breaths.

“What happened to those laser pistols?” Keshav asked. “One might come in handy about now.”

Stuart reached for his in his backpack, but it had fallen out at some point in his escape from the boat.

“Anyone else got one?” Keshav asked. “It might mean the difference between life and death.”

They all shook their heads no, not a little forlornly.

“Run for our lives it is,” Stuart said. The prospect did not excite him.

“Wait,” Doctor Gomez said. She panted, and a trickle of sweat dropped down her face. “These stones,” she said. “Remember what Acan did?” She pushed one stone on top of another.

Stuart looked to Keshav and Baruna in askance, but he received merely blank looks.

“I must admit,” Baruna said softly. “I am curious as to what the two gods want to say.”

“You mean like they are the good guys and they’re trying to warn us that we’ve sided with the wrong team?” Keshav said. “Yeah I was a little a little worried about that too.”

“Help. Me,” Doctor Gomez said, teeth gritted in concentration. She struggled with a stone far too big for her to lift.

Stuart belatedly realized what she was doing. “You can’t be serious.”

Her look was a snarl, and Stuart bent to pick up the third stone. Keshav came to help too, and a moment later so did Baruna. With a massive effort, they lifted the stone waste high and rolled it onto the other two boulders.

“I want to go on record as saying this is a bad idea,” Stuart said. “Please don’t do it.”

Doctor Gomez did not even hear him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the last section of a chocolate bar.

“Hang on,” Keshav said. “You’ve been holding out. I could go for a bit of chocolate.”

Doctor Gomez ignored him too. She placed the smooshed, wet, melted chocolate on top of the third stone, and muttered something.

Stuart stared in amazement. Somehow she knew the words! There was a shimmering haze. When it cleared, a man stood there. It was, of course, Ek Chuaj. He remained striped black and white, humanoid but for the scorpion tail behind him. His long spear was in one hand, and the red woolen sack remained slung over his right shoulder. The smell of chocolate was once more in the air.

His eyes flashed in anger as he beheld them.

“How dare you. How dare you bid me here. You boundless apes.” He drew himself up angrily, gathering himself in.

“Honored Ek Chuaj,” Doctor Gomez said, prostrating herself. “I would not have dared but the need is great.” She stood but kept her head lowered respectfully.

Stuart and the others followed suit.

“I know your enemy,” he said. “And I have no wish for him to be mine as well.”

“Our enemy now is not the sun lord himself, but his aspects, the two falcon men.”

Ek Chuaj’s arm fell. For the first time, his face reflected something other than anger. “Hu and Sia? They walk the inner Earth again?”

Something loud crashed through the forest. Stuart glanced back nervously but didn’t see anything yet. “Hurry,” he said to Doctor Gomez.

“Indeed they do,” Doctor Gomez said. “They are near to us, and without your aid, we have no chance.”

Stuart cursed. Was that the best she could do?

The striped god frowned. “I owe a debt to those two, and would welcome a chance to test myself against them. However, your sacrifice was paltry. There is cow milk and insects and chemicals and sea water in the cacao you have offered me.”

The crashing was much louder, much closer now. Footsteps pounded, and Stuart could hear heavy breathing.

“American chocolate isn’t what it could be,” Doctor Gomez admitted. “If you can help us survive, I will take back with me some of your cacao and show the world what true cacao was meant to be. Furthermore, I will fly to Switzerland, and sacrifice the finest chocolate known to man in your honor.”

“It’s meant to be drunk,” Ek Chuaj said. He hefted his spear. “Very well, I accept your paltry terms.”

He had not finished speaking when Nala burst through the trees. He sprinted toward them, eyes wild, and skin charred and burnt in patches. “Why have you stopped? Run! They are too strong!” he shouted wildly.

Nala skidded to a stop when he realized Ek Chuaj was there. He looked back and forth from Ek Chuaj to Doctor Gomez, as though he couldn’t believe his eyes. “How is this possible?”

Ek Chuaj nodded once, solemnly, to him. One warrior greeting another. He raised his spear in the air.

And then a burst of flame shot through the air. It just missed Nala, and instead hit a lone palm tree, instantly darkening the tough wood.

Mind and Authority stepped slowly into view. They were stalking Nala, like a jaguar, but when they saw Ek Chuaj there, spear raised, they both stopped. The striped god growled a warning at them.

“I don’t understand,” Keshav said. “Why he will fight aspects of Ra but not Ra himself.

“Who’s to know why a god does anything?” Baruna said.

“I imagine it’s a bit like stepping on two ants instead of trying to stamp out an entire anthill,” Doctor Gomez said.

“Yeah, but if stepping on two ants incites the entire anthill, it’s not such a good idea.”

“We should probably go now,” Keshav said.

Nala reached them, still out of breath and body bruising from countless hits. Most of his goatee was burnt off.

The aspects of Ra remained where they had stopped. Motionless, they almost blended in with the background. Their hawk eyes stared keenly at the god of chocolate and war.

“I’m with you,” Stuart said. Baruna nodded, wide-eyed.

“He can catch up,” Doctor Gomez said, after a moment’s hesitation.

Before any of them had so much as taken a step, Ek Chuaj manifested before the two aspects of Ra. One moment he was beside them and, quick as blinking, the next he was not. He lunged at Mind and Authority so quickly there was no time to react.

The point of his spear sunk deeply into the belly of Authority. They all watched, transfixed, as the manifestation of Ra sunk to the ground. His staff fell from his limp fingers.

Stuart instinctively ran toward the fight.

The striped god used his spear as a staff, blocking the powerful strikes from Mind.

Authority had both hands over the gaping wound in his stomach, and his skin began to shimmer.

