William Wilde and the Unusual Suspects

by Davis Ashura

  Serena’s mouth watered, but she forced herself to take dainty bites even while she wished she could take bigger ones. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

  “Someone in Rukh’s household, in our first home together, taught me,” Jessira said.

  “Cook Heltin,” Rukh said, his tone fond and wistful.

  Serena’s eyes narrowed in thought. A household and a cook implied wealth. But where was their home?

  “You can dig in,” William said to her.

  “I have a certain image to maintain,” Serena said.

  “Why? That version wasn’t the real you,” William said. “She was a lie.”

  Serena’s lip curled. There was his ever-ready reminder again.

  Rukh and Jessira shared a glance.

  “I learned some of what Serena did to you,” Jessira said to William. “And I understand how difficult forgiveness can be in such a situation.”

  William reddened. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  “I’m sure you wouldn’t,” Rukh said, “but you have a choice to make. Release any chance of friendship with Serena, or find a way to forgive her. In this, there is no middle ground.”

  “Remember, forgiving is not the same as forgetting,” Jessira added.

  William scowled. “It’s not that easy.”

  Serena kept quiet, feeling like an observer as the conversation swirled around her.

  “I know what it’s like to befriend an enemy,” Rukh said. “It requires patience, and it certainly isn’t easy.”

  “Life rarely is,” Jessira said. “I once knew a woman who should have known better, but she fell in love with the man most wrong for her. She ruined his life and he ruined hers, but in the end, they forgave one another.”

  They were obviously talking about themselves, and Serena wondered anew about them. How could two people who appeared so young sound so old?

  “Jessira’s telling you to keep your heart open to forgiveness,” Rukh said to William.

  “And Rukh’s saying to be patient,” Jessira spoke to Serena.

  William appeared to consider the advice, and the conversation quieted. “I’ll try to do better,” he eventually told Serena, “but like Rukh said, it’s not easy.”

  “I wouldn’t expect it to be,” Serena replied.

  The rest of the meal passed by, and when he finished eating William rose to his feet. “We should get going,” he said.

  “Stay a little longer,” Rukh urged, “and let us show you our home.”

  After lunch, Rukh and Jessira took them on a long hike through the lands around their home.

  The four of them stalked through the nearby wildflower meadow and along the mirrored pond that drained the range of foothills cupping the mountain valley in which the cabin stood. They climbed rugged outcroppings and hiked the conifer forest surrounding the field. The hills and trees blunted the occasional gusts of wind and left the area in a microclimate that resembled New England rather than the tropics.

  Afterward it was too late to head back to Lilith, so William and Serena decided to stay the night.

  Rukh built a fire in the hearth, and the wood smoke and crackling flames triggered fond memories. William recalled autumns back home, watching football with his dad and Landon, raking leaves with them, and tossing baseball with fall’s crispness as tart and sweet as the best apples.

  He wondered again how Landon was doing. He hadn’t heard from him in so long. Where was he? How was he doing?

  “How do you get back and forth to the village?” Serena asked Jessira.

  “We bike,” Jessira answered. She pointed to a pair of heavy-framed bicycles with thick tires parked in a corner.

  William hadn’t noticed them before.

  “Going downhill is a lot faster than walking or riding a horse,” Rukh said.

  “What about uphill?” William asked.

  Rukh grinned. “Uphill we cheat. We use Air and Earth to help us along.”

  William studied their bikes, having never seen a pair like them before. “I didn’t know they made bikes with frames that thick.”

  “They’re called mountain bikes,” Jessira said. “The man at the bike shop in Cincinnati said they started making them out west and only recently brought them east. Rukh took one look at them and decided he had to have one. He said the bikes reminded him of what he rode growing up.”

  How was that possible? The bikes were new to Cincinnati but not where Rukh grew up?

  “Where’s home for you?” William asked. “Your home, I mean.” He didn’t expect an answer.

  “The city of Ashoka,” Rukh said. A note of longing filled his voice. “An ancient place of grace and beauty.”

  “Ashoka?” William asked. He wondered if he might finally get some answers.

