Dominion

by Nicole Givens Kurtz

  Inside, she guided him to the passengers’ seat placed behind her and the control board. It still offered a view of the wet landscape through the large windscreen. As Aule started the machine, she was painfully aware that she had not been given any details about this visitor. He seemed to be collected and not at all surprised by her appearance or her vehicle, so she assumed he must be wide-travelled.

  “Do you also possess the ngunja?” Odun asked, breaking the ice.

  “Not at all,” Aule replied. “The ngunja isn’t magic and that is what we here in Kur can do. Where do I take you?”

  “What, you mean there’s no more bureaucracy here?” Odun laughed.

  “Well, we could go to the government house to discuss the details, but I was told that you were in a hurry.”

  “Efficiency is good,” Odun mused. “Give me a minute then.”

  Aule watched Odun as he closed his eyes and retreated within himself, his head cocked to one side as though he was waiting to hear something. Then suddenly, his eyes popped open and a huge grin spread across his face.

  “Just wanted verification,” he explained. “There’s a house in your capital with the following symbols emblazoned on two columns near the entrance. That’s where my stolen ngunja is.”

  Aule frowned as Odun sketched the symbols in the air. “Are you sure that’s it?” Odun nodded in affirmation. Still frowning, Aule entered the symbols into the navigation system and a number of results popped up. Seeing the confirmation of her initial concern, Aule gulped.

  “Is anything the problem?” Odun rose and looked over Aule’s shoulder at the screen.

  “This is the Interior Minister’s house,” Aule replied.

  “Well,” Odun attempted to sound diplomatic. “I don’t mean to accuse your government of theft. Perhaps the Minister or one of his family members bought the staff in error. But it won’t be a problem for them to return it to its rightful owner.”

  Craning her neck, Aule looked up at Odun. “You really don’t know anything about Kur, do you?”

  She sighed and recalled Assistant Director Yon’s words on distractions. This was undoubtedly going to be a mess, but it would also be the most exciting thing to happen to Aule in years, perhaps since her father passed away.

  “Let’s head towards Nwo then,” Aule shrugged.

  ✦✦✦

  One part of Odun was seated in the watercraft, staring out the window at the chang-ing landscape as they approached Nwo. Odun observed that Kur seemed to be a roll ing green of trees with exposed gnarled roots that reached above the brown water. The air here was probably the freshest he had inhaled in his life. The other part of him—that inner corner of himself that was intimately linked with all the five ngunja he earned as part of his profession—was engaged in a deep conversation. Aware that he was closer to Jooh than he had ever been in the past two months, Odun could not help but smile, knowing that his abilities would be returned to him soon.

  In the upcoming landscape-creating competition back home, the ever expanding Tuntun Atlantic would need that particular ability Jooh enabled. Tuntun Atlantic was always expanding and it was the job of Esteemed Mages like Odun, aided by his ngunja, to create new land for incoming colonists. The thought of not being able to participate had left Odun restless and unable to sleep for months. He had been the winning champion ever since he emerged from his mentor’s shadow a decade ago. This year was particularly crucial: it would mark Odun’s sixth win, qualifying him for a promotion and hopefully an all-expense paid move to another frontier town where he could push the limits of his ngunja and terrakinesis abilities.

  Being so far away from Jooh had taken its toll on Odun. It felt as though a part of him was missing; as though he had been moving on stilted breath for months. It was hard to believe that he once walked about without being connected to and being in the care of his possessions. This craft could not be moving any faster, and where he came from, the fastest moving things were the pelorovis-drawn carriages. What Odun really wanted to do was sort things out himself and get back Jooh on his own, but rules were rules and the worst thing a mage could do was break them. So his mentor had drilled into him and what he had experienced at the border was just a slight taste of the bureaucracy that was slowly blanketing all dimensions and planes.

  “You’re sure your ngunja is at the Interior Minister’s?” his guide asked, her voice jarring his thoughts.

  Odun shifted in his chair, surprised that she had broken the silence but as he was now in a good mood, he was happy to indulge any questions.

  “Of course,” he replied. “We’re in constant communication with our ngunja. At least the good mages are. It was stupid for anyone to steal it. You can’t possess its power just because you possess the figurine.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It just means that there has to be some alignment between us and our ngunja for there to be magic. Not everyone has that ability.”

  “We don’t know much about the ngunja and the mages here,” Aule said. “What’s it like in territories solely populated by humans?”

  There was a certain flavour to her question, a desperation that Odun could easily detect even though she seemed to hide it well. He shifted in his leather chair and chose to ignore it, closing his eyes in concentration. There were many reasons a civil servant might seek escape but those were not Odun’s concern when he could feel that Jooh was somewhere close by.

  ✦✦✦

  As Aule navigated past the mangroves, she struggled to keep her excitement in check. This was her first assignment, yes; but she was here with someone who could tell her more about the human world scattered across dimensions. She prodded gently with her questions, but the mage seemed occupied with what Aule could only suppose was some form of meditation. Nwo was a metropolis of closely packed houses, varying in size but all larger than anything they had passed on the way. The waters of the swamp led here, although they were hidden by elevated reinforcements that formed the foundation of most of the buildings in Nwo. The entrance to the Interior Min-ister’s palace was guarded by four guards. They stood between the stone columns on folded hind legs with their long arms almost reaching the ground, their blue skins covered in warts and their poses ready to attack.