Stuart was two steps away from the fallen deity when a hand clasped his shoulder. Nala stood behind him, his strong arms completely arresting all notion.

“Let me go,” Stuart said. He could see the staff lying on the ground.

Nala had misunderstood though. “I don’t know what they said to you. But you will not aid them.”

“I’m not going to help them, you dumbass!” Stuart said. “Let go of me.”

“Not possible. I will not let you make a mistake.”

The others had not left. They were transfixed, watching the duel of the deities. Keshav motioned with his hand, like to a dog. Come here.

Ek Chauj used his scorpion tail, flicking it at his enemy, to keep him at bay, but he was losing the battle, and he took several steps back. Mind swole with power, and his speed and strength grew by the moment. Even with tail and spear, Ek Chuaj was outmatched.

“Don’t you see?” Nala said. “With only one manifestation, he will have more of Ra’s power. Nothing can stop him now.”

Mind shot a blast of flame at Ek Chuaj, who barely dodged. The creature of Ra was then on him, swinging his heavy staff so quickly that Stuart could not follow the motion.

“All right,” Stuart said. “No need to carry me. I’ll go back.”
Nala did not relax his grip. “Good,” he said. “Hurry.”

“Oh,” Stuart said, “just one thing.”

Stuart had never punched a man in the dick before, but he figured it would be a good time to try. Nala was tall enough that he didn’t have to do much but punch forward, and it took the Selvagian completely by surprise. He doubled over and fell to the ground. Corporeal beings indeed, Stuart thought.

Stuart broke free and grabbed the fallen staff. Authority’s body faded, almost gone now, as it vanished into a ghost-like form. Ten paces in front of him, Ek Chuaj was on his back, his spear broken in two, his scorpion tail cracked and limp. Mind was glowing now, filled with starlight. He raised his staff above his head, holding onto it with both hands.

Ek Chuaj disappeared for a moment and then returned to the same place. From where he stood, Stuart saw the surprise on his face. And then light so hot and so bright poured into the striped god. His body began to melt away.

“No,” Stuart cried. He aimed the captured staff and, concentrating, sent a burst of fire at Mind.

The manifestation of Ra was caught completely unaware as the blast hit it in the head. It howled in pain, and the smell of burnt feathers filled the air. The creature leapt forward and aimed its staff at Stuart.

Just then, Nala stood. “You’ll pay for that, little mortal,” he said.

Stuart realized there was no apologizing, no rationale for what he’d done. Not to someone like this. He tried anyway.

“Listen, dude,” he started. Mind had taken two more steps and Stuart winced, anticipating the heat of the attack.

Nala took two steps toward him, anger blinding him to everything but his target.

Fire hit the tall Selvagian, and his body, instantly, was merely ashes floating to the ground.

Stuart readied the staff and shot another blast at Mind, just missing. The aspect of Ra hissed, and then leapt in the air. Stuart watched the fleeing creature soar away for a long time, until it was merely a speck on the horizon.

He didn’t even know he was shaking until he felt arms around him. “Group hug,” Keshav announced, his voice full of false cheer.

Doctor Gomez and Baruna were there too, and they held him until his body stopped shaking. Their bodies felt warm, and the touch of humans helped his heart stop beating so quickly.

Stuart flung the staff away from him. It skittered onto the ground and came to a rest beneath a small fern.

Doctor Gomez went to see the remains of Ek Chuaj.

“I’m sorry,” Stuart said. His voice was harsh with emotion. “I got him killed.”

“That’s nonsense, mate. You might have saved us all,” Keshav said.

“Guys,” Doctor Gomez said. She was kneeling down in front of the striped god. “Come here for a second.”

They found Ek Chuaj still breathing. His breathing was a steam train, his body half burnt off, but he seemed happy.

“I got one of them,” he said. “Ek Chuaj remains the most mighty.”

“Can we help you?” Doctor Gomez asked.

Ponderously, with great effort, Ek Chuaj shook his head no. “I am not dead. Nor dying. It takes more than that to kill me. But I must withdraw for some time. I will return to you. I will not forget our bargain.”

“I won’t either,” Doctor Gomez assured him.

The deity’s body slid away, became insubstantial, seeped into the ground, soared into the air, and was gone.

There was nothing to be done with Nala’s remains. A few ashes floated in the air, like snowflakes, but the man was gone. Even though he had been a prick, he’d certainly been brave, and had done well to protect them. Stuart wondered what he could have done differently.

“I’m sorry, Doctor Gomez.”

“Don’t be,” she said. There were tears in her eyes, but a small smile hid in her lips. “Keshav was right. Oh, and Stuart?” she said.

“Yes?”

“This constant use of Doctor feels terribly formal. You can call me Harper.”

Chapter 17

 

I have read a lot of travel blogs, but not a single one that started with something like this: today I witnessed a demigod fall in battle to two others. I grabbed the staff of one of them and shot fire at it until it flew away in the sky. I punched a different demigod in the junk, and seconds later, he was burnt to a cinder.

There were blogs like that out there but they are full of stories of chem-trails, mind-controlling fluoride, conspiracies of aliens, and inter-dimensional beings. Crazy people talk. Is that what I’ve become? A crazy person?

That word no longer seems particularly relevant. Everything since I got to Argentina has been crazy, and that’s especially true these last few days. Hmm. I can’t really say days. It’s always the same here, that purple sky. Truth is, I have no idea how long we’ve been down here. We’ve slept, walked, eaten, fought, swum, walked again, and yet it could be two days or ten. When I think about the people we left on the ship, I worry. But their fate seems far away not connected to me, to us. Like when you hear a flood in Bangladesh just killed a million people. It’s sad but not on a personal level.