  “It’s a world away from here,” Rukh answered. He clapped his hands once. “Enough about my history. Serena’s eyeing the bikes like a child would a dish of candy.”

  Serena broke into an embarrassed smile. “I was thinking how fun it would be to ride one of these through Janaki Valley.”

  “We can teach you how to make one,” Jessira offered.

  Serena beamed, her earlier distrust of Rukh and Jessira apparently gone. “I’d love that.”

  Later on, the fire burned to coals and Rukh and Jessira retired to their bedroom. William lay in a sleeping bag that Rukh had let him borrow, while Serena took the couch.

  William stared at the ceiling, and Rukh and Jessira’s counsel echoed in his head. Keep your heart open to forgiveness.

  It was good advice, and William steeled himself for a long overdue conversation.

  “I know what you almost did to Jason,” William said, his voice hesitant.

  Serena eyed him in confusion.

  “A few months ago, when the two of you were arguing on Clifftop. I saw the braid you wove. The one Fiona sometimes used on me and Jake. The one that causes pain.”

  Serena’s features became guarded, flat like a mahavan’s.

  “I’m glad you didn’t use it,” William said.

  Serena didn’t reply at once. Instead, she seemed to study him. “You’re not mad at me?” she asked at last.

  William shook his head. “On Sinskrill, you would have struck Jason down without a second thought. Here, you didn’t. I’m proud of you. I should have told you a long time ago.”

  “Thank you,” Serena said, her voice grave but giving no indication of her thoughts.

  William hesitated again. Here went the bigger risk. “And if you like, maybe we can build a bike together?”

  Serena didn’t answer at first. “I’d like that,” she eventually said in a husky whisper.

  October 1987

  william stood on Linchpin Knoll and shifted about nervously. He couldn’t stand still. Today he, Jason, Daniel, Mr. Zeus, Rukh, and Jessira would travel to Australia and attempt to confirm that Sinskrill’s lorasra polluted other saha’asras. The trip had been organized within days of his and Serena’s meeting with Rukh and Jessira, and the others stood nearby as well.

  Also present were some who wouldn’t make the journey—Jake, Serena, and Bar Duba, a large, native-born Arylyner and the Councilor for Cliff Air. He had the frame of a grizzly bear and the high-pitched voice of Mike Tyson.

  William shivered when a chill wind blew. Clouds had rolled in overnight, bringing with them unseasonably cold weather. It might have been considered balmy anywhere else, but for Arylyn it was downright frosty. The gray clouds also hid the early morning sun, and the weather reminded him of Sinskrill.

  He watched as Bar and Mr. Zeus held a hushed, heated conversation. They flicked a glimpse at Rukh and Jessira before whispering furiously to one another again. William wondered what they were discussing.

  “What’s that about?” Serena asked William, apparently noticing the same conversation.

  For whatever reason, she’d decided to see them off. William tried to think of it as a kind gesture even as distrust at her motivations rumbled beneath the su
rface of his thoughts.

  “What’s what about?” Jason asked, overhearing them.

  “I think Mr. Zeus and Bar Duba might have a problem with Rukh and Jessira,” William said.

  Daniel scoffed. “They probably caught wind of some of Jason’s suspicions. You know.” He mimed Jason’s voice, but took it up a register, making it sound more like a girl. “Who are they? They’re so mysterious. Where did they come from? Blah, blah, blah.”

  “Ha, ha,” Jason said.

  William flicked a glance at the focus of Mr. Zeus’ and Bar’s conversation: Rukh and Jessira, who were busy checking their weapons—compound bows, arrows, and swords. As soon as they finished, they packed them away in long, canvas duffle bags.

  Jessira noticed William’s attention. “Better to be too careful than not careful enough,” she said with a wink.

  Once again, it struck William how much Jessira had changed since he had first met her a little over a year ago. Back then she’d been a gangly freshman, lost and confused. Now she stood like a Greek goddess come to life, with power and certainty in every movement and graceful expression of her striking face. She took a knee and cinched up her gear.

  They viewed her from behind.

  “I could watch that all day,” Jake whispered to William, his voice sounding strangled.

