The Stranger

by Max Frei

  Behind my back I sensed Shurf coming to life again. He would still need a few moments to recover. I’d just have to buy a little time.

  I charged forth, almost up to the alcove where the dead man was sitting. I decided that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to spit right into the dark pupils of his eyes—eyes are so fragile and vulnerable. But I had never been a crack shot, and this time the poison landed on his forehead! Some sniper I’d made.

  I laughed nervously, moved closer, and spat again. This time I did myself proud—where his right eye had been, there was now a gaping hole.

  Kiba Attsax backed up toward the window in confusion.

  “Are you dead?” he asked, with such intense scrutiny that it seemed nothing on earth was more important to him than a candid report on the state of my health. “In this place, the living can’t stand up to the dead in an argument, so you must be dead. Why are you on his side?”

  “That’s my job—to be on his side,” I said.

  And then I got just what I deserved. I felt Kiba Attsax’s right hand on my chest. Idiot! Why did I move so close to him? I berated myself.

  Suddenly, I grew cold and calm, and I had no desire to fight with anyone anymore. I just needed to lie down and think a bit. It felt like the most primitive sort of narcosis. That infuriated me, so instead of shaking his hand off, I spat into the dead Magician’s face, already seriously disfigured by now.

  “Shurf, hide him, quick!” I shouted. “Between your fingers, like I did with your glove. Hurry!”

  I dropped to the floor to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally shrink me to keep the dead man company.

  I just had to hope that Shurf was feeling well enough again to follow my advice, or to think of something better himself. I had run out of ideas.

  Then, to my intense relief, I realized that Magician Kiba Attsax was no longer beside me. I turned around. Lonli-Lokli silently showed me his left hand. His thumb and his forefinger were pinched together in a peculiar fashion. It had worked!

  We left that inhospitable room and went downstairs. I was shaking all over. Sir Shurf was silent, as before. I think he also needed time to come to his senses after his ordeal. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what this had been for him.

  Outside there was a cold wind and a soft dusky twilight. We were alive, and we were walking away from the small two-story building. I turned around almost mechanically, and froze in my tracks.

  “Look, Shurf! The house is gone!”

  Lonli-Lokli turned around and glanced indifferently, then shrugged.

  It’s gone all right, said the expression on his face. I realized it didn’t really make much difference to me, either. We kept going. Still, I couldn’t master my trembling. Even my teeth were chattering.

  “Try some of my breathing exercises,” Shurf said suddenly. “They seem to have helped me.”

  I tried. Ten minutes later, when we dropped into a tiny, deserted tavern, I could already hold a cocktail glass in my hand without spilling it or crushing it to pieces.

  “Thanks,” I said. “They really do help.”

  “What would they be for, if they didn’t help?” Lonli-Lokli asked stolidly.

  “What are we going to do with him?” I said, trying to think practically. “Or do you want to keep him as a souvenir?”

  “I doubt I’ll be needing it,” Lonli-Lokli replied. “In any case, I have to say your idea was praiseworthy. So simple, and at the same time it was something even I could do, although my chances of success were slim. You realize you saved much more than my life, Max?”

  “Well, I think I can guess. I’m very impressionable. Your story about the dreams of the Mad Fishmonger are still ringing in my ears. Did this fellow do the same thing again? He managed to inform me that meeting him in Kettari wouldn’t be such a good idea, that here your chances would be no higher than in your dreams.”

  “That’s how it is, indeed. You know, Max, we’ll have to kill him all the same. To kill him once and for all, I mean. Your mysterious friends, the ones who told you about Kiba Attsax—will they help us?”

  “I really don’t know. We can ask, of course. Let’s have something else to drink, Shurf. Your breathing exercises work like a charm, but it’s better to take a comprehensive approach to restoring one’s health, don’t you think?”

  “You’re probably right,” said Lonli-Lokli. “I guess I’d like to drink something myself.”

  We silently drank some dark, almost black, biting wine. I felt astonishingly good: lightheaded and sad, and no thoughts at all—not one.