I threw away the staff of Ra after using it to drive away our enemy. I felt dirty, sick from using it. But Keshav has it now. He argued—not wrongly—that it was better to have it and not need it than the other way around. Many are the perils of this land, and we are otherwise unarmed.

After the battle, we were all tired, sick, and in shock, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of place you hang around. We left, walking slowly. With the wandering boots on, we could inherently find the way. The forest grew thicker around us, and we all felt the eyes of unseen beasts on us. We could here birds talking, creatures growling, things scurrying in the underbrush. We stayed on the path, though, and nothing confronted us.

There was some thought of going back. The aspects of Ra left their ship. But somehow that made it all seem so meaningless. We must reach Graben. What will happen there is anyone’s guess. But they must know we are no threat. Hell, we’re not even knowledgeable enough to be pawns.

Keshav and I talked about it on the walk. We’re not entirely sure we’re on the right side. Or that there is a right side. The agents of Ra, well they did lead a golem army against Selvage, but those golems weren’t really alive. They did kill Nala and drove away Ek Chuaj. But only after each attacked them.

I wish I knew more about Ra. Not that our myths would be super helpful knowing about Omphalos. But is he like Zeus—blustery and hot-tempered but a dependable guy? Or is he like Odin—a sinister god, a plotting Machiavellian dude?

I just re-read my last paragraph. Maybe I am going crazy, if these are my thoughts.

We are camped out now by a small stream. Even in the light, it was easy to go to sleep. I have first watch, and I’m about ready to crash myself.

But I’m worried. Despite being sunk, my camera still works. Good old Sony, plus that waterproof bag was worth the money. I checked it just now, before I started writing this. Obviously my journal is dry too, as are my extra batteries, and memory cards. Took a picture of the purple sky and blue brook. Put on a macro lens and took pictures of some orange flowers.

But not once today—not when being chased by bird-headed men across the sea, not when confronted by them, not when a striped god with a scorpion tail who accepts offers of chocolate, and not even when I had a staff that shot fire did I even think to take a picture. My camera is—was—my voice. My Self. When I don’t even think to use it, what does that mean about me?

Chapter 18

 

It wasn’t the next day in any way other than perhaps euphemistically, but after everyone had rested, the four of them continued their journey. Stuart had some dried mushroom meat in his backpack, and though it wasn’t the tastiest of food, it settled their hunger pangs, and tasted better than it sounded. As they walked, they kept an eye out for the aspect of Ra to return.

Their wandering boots moved more forcefully, more confidently in a westerly direction, and they followed them hoping it would pay off. Keshav and Baruna walked in the front and Stuart found himself walking next to Doctor Gomez. Harper, he corrected himself. It was easy not to mention what had happened, easy to let it go. But with death so close, there was no reason to be overly cautious. Besides, he could hear her crying.

“Harper,” he said. It felt strange to call her by her first name again. She didn’t move her head, but her eyes shifted and met his. “I am sorry about yesterday.”

She shook her head. “I have really bad luck with men. Two in one month are gone.”

“Sounds more like their bad luck,” Stuart said.

She was taken aback for a moment. “Of course,” she said. “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Anyway, Nala wasn’t right for me. It just turns out that’s what I like.”

“I imagine you’ve never been hit on by a god before,” Stuart said.

“Oh, I don’t know. Every fit young man seems to think he’s some kind of god.”

Stuart smiled, but had nothing to say to that.

“That’s the problem with being an attractive woman,” Harper continued. “You can get anybody you want, except who you want.”

“My heart bleeds,” Stuart said.

“That sounded awful, didn’t it? Forgive me. These past few days have been pretty rough.”

Stuart could sympathize. She had lost more than any of them. The thought of Dean Maxwell’s sudden end still left him cold. He wondered how much easier this would have been if Maxwell was still alive. He’d had guns, wilderness survival skills, and would have been a leader to them all.

“Still,” he said. “You’re kind of living the paleontologist’s dream right?”

She frowned. “There’s a thin line between a dream and a nightmare. I’d have been happy looking at seals and penguins again.”

“Oi, you lot,” Keshav said. “Look at this.”

This was in fact a walled city. The stone walls were made of boulders, stacked up like marbles. They stretched through the forest, one lined up next to another, reaching ten meters high. The rocks had been treated, and some sparkled, others were clear, and entire sections were covered in moss and lichen. There was a uniformity to the differences, but to Stuart, it was like looking at a painting too closely to see the picture.

“It’s beautiful,” Doctor Harper Gomez said.

The stone city was part of the natural landscape. It had been created, of course. But there had not been the accompanying felling of trees, moving of earth, destruction of habitats that marked upper crust cities. This was the impression the city gave, though in truth, the four had only seen the outer wall.

Mindful of his pre-sleep thoughts, Stuart reached into his backpack, and removed his camera from the container. He wished again for his tripod, but even if he had it, there wasn’t time. He snapped a few pictures of the wall, but without context it looked like bubbles, or strange grapes.

An idea struck him. “Harper, come here.”

“You’ve still got your camera?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah,” he said.

“It works? My watch doesn’t work down here. How does your camera?”

“No idea,” Stuart said. “But if time doesn’t exist, perhaps that’s why instruments that measure it don’t work. Pictures work because they’re capturing things that do exist.”

“That sort of makes sense,” Harper admitted. “In a weird kind of way. Wait, don’t you have a clock on your camera?” The star pattern on her shirt and trousers disappeared momentarily, leaving her wearing clothes so dark they were almost hard to see.