  The building itself was made of the same stone as the columns, and though it rose two storeys high and looked imposing, it was nothing compared to the buildings in the central government area which they had passed by on the way. Aule parked a few paces ahead of the entrance but kept her vehicle running.

  “I’ll be right back,” Aule said to Odun before heading out. She had barely taken a step when one of the guards pounced, launching himself in one great leap from the far distance to stand in front of Aule. The artificial earth trembled from the force and Aule geared herself up for a confrontation.

  “We were not informed of any human visitors,” the guard grunted.

  “I am from the Oeg border,” Aule explained, tapping her suit in search of her ID. “I am escorting an Esteemed Mage under the orders of Assistant Director Yon. He wishes to see the Interior Minister.”

  The guard was already hissing at her. Aule’s skin shifted tones and grew lighter brown, indicating her growing irritation.

  “Assistant Director Yon sent me,” she hissed each word.

  “I heard that part,” the guard replied. “And I say, the Minister isn’t expecting anyone.”

  “Look,” Aule said, “the first human to step foot in Kur in years is behind me.” Finding her ID, she presented it to the guard. Training at the academy must have worsened because the guards saw her movement as a threat, so that the other guards at the column leapt forward and surrounded her. Aule was immune to the poisons emanating from their glistening skins, so she stood her ground and glared at each of them. A few tense seconds passed before the guards stepped down.

  “You can send the Esteemed Mage in,” one of them said. “Only the mage.” Aule watched them retreat to their
positions at the entrance before whirling to

  find Odun.

  “You can enter, past those gates,” she pointed behind her. “I will be waiting for you right here.”

  “Sure,” Odun replied.

  Aule watched him make his way towards the columns and the guards. Slowly despair set in.

  Aule kicked the ground in frustration. She hated this place.

  ✦✦✦

  Whatever challenge his guide surmounted back there, Odun was glad to be inside the Interior Minister’s house. It was tastefully designed with art from across portals. Odun stood in the hallway waiting to be received, and in that moment understood how his ngunja could have reached here. Jooh was a brass figurine that featured a couple kneeling side by side; everything from the couple’s elongated heads to the curve of their lips was realistic. He tilted his head in concentration, listening for Jooh’s voice. Just then, one of the huge doors to his right opened and from it emerged a squat Kurian with red skin and large eyes completely black.

  “It has been a while since we welcomed a human to Kur,” the Kurian said, straight to the point. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

  “Good day, Minister,” Odun replied, resisting the urge to crouch so that he was eye-level with the Kurian.

  Odun considered the most diplomatic way to address the issue of his stolen ngunja. In that moment, his enthusiasm at finding Jooh had cooled off enough for him to realise the wisdom in travelling with someone who knew local customs. Why had Aule not accompanied him? And what was the commotion with the guards? He hadn’t bothered to ask and now it was too late.

  His host skipped over a reply and said instead, “I am the Minister’s assistant. Surely you don’t presume our Interior Minister will have time to attend to you.”

  “I’m looking for something.” Odun said.

  “And what would that be?” the Kurian asked.

  “I’m a Mage from Tuntun Republic and my ngunja was stolen about nine weeks ago. I have reason to believe that it is here.”

  “That’s impossible,” the Kurian’s skin turned a deeper red. It might have been embarrassment or anger but Odun took a careful step back. “Are you accusing the Interior Minister of theft?”

  “You must know we are constantly connected to our ngunjas,” Odun said, his voice rising. “I know it is here.”

  Odun did not have the time to engage in this kind of game. In that moment, he did something that he would not do under any other circumstance: he lifted his hand-channelling Wak, one of the ngunja he left at home. Anticipating his move, the sac under the Kurian’s skin bulged till it was almost twice its owner’s size. A sharp acidic scent suffused the air and as soon as it reached Odun’s nostrils, his arm fell to the side useless.

  “We do not tolerate any form of human violence here,” the Kurian said. “Especially from humans. Your guide will escort you back to the border.”

  ✦✦✦

  Some time had passed and Aule remained upset and embarrassed that the guards had not let her do her job. After centuries of trying to mimic human behaviours and manners, the Kurians had done a complete turnaround and made a concerted effort to exile humans and ban contact with them. Aule was an aberration, born from a liaison between her nomadic Kurian father and a human just when the ruling mages decided they had enough of human dealings. She had heard that her father had created her mostly from her mother’s genetic material. He was the one who carried her in his back and hatched her. He was the only parent she knew, and his death meant an end to the shield that had protected her from Kurian discrimination.

  She had a lot in common with other Kurians: living on water and land and breathing mostly through skin and hair. Yet Aule could do even more; she could camouflage better than other Kurians and possessed the ability to break bones when necessary. She would have been a star in any other era, but in this one she was just a freak that no one wanted to see or deal with.