  I wasn’t in the least worried about what we were going to do next. Deep down, I probably already knew, but—

  Shurf gave me a quizzical look.

  “Let’s go,” I said. And I stood up resolutely. At that very moment, it became absolutely clear to me where we were going, though I still don’t remember how I arrived at the decision. I felt I was being carried along and I couldn’t resist. I had no strength to do so.

  Lonli-Lokli didn’t ask any questions. His trust in me seemed by this time to be unlimited. Maybe that was just as it was supposed to be.

  We walked to the city gates. A few days earlier, Shurf hadn’t been able to leave the city, but for some reason I didn’t doubt for a second that now he could. If need be, I’d just say, “the guy’s with me,” and everything would be fine.

  This wasn’t necessary, however. We left Kettari as easily as if we were passing beyond the city gates to admire the famous grove of Vaxari trees or other pastoral beauties. We walked down the road, and still my feet didn’t touch the ground. Or maybe they did, I didn’t know. I couldn’t think about that. An extraordinary sense of my own power filled me like warm water to the very top of my head. It seemed that during this outing I really could do anything I liked; but it never entered my head to take advantage of it. I just wanted Shurf to take a ride with me on my favorite cable car, and then—come what may!

  “What’s this, Max?” Lonli-Lokli asked in surprise. In front of us was the boarding station for the cable car. In the distance we could see the delicate towers of my city in the mountains, and still further off was the white brick house with a restless parrot-weathervane. I looked at my companion happily.

  “Don’t you recognize it? You were here not so long ago.”

  “The city in your dreams?”

  “The very one. And in your dreams, too . . . Let’s go for a ride.”

  The little cabin of the cable car was meant for two, so we fit snugly. Sir Shurf stared, enchanted, now to the left, now to the right. His silence was not so much a sign of aloofness as it was the thrill of ecstasy. I felt as if I had just won the Nobel Prize or in any case, that my “outstanding contributions to mankind” were deemed worthy. The enthusiasms of Sir Lonli-Lokli were not dispensed lightly.

  I laughed. It was as if I had been given a certificate that read: “The bearer of this document is immortal, and free to do whatever he wishes, now and forever more.”

  “Now,” I said, when I had stopped laughing. “Throw your dead man into this abyss so that he doesn’t prevent us from enjoying the landscape. I think it’s is my favorite way of killing dead Magicians. I highly recommend it.”

  A shadow of doubt flickered in Lonli-Lokli’s eyes, but he glanced again at the ghostly landscape that stretched out below us, then nodded and shook his left hand. Kiba Attsax plunged downward. He was-n’t the least surprised. Of course, he knew what I was capable of—the dead know everything. Somehow, I felt that Sir Kiba was not at all opposed to such a strange end to his long, tiring existence that confounded common sense. He disappeared; just disappeared, without reaching the earth. Which, to be honest, wasn’t underneath us, either.

  I burst out laughing again, raised my eyes to the sky, and asked, gasping for breath in my merriment, “Did you like it, Maba? Surely you did!”

  I liked it, I liked it! Are you happy now? The muffled Silent Speech of Sir Maba Kalox reached me so suddenly I shivered. Only stop this foolish habit
of getting in touch with me aloud in public! Can’t you at least try?

  I’ll try, I said, shamefaced, this time without opening my mouth.

  “Excellent!” said Lonli-Lokli, looking glad and youthful.

  Now, however, there was nothing unnatural in his good cheer. He was like the fellow who had walked with me here not long before, when the city in the mountains was still just one of my favorite dreams. Shurf didn’t seem to have paid any attention to my yelps into the emptiness.

  “Were you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes. Don’t ask me why. I have no idea! But I was absolutely sure that this was how it would be. Look, Shurf, we’re almost there. Yes, take your mitten. I think you can make friends with it again. I shook my left hand and gave Lonli-Lokli back his shining white sharp-nailed glove, which, Magicians be praised, now had only one owner.