“It’s been flashing 12:00 since we got here,” Stuart said. “That’s partly what led me to my theory. The rest of the camera works. In fact, here, let’s take a selfie.”

“I don’t want to,” she said. “I look terrible.”

“Oh come on,” he said.

She sighed and stepped next to him.

Stuart captured half-a-dozen shots, with the round stone walls behind them. “We look good together,” he told her.

“Look, you’re not such a bad kid. But I’m an adult woman. I know what I want.”

“I’m twenty-three. That’s hardly a kid.”

She smiled a little wistfully. “I probably would have said that too. I forget how that age felt. Like you’re grown-up, but really only a few years removed from high school.”

“High school was five years ago!” Stuart objected.

That bittersweet smile again. “Exactly. Five years doesn’t sound that long to me.”

“You’re not exactly an old crone,” Stuart said.

“I know. But I’m old enough. I want a family, Stuart. And a husband who’s there for me. And babies. A family.”

Her interest in Nala and Maxwell made much more sense to Stuart. Even if she’d known they weren’t the exact right match, they at least fit the provider role.

“Hey, are you lot coming or not?” Keshav asked. He sensed the tone of their conversation, and he grew more somber. “Sorry, hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Nothing at all,” Harper said.

“See any sign of anyone?” Stuart asked as they caught up with the honeymooners.

Keshav shook his head.

“I have a strange feeling about this city,” Baruna said. “Not just the architecture, but I feel like we’re being watched.”

“We probably are,” Harper said. “The dwellers of Graben are supposed to be even more developed than Selvage and Omphalos.”

“Well, are they going to invite us in?” Stuart asked.

“I suggest we look for a gate or a door,” Keshav said.

At that moment, they all froze as a low growl sounded from behind them. It was a menacing, primal sound. Stuart recognized it immediately.

“Run!” he said. “It’s the death beast,” he said. Already he was scanning the city wall, looking for an entrance or a guard or any help.

The others did not panic. Well, they hadn’t seen it before; Stuart was hardly surprised.

“Stuart,” Keshav said. His voice was so calm. “Get behind me.” Harper and Baruna had both already done so.

Stuart felt fear boiling within him and almost ignored the man. Then he realized what the staff Keshav held meant.

The “beast of death and destruction” burst from some trees to their right. It loped at them, huge mouth full of razor sharp teeth. In two steps, it had gained half the distance to them.

In three steps, it was a pile of ash. Stuart sighed heavily, fear at last relinquishing its cold grip on his heart. Baruna and Harper whooped in relief and the former gave Keshav a big kiss.

Keshav, though, shook his head, as if to clear it. “That much power. It doesn’t feel right.”
“It’s a weapon of the gods,” Stuart said. “It’s not meant for the likes of you and me.”

“I understand why you abandoned it yesterday,” Keshav said. “And yet I must keep it. Without the staff of Ra, we would all be dead now.”

Stuart knew that for a fact. His attempt to run away had been sheer, blind panic.

“It might come in handy in Graben too,” he said.

Keshav laughed. “I’m sure they’ve got toys of their own.”

***

There were no toys in Graben. When at last they found an actual gate, even with their boots, a long weary walk from the site of the Andrewsarchus attack, they knocked and shouted. When no one came, Keshav used the staff to blast their way in.

They found an empty city. It was colossal and sprawling, far more like an upper Earth city than Selvage had been. Of human, or humanoid, inhabitants there were none. Through a tunnel and onto a street. It was circular and seemed to stretch around the entire city.

There were houses here, and shops, and immense buildings all made of the same bubble shaped boulders that the wall was constructed from. All had empty, vacant black windows and vacant black doors yawning with open, hollow mouths. And yet the city of Graben was not filled with an oppressive silence.

There was sound. Water trickled from somewhere unseen. Clicking and shuffling noises too.

“Hello,” Stuart called, cupping his hands to his mouth to amplify his voice. His head tilted up as he scanned the upper stories of the buildings around them. “Is anyone here?”

“Quiet!” Harper Gomez hissed. “Obviously no one is here. Don’t bring attention to us.”

“If no one is here?” Stuart began but he let it drop. It was clear what she meant.

“Do you remember?” Baruna said. “Acan said they hadn’t heard from Graben for a long time. Do you suppose everyone, I don’t know, died? Or fell asleep?”

“Or left?” Stuart added.

“Or never was here in the first place,” Keshav pointed out. “We only have what Acan told us. He might have had reason to mislead us.”

“Why?” Harper asked.

“If we knew that, we’d be a lot better off. I can’t even guess though, can I?”

“It’s frustrating. Time is running out. We have no idea if those on the ship are even still alive. But they are counting on us,” Harper said. “We can’t afford to just dick around.”

“We should at least explore the city,” Stuart said. “I mean, we’re here.”

Keshav nodded. “I agree. But we stay together. I don’t want to have to use this staff again, but I will if means it protects us.”

They set forth into the forgotten city of Graben. The scale of the city was massive. Not mega on the scale of a modern metropolis certainly, but for a walled city it was bigger by far than medieval cities in the UK. Perhaps a million people could comfortably fit in the city, and they found not only fresh springs but rooftop gardens still growing carrots, chili, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. The crops were wild and growing haphazardly, but still there were vegetables at hand. Soon after, they discovered subterranean mushroom caverns, with carefully labeled (though written in a language none could read) signs above different beds. These they left alone, content with the relative reassurance of the veggies.

The road they’d come in on was circular, and it accompanied the wall as it wrapped around the city. There were portions of the city that were not parks but rather patches of forest that had been built around. Meadows usually found only on isolated mountains were placed in the middle of the city, and they bloomed with colorful wildflowers. Lone oak and banyan trees rose mightily, alone like sentries, but in the middle of the road, or even sometimes within buildings.