  There was a hard rap on the side of her watercraft. Aule pushed open the latch to see one of the guards carrying the unconscious Odun. The guard did not say a word before tossing Odun into the vehicle, and Odun’s head barely missed the edge of the passenger’s seat. Aule looked down at Odun where he lay slumped. She knelt down and touched his skin. She could taste the paralysing poison that he had inhaled. Aule tried to absorb as much of it as she could before driving away.

  It would take about an hour before Odun regained consciousness. When he did, Aule’s skin glowed in relief.

  “This is unnecessarily difficult,” Odun groaned, clearing his throat.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to propose a solution,” Aule said. The time she had spent alone gave her the confidence to share this.

  “What do you suggest?”

  “I can go into that house, get your ngunja and no one will know. In return you can take me to Tuntun Atlantic.”

  ✦✦✦

  The frustration Odun felt when he was unable to move his limbs while remaining slightly conscious of what was going on around him had faded only slightly. His muddled mind did not even consider Aule’s suggestion.

  “That will be against the law!” Odun proclaimed, shaking his head. Running through his mind were the dozen laws, both Kurian, Tuntun Atlantic and inter-portal, that they would be breaking.

  “Do you want your ngunja or not?” Aule asked. “Kurians are diurnal and this is our chance.”

  It was his first time here and Odun was so consumed with the thought of his ngunja that he did not take the time to study Aule. She did not possess the long forearms, webbed digits, or powerful hind legs that the guards possessed. She looked human enough, but on closer inspection, he saw that her nose was small enough to resemble slits and that the black of her skin had an obsidian quality.

  “Have you taken on this form for my benefit?” Odun asked.

  “I have some human in me,” Aule answered. “That’s why I want to leave this place. You may have noticed how hostile Kurians are to humans. It’s worse for someone like me. I can’t do anything I like. Everywhere I turn I face alienation.”

  “Humans are most likely going to act the same way towards you,” Odun tried to reason with her.

  “The Kurian government has clamped down on everything,” Aule pressed on. “There’s no free movement outside this territory. Share those coordinates with me.”

  “That will be impossible,” Odun said, eyeing Aule from the corner of his eyes. “You of all people know that Kur is strictly regimented and guarded. I’ve never had a personal escort follow me on any of my travels.”

  “Do you want your staff or not?” Aule repeated. “It is your choice. We have a few hours before your status becomes illegal.”

  Odun allowed himself to brood. The sun was setting outside, and he could not tell where they were, yet he was close enough to Jooh to hear it humming strongly. An Esteemed Mage was welcome across portals but in Kur, his stolen ngunja was hidden from him. Odun considered his options: he could somehow combine all five of his ngunjas to summon an earthquake and effectively ruin this place…then face the rest of his life outlawed by the A.J.E. Maybe he could even lose his ngunjas for good.

  Jooh was now talking loud enough for Odun to decipher the message it was trying to send. It was going to change hands soon.

  “Let’s do this your way,” Odun said.

  ✦✦✦

  For most of her life, Aule retained the ability to remain awake after sunset. Being reduced to inactivity after nightfall was a major weakness that technology still had not saved the Kurians from. Her father had often said it was the human part of her that made her an evolved Kurian. For Aule, the loneliest times were at night.

  “Tell me what to expect,” Aule said, and Odun described how Jooh looked and details of the room in which it was kept.

  Her comms pad beeped; it was Assistant Director Yon again. The sun was quickly disappearing for the day and undoubtedly, he wanted to ensure that Odun was out of Kur by
then. Aule ignored the incoming transmission.

  Armed with the necessary knowledge, Aule exited her watercraft and dove into the brackish water. She had parked close enough to the Interior Minister’s house that it was a short swim. Aule cut through the waters and when she emerged, she waited for her camouflage to kick in. She made a rude gesture as she snuck past the guards who were already powered down and dozing in their combative stances. Aule slipped undetected into the house through an open window on the ground floor. On any other day, she would have stopped to stare in awe at how large the building was, but now she walked towards the second floor.

  According to Odun, his ngunja was placed in a room that looked out to the columns. She would have to make her way into each of the north-facing rooms. And when she entered the right one and found the ngunja for Odun, Aule would be one step closer to getting out of here. She struck wood in the third room on the left of the grand staircase. Odun’s ngunja was stunning and Aule felt a muted energy buzzing from it as she picked it up. A blaring alarm went off. Aule froze, uncertain what to expect. Though the guards were sleeping outside, Aule knew that the Kurians just did not function in this time of the day.

  “Someone’s here,” a deep voice grunted languidly. “Come out!”

  She rushed out of the room and saw the guards falling over themselves as they leapt here and there looking for the intruder. The sluggish movements of the guards, unused to such disturbance, made Aule chuckle. She dropped her guard and took great pleasure revealing herself to the guards. Their movements were slow, as though they were moving through gel, and it did not take much for Aule to immobilise them with her own poison. That was what they got for underestimating her. Her father had created her well.

  ✦✦✦

  Odun was startled by Aule’s sudden appearance. She kickstarted her craft and tossed Jooh at him with a slight apology.