  The city was glad to see us. There was no doubt about it. The nearly empty streets, occasional friendly passersby, and a warm breeze carried the weak aromas of my favorite memories through the outdoor cafés. There was nothing special about it; but all the same, to me there was no better place in a single other World. Though I would never have considered staying here. I knew it was impossible.

  We decided to moor at one of the outdoor cafes. Shurf didn’t like coffee, but he did like the frothy clouds of cream sailing on top of it. So we split our portions two ways, which was tasty, and rather funny. I remember that Lonli-Lokli punctured his spoon—he just looked through it at the sun, and the hole appeared of its own accord. He winked at me, and with this handy implement he scooped up the cloud of whipped cream floating on top of the cup. The tall, fantastically slender girl who was busying herself with our orders gave me a smacking kiss on the cheek. That was unexpected, but altogether pleasant. I just shook my head in wonder. We didn’t say anything to each other, as I recall. I think we just smiled every now and then; but I’m not at all sure.

  After long hours of walking from one end of the city to the other, we finally came across the shady English park. My Lady Marilyn was roaming around there somewhere, if the wise Sir Mackie Ainti was to be believed. And who else was there to believe?

  “Oh,” I sighed. “I forgot again! I wanted to find out the name of this city. I should have asked someone.”

  “Nonsense, Max,” Lonli-Lokli said dismissively. “The important thing is that it exists, your city. What difference does the name make?”

  “Come to think of it, none at all; but I’d still like to know, but, there’s no sense wondering about it now.”

  And then we returned to Kettari, and I went to sleep. I think I was asleep even before I got home.

  In the morning, everything was back to normal—maybe it was all too normal, but I didn’t object. My legs were planted firmly on the ground, and I wasn’t performing any supernatural wonders, except for fishing out a can of Coke from under the rocker. That was hardly a wonder!

  It was finally possible to be bored again at breakfast. Lonli-Lokli seemed to be the same reserved and unflappable fellow I was used to, except that there was a trace of almost imperceptible lightness about him, as though all my life I had been acquainted with a slightly ill man who had suddenly recovered.

  “I suppose we’ve done everything we had to do in Kettari?” Shurf asked, reaching for the kamra that we had ordered from the neighboring tavern. I was too lazy to drag myself anywhere early in the morning, even for breakfast.

  These were his first words all morning. It seemed the fellow had really decided he’d had enough.

  “We’ll see. I don’t think so, but we’ll see. I still have to meet someone. If you like, we can go together to get something to eat at . . . yes, why not? The fare at the Down Home Diner is very tasty!”

  “Fine,” Lonli-Lokli said. “As you wish. But I plan to spiff myself up a bit, so don’t wait for me. Go to your meeting, and I’ll be along later.”

  “Fine,” I echoed. “As you wish.”

  Everything seemed to have fallen into place again. I smirked, and Shurf didn’t even notice. Life was settling down.

  I didn’t delay my meeting with Sir Mackie Ainti. Suddenly I was very eager to get back to Echo. Actually, I was sure we could push on already with no regrets or doubts. But I was itching to have one last chat with Mackie. A goodbye chat.

  The wooden door of the Down Home Diner opened with a quiet creak. I didn’t think it had creaked before when I opened it, but maybe I just hadn’t noticed?

  “Howdy, partner,” Mackie smiled hospitably under his reddish mustache. “Did you enjoy your adventures?”

  “Did you?” I asked, sitting down in the chair I already considered my own. Indeed, the chair was mine, and only mine. I would wager my life that no one had ever sat there but me. “Did you like my adventures?”

  “Me? Very much so. I’m thinking maybe I won’t let you go back to Juffin at all. There’s plenty of work for you here. Hey, I’m kidding! What got you so scared, Max? Do I look like a kidnapper? You’ve got a very expressive face. But that’s an advantage, if anything. I get a heap of pleasure out of talking to you. And hiding one’s feelings—there’s no point in that. Might as well not have them at all, and be done with it. I guess you’ve got some questions?”