The buildings were empty, not just of people but also of furniture, food, utensils, and anything else that might indicate people having ever lived there. Most were covered in dust, but there were no cobwebs or signs of insect life. The clicking, shuffling sounds they’d noticed upon first arriving continued to sound at different times, but they could never pinpoint the source.

Throughout their explorations, Keshav always went first, staff at hand. They set off, by mutual assent, heading deeper into the city. Graben seemed to have been built on a radial like grid, with several alleys and streets serving as spokes, connecting to the circular roads that popped up every so often. It was a logical system, and it made it easy to explore. They found more empty buildings, more meadows, more lone trees, more wild gardens; more nothing, in other words.

They had been snacking on pilfered vegetables, but at last it was suggested and agreed that they stop to cook some food. Now deep in the city, close to the center, they collected fallen oak limbs, and started a small cooking fire with the staff. The roasted sweet potatoes and chilies were a treat after so many meals of dried mushrooms, and the fresh stream water tasted like chilled white wine.

The insides of the round bubble houses were soft enough to sleep on. There they found rest, all of them save a rotating guard. Each of them dreamed pleasant thoughts that night, and all woke up refreshed. Although no one on sentry duty could remember seeing anything at all, in the morning they all saw them.

Footprints in the dust.

Chapter 19

 

Baruna, who had been last on guard duty, buried her face in her hands. “I didn’t see anything, I swear.”

Keshav backed her up. “They could have been here before we came in,” he suggested.

Stuart looked at the prints carefully. They hadn’t been there before, as did Keshav himself. They ringed the exact area they’d been sleeping in.

The prints were not from an animal. No clawed beast had stalked them in their sleep. That, at least, was a relief. Nor were they entirely human, which is where the relief abruptly ended in favor of severe worry. Stuart looked more closely, kneeling in the dust as he stared.

There were five toes, but they were too uniform and too blocky to be human. It almost looked like someone was wearing a human shaped shoe, constructed in a factory somewhere.

“What do you think?” Harper asked. She hadn’t moved from her bed.

“Killer robots?” Stuart suggested. “I have no idea. Apparently Graben isn’t as empty as it looks.”

Unsettled, they gathered their belongings, and prepared to plunge once more into the depleted city, not stopping to eat breakfast. After so long walking, there was no soreness in their calves or thighs, no blisters on feet or toes. There was not even a need to stretch, although Baruna still did at meals, and before sleeping. The wandering boots were incredibly useful, but their muscles had adapted to walking all day as well. Even though, of course, there weren’t any days at all.

After some more exploration, some more foraging; this time Harper found orange red bell peppers thrice as large as any they’d ever seen. They had discovered the center of the city. It was obviously so, for a large square with no trees, no buildings, stretched before them. Most of the enormous space was filled with a sunken amphitheater, half-a-meter deep, and filled with chairs. It was a boundless stadium. U2 or The Rolling Stones could have played there and not sold all their tickets.

But there was no stage, no screen, no obvious center of attention for that multitude of seats.

“Curious and curiouser,” Harper murmured.

“Another place I thought about for our honeymoon,” Baruna murmured, “was the Canary Islands.”

Keshav wagged his head at her. “They don’t have this there, I bet,” he said. “Can’t find a proper abandoned city like this just anywhere.”

“No, they’re too full up with beautiful beaches and buffets,” she said, but now she was laughing.

Harper looked up into the sky. “At first I thought it was good that we didn’t see that Ra creature again. But now I wonder if it didn’t follow us.”

“Why would he watch us sleep?” Keshav asked.

She shrugged. “There’s more here going on. Didn’t he say he meant no harm?”

“I don’t know what’s worse,” added Baruna. “Him following us, and watching us, or him going home and telling daddy about us.”

“Quiet,” Stuart said. They looked at him, surprised at the harshness of his tone. He held his index finger up, listening.

“Don’t you hear that?” he said, voice half-a-whisper.

The shuffling and clicking noises were all around them now. Thuds were audible too.

“Where is it coming from?” Harper asked. Keshav lowered his staff, his eyebrows bristling.

Stuart started laughing. “It’s elementary.”

He ignored the concern in the eyes of the others. “Rule out the impossible, and whatever’s left, however improbable, is the answer, right?”

“I think that’s heavily paraphrased,” Keshav said.

“Whatever. Here’s the thing. This isn’t improbable nineteenth century London. It’s as Doctor Gomez said. We’re in Wonderland.”

“I didn’t exactly say that,” Harper protested.

Stuart was not listening. He held both of his hands up in the air, the gesture of an Old Testament prophet. “Show yourself,” he commanded.

Nothing happened. The empty square remained empty.

“Ah, hell,” he said. It had been a crazy thought.

Keshav was at his side. “You feeling all right, mate? You look a little ill.”

Stuart glanced at Keshav, at the Staff of Ra clutched in his hand.

“Do me a favor?” he asked. “Let’s all do it.”

“The whole prophet thing?”

“Bear with me,” Stuart said.

“I know you North Americans like to make arses of yourself. It’s not as easy for us. The British are reserved, you know.”

“Please,” Stuart said. “It probably won’t work. But I need to know. Can we all try it?”

“Show yourself,” Stuart and Baruna and Harper said, more or less in unison. Keshav followed a beat later.

“Ghost of Graben!” he boomed theatrically. “Reveal thyself.”

Despite his suspicions, Stuart almost fell over as, instantly, a thousand thousand forms materialized before them.