  “Better not let Rukh hear you,” William replied.

  “Watch who?” Serena asked. She noticed the object of their fascination and rolled her eyes. “Men,” she muttered.

  William felt unaccountable guilt. Why did he care what Serena thought of him?

  “How’d we get stuck in this mess anyway?” Daniel asked of no one in particular. “I like going to the Far Beyond as much as the next magus, but—”

  “Since when did you become a magus?” Jason asked. “You’re still a journeyman.”

  Daniel dismissed his words with an airy wave. “Whatever. My question still stands.”

  “You could have said ‘no,’” William reminded him.

  “No, I couldn’t,” Daniel replied.

  “Saying ‘no’ is easy,” Rukh said, approaching them. “You only have to say ‘No thanks,’ or ‘I don’t want to.’”

  “Easy for you to say,” Daniel said, “but if I didn’t go, these three,” he pointed to William, Jake, and Jason, “would have forever reminded me that I was the guy too chicken to go visit an empty saha’asra. They’d never let me live it down.”

  Mr. Zeus called their attention to him. “Gather round. I want to review the plan again.” He waited until they’d drawn near. “First, does anyone have their swords?”

  A muttering of ‘ayes’ met his question.

  “Wouldn’t a gun be better?” Daniel asked.

  “For what?” Mr. Zeus asked. “Killing a wandering kangaroo?” He rolled his eyes. “We’re only taking the swords because the Village Council insists we have some kind of weapons with us.”

  “A weapon is merely a tool,” Rukh said. “You’ll miss it most when you absolutely need it.”

  Mr. Zeus harrumphed. “At any rate, we’re going to a saha’asra in Australia linked to Arylyn, and thankfully it’s relatively close to a small town. Once there, we’ll have to convince someone to let us borrow their car.”

  Jason wore a cheesy grin. “On the weak-minded does the Force have a strong influence,” he said in a Yoda voice.

  “You’re butchering the quote, dummy,” Jake said. “Besides, it was Obi-wan who said that.”

  “Don’t you have some place to be that isn’t here?” Jason asked Jake.

  “I do,” Jake said, “but making fun of you is a full-time job.”

  “Who’s Obi-wan?” Serena whispered to William.

  He stared at her in disbelief until he saw her eyes twinkle with suppressed laughter.

  “I don’t like stealing,” Rukh said, “and we shouldn’t force others to do our bidding.”

  “It won’t do them any long-lasting harm,” Mr. Zeus said in a placating tone.

  “It’s the principle of it,” Jessira said.

  “If you have a better idea, then let’s hear it,” Mr. Zeus challenged.

  Rukh shook his head. “Not for our current trial, but from this point on we should have a vehicle ready at all the saha’asras linked to Arylyn.”

  Mr. Zeus grumbled. “Desert sand ruins a car.”

  “Are you not a magus?” Rukh asked.

  Mr. Zeus grumbled further. “Fine. We’ll leave cars from now on, but in this one case we’ll borrow someone else’s and drive out to the other saha’asra connected to Sinskrill. William will tell us what he sees, we’ll spend the night, and then come home. Any questions?”

  A smattering of ‘nos’ met his words.

  “Then it’s time,” Mr. Zeus said.

  “Be careful,” Jake warned William. “Don’t stay any longer than you have to.”

  “Wise advice for all of us,” Jessira said.

  “Good luck,” Serena told William. She moved aside before he could respond.

  Mr. Zeus sourced his lorethasra, and a hint of vanilla wafted on the breeze. He triggered the anchor line, and from a foot off the ground, a tall line rose and split the air. It rotated on its long axis and opened as a two-dimensional doorway. A welter of shapeless colors and patterns filled it, and a flare of Fire pulsed rhythmically. The odor of sulfur drifted. The colors took shape when a bell-tone rang out, and a rainbow bridge extended into infinity.

  “I’ll go first,” Rukh said. He sourced his lorethasra, and a hint of sandalwood emanated from him. He tethered to the anchor line, stepped into the doorway, and disappeared.