  I shook my head.

  “No. No questions. Your answers only make me feel unwell. Mackie, could I send you a call when I’m ready to ask?”

  “I don’t know, Max. Try it. Why not? Everything works for you sooner or later. Somehow or other.” He winked at me and burst out laughing.

  It was the first time I had heard Mackie Ainti laugh. Until then he had just smiled under his mustache. I didn’t like his laugh. I didn’t know why, but it sent chills up and down my spine.

  “You laugh like that sometimes, too. And you also give innocent people a fright,” Sir Mackie remarked. “Don’t fret, it’s all for the best. Well, now, you’ve got a more important problem. You want to get home, and it would be awkward for you to wait for the caravan. Here, take this.” He handed me a little greenish stone, amazingly heavy for a thing of such trifling proportions.

  “Is this a guide? A ‘Key to the Door between Worlds’? Like the kind all Kettarians have?”

  “Better! A man who helped me create my World has the right to a few privileges, and I’m not joking. An ordinary key only works for Kettarians themselves. It won’t work for people from another world. Your key is for you alone. If you give it to any of your friends, I won’t vouch for the consequences. That clear?”

  “Yes. You didn’t have to warn me. I’m very possessive.”

  “Ah, that’s good. Don’t give it to Juffin, either. Above all, don’t give it to Juffin, all right? But he wouldn’t take it anyway. I keep forgetting that Juffin is already old and wise. You know, I really am glad that your friend’s problems were resolved so easily. He’s an extremely nice fellow. And highly entertaining. I’m very sorry that he can’t visit me. When are you leaving?”

  “I don’t know. Soon, I expect. Tomorrow, or maybe even today. We’ll see. But why do you say that Shurf can’t visit you? I have to confess, I invited him here today. Was that a blunder?”

  “No, not at all. It’s all right. He’s sitting in the next room, since . . . Well, you’ll understand soon.” Mackie stood up abruptly and made for the door. Then he turned around. “That stone, your ‘key.’ It only opens one Door between Worlds, Max. Though it works in both directions. Do you catch my drift?”

  “You mean I can come back here?”

  “Whenever you wish. Come back, and then leave again. I don’t think you’ll have any time for pleasure trips in the near future, but, who knows what you’ll do? Oh, and keep in mind that someone can pass through with you—but not just anyone, so don’t take any foolish risks. Make sure you think it through, first. And don’t even think of trying to get into the business of being a Caravan Leader. Don’t take the bread out of the mouths of my countrymen. Got it?”

  I smiled and swiftly tapped my nose with the forefinger of my
right hand twice. Sir Mackie smiled, too, under his reddish mustache, then left.

  The door creaked loudly, then slammed shut, and I was alone. I hid the green stone in my pocket. How am I going to keep from losing it? I wondered. Would I have to have a ring made from it? I don’t like wearing hardware—but maybe it was the only way. I looked out the window. The multihued spray of the fountain was sparkling in the sun. The street was empty. Mackie had most likely already turned the corner, out of sight.

  Right, as though he had had time! Stop fooling yourself, Max, I told myself wearily. I got up from the comfortable chair and went into the next room, where Lonli-Lokli was no doubt lolling about, bored as could be.

  Shurf had, indeed, already settled down at a table by the window. He was studying the menu, so I stole up to him unnoticed.

  “Where did you come from, Max? Have you already found your way to the kitchen?”

  “Why would I want to visit the kitchen? I was just sitting in the room next door.”

  “What room next door? Max, are you sure this tavern has more than one dining room?”

  “I just came from there.” I turned back toward the door, of which not the slightest trace remained, of course. “Oh, Shurf, more local exotica! Kettarians are very eccentric folk, don’t you think? Let’s just eat, how about it? A hole in the heavens above this wondrous town, it seems I really am a fervent patriot. I can’t wait to get back to our Echo. And we can start our journey this very minute. Does that appeal to you?”