***

The custodians of the city were not ghosts. The creatures that materialized around them were golems, and they seemed to obey or at least acknowledge the humans. These golems were far different from the ones that had attacked Selvage and Omphalos. Those had been creatures of war, harsh and angular, filled with stony bellicosity.

These were gentle giants; creatures of crumbling clay, of wood and moss, of smooth marble and tranquil spirits. They were crudely humanoid, varying sizes, but most around two to three meters tall. Each one looked different; each one appeared to have been hand crafted. Some had craggy wooden bodies and mossy hair. Others were polished and smooth men of marble.

He thought of them as men, though they were in fact sexless, or at least lacking external genitalia. Their crude feet would certainly explain the prints in the dust they had found as well. Looking at them all, Stuart changed his initial estimation. There were probably not thousands of thousands of them. That had been panic and surprise talking. But there were, he’d guess, something like four or five hundred.

They also, apparently, could turn invisible at will. They did not speak, not in a language that any of them could understand. When Keshav spoke simple commands, they obeyed.

“Vanish,” he said and without any noticeable movement on their parts, they slipped out of sight.

“Spooky,” Harper said, but her voice was full of excitement.

“Show yourself!” Keshav ordered. The golems reappeared. Keshav chuckled. “What else can we make them do?”

“Leave them be,” Baruna said.

“She might be right,” Stuart added. “Maybe best not to meddle with powers we don’t understand.”

“Ask them about here,” Harper said. “Try to learn where we are.”

Stuart removed his camera from the backpack and case, and surreptitiously took a couple of photos. He didn’t think they would mind, or even notice, but best not to take chances. In the end, he took three great shots. The first was of a wood golem, his body made of redwood with clovers growing though different spots along his arms and legs. The second was a squat clay golem, whose flesh looked wet and moldable. Though few of the golems showed emotion, or even had faces capable of expressing motion, something about this clay fellow’s face looked like he was smiling. The third photo was of Keshav, and he had his staff up high as he commanded the golems to explain where they were. You could see Keshav’s mischievous grin, and the delight in his eyes, as the strange creatures scrambled to understand him.

It took some doing. Obedient though they were, the golems did not comprehend complex commands. At last a rocky golem seemed to understand, and the four of them were seated in the vast stadium. The rock golem, who was made mostly of grey slate, but had jags of quartz throughout his legs and arms, left them.

“What do we do now?” Harper wondered.

“It could be worse,” Stuart said. “We could be watching Twilight.”

Keshav laughed, but Baruna did not, and Stuart suddenly felt bad. He hadn’t meant to bag on someone’s favorite film.

“Or, you know, any major Hollywood movie. They’re all trash, right?”

He was saved by the return of the golem. It moved smoothly, the rocks in its body working as well as skin, joints, and ligaments. In its hands were five balls of something dark and resin-y.

“Eh? What’s this?” Keshav asked. The golem mimed putting a ball in its mouth.

“He wants us to eat them,” Harper said, mouth puckered in anticipatory disgust.

Stuart accepted one. It was round, viscous, and made of grainy brown pellets. He sniffed at it dubiously, hoping for a chocolate scent. No such luck. It smelled of loam and earth.

“It can’t be any worse than Phan Pyut,” Keshav said. He dropped the ball into his mouth.

His face scrunched up instantly. “It’s worse, it’s worse,” he said, barely able to enunciate his mouth was so full.

“What’s Phan Pyut?” Harper asked.

“Potatoes,” Baruna said. “Rotten potatoes, with liquid oozing out.”

“What? Why?”

Stuart knew the longer he held his ball, the harder it would be. Pretending very hard that it was a truffle, he dropped it into his mouth. It actually wasn’t that bad, for all that it tasted like bitter mud.

He was dimly aware of the others swallowing their portions, and then everything got fuzzy. His stomach heated up, and his head was wrapped in cotton. For a moment, he felt certain he was still in Manitoba. Was it the Jazz festival? Music of some sort sounded in his head.

And then he was, blissfully, nowhere at all. All around him was an absence that his mind wanted to call blackness, but he recognized as void. It was here that the act of pure existence filled him. It lasted less than a second. It lasted for all of eternity. Gradually he became aware of the others. They were there with him, though how he knew he did not know.

“I’m not being funny,” Keshav said. “But I’ve never tripped balls like this.”

“You’re not tripping,” Stuart said. “I’m really here. We all are.”

“Why are we here?” Harper asked. “What does this have to do with the amphitheater?”

“I wasn’t expecting Bollywood, but this is strange,” Baruna added.

At her words, the void around them filled. Stuart smelled curry and onions, hear car horns and bells. He felt surrounded by a thousand people. Ahead of him, just barely visible, was the Taj Mahal.

“I don’t believe it,” Keshav said. “We’re in Agra.”

“We all can see it?” Harper said. Her voice was quick and high with excitement. “Don’t you realize what this means?”

The Taj disappeared, along with the rest of India. White and sterile walls replaced them. Scientists looking into beakers and making notes filled the room.

“Come on, Harper,” Stuart groaned. “Even your imagination is boring.”

He thought for a moment, and the scientists turned into chimps; shrinking down until they were in clothes far too large for them.

“This is their entertainment,” Harper Gomez said, completely undeterred by the monkey madness. “They achieved communal storytelling. The size of the stadium. It’s an art from we can barely comprehend.”

“We have something close to virtual reality,” Stuart said. An image of a shady hacker straight out of Neuromancer appeared.

“Yes, only it’s not that close. And that’s only for one. That’s the genius of this. It connects our consciousness in ways that words never could. Reality was never meant to experienced solo.”

The hacker grimaced and collapsed, a hole in his jacket started smoking.