  William followed Jason onto the rainbow bridge of the anchor line, and a sense of extreme motion caused vertigo. His body elongated, stretching until it seemed paper-thin. He frayed at the edges, tearing. In the midst of his pain, he wondered if this was how Reed Richards or Stretch-Armstrong felt.

  He snapped back together and stumbled off the anchor line.

  William found himself in a saha’asra cloaked in night. He blinked in confusion at the darkness.

  How was it night? They’d left Arylyn in the early morning.

  The answer came to him a split-second later. The time zone. Australia was hours behind Arylyn.

  William shook off the last of his confusion and got his bearings. A half-moon and starlight provided enough illumination to take in his surroundings. He and the others stood in a canyon surrounded by sheer cliffs. They grew off the desert floor like towers, and blots of what might have been trees dotted the landscape. An intermittent wind moaned like a vagrant ghost amongst the stones and hills, and carried a floral scent.

  “What’s that smell?” William asked.

  “Golden wattle,” Mr. Zeus answered. “Now, which way is the road?”

  “Over there.” Jessira pointed south. “In this terrain, it’ll take us a few hours to get there.”

  “Everyone have plenty of water?” Mr. Zeus asked.

  William checked his two canteens. Both remained full. He also checked the two nomasras he’d need in the Far Beyond for lorasra. They hung from a chain around his neck.

  Everyone nodded to Mr. Zeus.

  “Good,” he said. “Braid your lights to life. I don’t want any of us breaking an ankle on this ground.”

  They began hiking, their asra-powered flashlights lighting the way as Jessira took the lead. She walked with purpose and poise, and her head swiveled as she scanned their surroundings. Rukh paced beside her, equally vigilant. Occasionally, they conferred.

  “I thought Mr. Zeus would be up front,” William whispered to Jason and Daniel.

  “Jessira always knows where she’s going,” Jason said.

  “What do you mean?” William asked.

  “I mean she always knows where she is,” Daniel explained.

  “That doesn’t really answer my question,” William said.

  “I don’t know what else to tell you,” Daniel replied. “On Sinskrill, Mr. Zeus got us lost, and Jessira got us
unlost.”

  “Is ‘unlost’ a word?” Jason asked.

  “It is if I use it and it makes sense,” Daniel replied.

  “Quiet,” Rukh hissed.

  For a wonder, Jason and Daniel did as Rukh commanded.

  After several hours of hiking—shortly before dawn—they reached a four-lane road and waited. The sun breached the horizon, and soon thereafter, a vehicle that could transport all of them trundled along, a Volkswagen microbus.

  Mr. Zeus reached out with a trickle of Spirit, and the driver of the bus slowed down and pulled over. They hitched a ride to a nearby town and found an old Holden Jackaroo for sale. The big sport utility vehicle reminded William of Mr. Zeus’ International Harvester.

  Mr. Zeus haggled with the owner over the price. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, he took possession of the vehicle, and they headed westward. The outback passed by in a blur of reds, browns, and greens, and around noon they stopped for lunch at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in a small town.

  Afterward, William took over driving, with Daniel up front in the passenger seat, Jason and Mr. Zeus in the middle row, and Rukh and Jessira apparently dozing in the back.

  An endless dull scenery stretched in all directions.

  Daniel sighed. “This is so boring. Are we there yet?”

  William felt the same way. The drive was boring. Who knew the outback could be so godawful monotonous? Right now it felt like their journey was taking them from the town of Tedium to the village of Apathy.

  “We’ve still got hours to go,” Mr. Zeus answered.

  Daniel sighed in clear disappointment and disgust, and went back to staring out the window. Minutes later he spoke again. “Are we there yet?”

  “That question wasn’t funny the first time you asked it, and it’s less so now,” Rukh noted, his eyes still closed.

  “I think it’s funny,” Daniel said.

  “I think my shoe shoved up your butt would be funny,” Jason said.

  “I think your shoe up your own—”

  “Don’t finish that thought,” Rukh warned Daniel, and again, for a wonder, he obeyed.

  The miles rolled by. No one wanted to stop for supper, so William stayed on the wheel while the others passed out sandwiches they’d brought with them.