“You lot mind tampering it down for a bit?” Keshav asked. “I’d love to take my lady to the Maldives after all.”

They both attempted to stop thinking. For several glorious moments, they were on a golden beach ringed by turquoise water. Dolphins leapt from the sea as the sand crunched under their bare feet. Without blinking, they were all SCUBA diving, accompanied by orange, blue, yellow, and green fish of all sizes.

All of those fish made Stuart a little hungry, and without realizing, they were in a sushi restaurant in Japan.

This went on for some time. Together they told stories, communal dreamers in a reality so fragile that a mere thought would change it forever until, at last, the effect of the spheres they had eaten faded.

They slowly regained access to their own stiff and confining bodies. The golems brought them food and fresh water. As they were eating, perhaps the strangest thing of the entire day happened.

Night fell.

Chapter 20

 

“It’s dark,” Stuart said. “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“Is it because we’re in the city? Or was it coming already?” Keshav asked.

“Or something to do with our afternoon’s entertainment,” Harper mused. “We just don’t know. Regardless, I rather like it. I didn’t know how much I missed the dark.”

“Here’s another question,” Stuart said. “Is it going to be light again in a few hours or will it stay dark for as long as it was light?”

“Fair point,” Keshav said. “I agree with Harper though. I kind of enjoy it not being all purpley all the time.”

A wood golem with a mossy green Mohawk stood by them, much like a bodyguard. The others left; either by turning invisible or leaving, or perhaps both.

“That doesn’t look good,” Stuart said.

“Well, there are a thousand reasons why they would all leave. We can only guess,” Harper said.

“I would like to hole up,” Stuart said. “Just to be on the safe side. I sure don’t feel tired though.”

“I need to walk,” Harper said. “My body is stiff from sitting in one position for too long.”

“Actually, that sounds nice. Mind if I come?” Stuart asked. When she shook her head, he asked the other two. They declined, citing exhaustion, and he realized they had not had any alone time since the ship. “Ah,” he said. “We’ll take a nice long walk then.”

Baruna looked moderately embarrassed, but Keshav simply smiled in gratitude. The Mohawked golem stayed with the couple as they found shelter for the night.

***

And so it was that Stuart Holmes and Harper Gomez found themselves walking through the city. It was dark, but still light enough to see. For the most part they didn’t speak.

They walked up a pair of stairs carved into the stone. At last they reached a path along the top of the wall. It was wide and seemed to have been made for pleasure walks more than defense. Scattered wild flowers grew in bunches, and there were plenty of benches to relax all along the way. The views in the day must have been special, but now their high vantage point served to illustrate only how very surrounded by darkness they were. Stuart pulled out his camera and adjusted the light balance, but there was no shot to be taken, and he put the camera back in.

They walked along the pathway, counting the benches so they’d know how to get back.

“You know,” Stuart said, after no one had spoken for some time. “This city is nice.”

“It is,” Harper agreed.

“I mean we’ve got food, water, servants. We’re safe from the animals outside. We’ve even got entertainment.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting.”

“You know, I think I am.”

“Stuart,” she whirled on him. “There’s a dying man up there,” she vaguely pointed up. “The captain is depending on us. What’s more, there is an entire ship full of people who will die unless we help them.”

“I know that!” Stuart said. “Of course I do. But first of all, we’re lucky to still be alive. Those of us that are. We’re twenty-first century travelers. We can’t fight gods and beasts. Even if we could, even if we could get to the light source Acan told us about, it’s been days now. It must have been. They’re either dead already or help has come.”

“We were the ones supposed to get help,” she said.

“And we tried. No one can say we didn’t. But time has passed. I mean, it could be months for all we know. Perhaps the ice has melted. Or someone found them. Cruise ships that size don’t just disappear.”

“That is rationalization and you know it,” she said.

“Maybe it is,” Stuart said with a sigh. “But the very plants here want to kill us. How are we supposed to survive against gods?”

“Maybe we’re not supposed to survive, Stuart. But we have to try.”

“Ah, hell,” Stuart said. “I guess it would get boring here after a while. Besides, it’s not like this place actually would defend us if Ra or Acan came looking for us. I think I’m just scared.”

He sat down on a bench and put his head in his hands. The stone was still warm from the daylight.

She sat down next to him. “You know, I really had the wrong impression about you. I know men twice your age who still can’t admit when they’re wrong.”

“I wasn’t exactly wrong,’ he said.

“Learn how to take a compliment, Stuart.”

He did. They kissed, for a long time. At last they stopped, faces still close together.

“Last time I tried that, you almost slapped me,” he said without thinking.

She gave a little laugh. “Last time you were being an asshole. This time you were being sweet.”

Stuart didn’t really understand that, so he kissed her again. He wanted to do more, to touch her body, and pull it close to him. He remained, however, overly-conscious of her boundaries. Instead of acting on instinct, he was over thinking. His hand gently went to her thigh.

She sensed his hesitation and pulled back. “It’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Nah, I make out with hot doctors in all the abandoned cities I find.”

She laughed at that. “That’s probably technically true.”

“It is. Unless you count Detroit.”

“I’m actually from upper Michigan,” she said. She held up her hand and pointed toward the top of her middle finger. “From here, Traverse City. Detroit is actually recovering quite nicely. It’s got nothing on Graben.”

No sooner had she finished talking than something big in the air descended onto them.

***

It was fuzzy, chittering, and battering at Stuart’s head. Hairy antennae batted at them as more of the flying creatures descended upon them.

“Gah!” Harper screamed. “I hate moths!”

He realized she was right. They were moths, only they were bigger than eagles. In the dim light saw their orange bodies, wings grey, but flecked with yellow.

Instinct kicked in; Stuart punched at the animals. His fists ripped through wings and sent their bodies flying away, but always there were more. A moth wrapped itself around Doctor Gomez’s head. He lurched forward, hands outstretched to grab it off her, but his face was covered by fuzzy wings. The hard nub of the moth’s body pressed against his left ear. Stuart stumbled into Harper, and they both fell to the ground.

Harper caught herself, landing on her hands and knees.

Completely blind, Stuart fell hard and landed on his stomach. His forehead slammed into the stone ground. A bell rang loudly in his brain, and fragments of light exploded before his eyes. But the moth was squished by the blow, and its remains unwrapped from his head.

For a few moments, Stuart lay on the ground while the world spun around him. Above him, he could count at least eight giant moths in the air. There was no real defense against them, not unless he had a giant candle, or something. He wasn’t sure if they were trying to kidnap or feed from them, but either way, the message was clear. We’re fucked.

A giant candle. Or something. Inspiration hit. Stuart climbed unsteadily to his feet and pulled his backpack in front of him. Quickly he had his camera in his hands, and after a few seconds of fiddling, he had the right mode. The memory card he ejected and dropped into the waterproof bag.

“Hey moths,” he called. “Say cheese, bitches.”

He took their picture, flash turned on. The bright light stunned the moths, and Harper wriggled free. “Run back,” Stuart said.

The moths rushed him as Harper slipped past him. Blood dripped down her forehead.

“Seven benches back,” she said.

“I know. I’ll catch up with you before you get there.”

He flashed the camera again, and the moths singled out the bright light. They came all at once, all together. They came as animals, blindly responding to the flashing lights. They came at him in a mass, and feral fear pricked at Stuart’s nerves.

I can’t believe I’m going to do this. It was an easy choice though, easier than it should have been. Certainly easier than dying. Stuart pressed down on the shoot button and began taking a series of shots. Like a strobe light, it flashed at them. The oncoming moths stopped, paralyzed. The closest were a meter away from Stuart. He could have reached out and touched one on its fuzzy wing.

Stuart sighed, shaking his head slightly. I’m going to regret this. With the multi-shoot mode on, he threw the camera as far as he could. It sailed over the walls, and fell the far ground below. The entire time it flashed, strobe-lighting really, and it lit up the dark night sky.

The moths followed, instinct bringing them over the walls, and after the camera.

“I just threw away two thousand dollars of camera,” he said quietly to no one in particular. “Not to mention the lens.”

***

He did not catch Harper Gomez before the stairs. His eyes were night blind, and he made his way slowly along the top of the city wall. She was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. Good. He hadn’t been sure if he’d come seven or eight benches, though his wandering boots had stopped at this juncture.

“What happened?” she asked. “Did you kill them?”

He shook his head. “Just distracted them. They could be back up here. Come on, let’s go.”

They made their way back to ground level. There were no visible lights in the city, but the streets were somewhat brighter than the black emptiness above.

Stuart felt worry churning in his stomach even after they got back to the ground. At any moment the moths could return. They walked briskly back to the square, where the Mohawked golem stood. It did not acknowledge their presence in any way.

“Should we warn it?” Harper asked.

“I don’t know it would understand us,” Stuart said. “Let’s just get inside.”

They entered the house next to the one taken by Baruna and Keshav. Though the kissing had been nice, both were too far too tired to do anything but fall asleep. With the golems about, they decided no one needed to remain sentry. Stuart had been lying down for less than a minute and was nearly asleep when Doctor Gomez’s tired voice sounded in his ear.

“Stuart?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“How did you get rid of them? The moths, I mean.”

“There wasn’t much to it,” he said. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to think about it. But there wasn’t much point in hiding it from her. “I got them interested in the flash of my camera. There’s a mode where it will take endless pictures, frame-by-frame. Once they were into that, I threw my camera off the wall.”

“You what?” Harper didn’t try to hide her shock. “That camera is your life.”

“I would have said the same thing, not too long ago. I have learned, or am learning I suppose, that it’s actually my life that’s my life.”

“Ha. Fair enough. Well, thank you. I owe you.”

“You know what I miss more than my camera?” he said, uncomfortable with the open gratitude.

“What’s that?” There was an edge in her question, and he realized she thought he was going to talk about sex.

“My toothbrush,” he told her. “Or even just some toothpaste and my finger. It’s hard to go sleep with a dirty mouth.”

She laughed, a bit in relief he thought. Nonetheless, dirty-mouthed as the both of them were, they were both asleep quite quickly.

Outside the dark deepened, and then, much later, slowly began to brighten. When the four of them arose and met in front of the houses, (presumably) some hours later, it was bright as a summer dawn.

Though none of them yet suspected, it was to be their last day in Graben.

Chapter 21

 

They began with a fire and a hot breakfast of roasted potatoes and chilies. There weren’t nearly as many golems out today, or at least they were not visible. Keshav and Baruna were shocked to hear of the moth attack the previous night. When Stuart somewhat reluctantly told them of how he had gotten rid of them, Keshav gasped.

“That was a brilliant camera. I’m sorry, mate.”

Stuart shrugged. “I have two point-and-shoot backups and a GoPro. Only problem is, I left them.” He trailed off, wondering if their ship was in fact still afloat. Had it been rescued already? Were there search parties looking for him? What were his parents thinking? Would his brother James and his sister Sophie still be going to classes at college? This was not the first time he’d had such thoughts, but never had home seemed so far off.

“I don’t like moths,” Keshav said, when the silence had become an entity unto itself. “And we know there are worse things out there.” He took a bite out of a steaming sweet potato.