Call of Kuyr

by J C Gilbert

  We passed several floating markets where buyers gently paddled in their boats between a maze of other long boats filled with wares. So many hours of craftsmanship must have gone into the buildings here. There was scarcely a single building which did not have some kind of relief carved into the stone. They generally depicted animals, though I could not tell what they were. Occasionally I saw figures which reminded me of the ones we had seen fighting.

  "They are called the Rams and the Ravens," Mary explained. "They both think that they control the city, but really most people just think that they are annoying."

  "Where did they come from?"

  "They founded Kanboor like a thousand years ago or something. Back then, there was also the Nadre and the Tinkers. They all had their quarters areas of the city, but it's not like that anymore. The Tinkers kind of got absorbed into everywhere, cos they were merchants. I don't think there are any Nadre left, though my dad says he knew some when he was growing up. I just think he is making it up though."

  "We saw one man who had wings," I said.

  "Yeah, some of them are like that," she replied without much thought. "Here is my house," she said, pointing out to a raggedy houseboat anchored out some distance from the city.

  "You live there?" asked Lilly.

  "It's hard to find rooms in the city."

  "It's kind of amazing," said Lilly. "You definitely got the sweet deal."

  "OK," said Mary, incredulously, "you try living out there in the damp in the middle of winter in a storm. We live there because we have to."

  Mary untied a small boat and gestured for us to step inside. She handed down her basket of apples and then joined us.

  She was pretty strong for such a small person. Lilly offered to do the paddling, but Mary declined. It was just as well because I was reasonably sure that Lilly didn't know the first thing about paddling.

  I started to grow apprehensive as we drew near the floating house. I wanted to help Mary, but Lilly was becoming more and more bothersome, and really, what could I actually accomplish here?

  The sight of fishing paraphernalia did nothing to quell my feelings of foreboding, and that's before I smelt the sickly stench of fish corpses.

  Mary tied the boat up and stepped out onto the float. Once she had secured the knot, she helped Lilly and I onboard.

  "Dad, I'm home!" called Mary. I looked back at the city of Kanboor. There was water all around. Kanboor rose out like a man-made mountain of stone and persistence, though parts were falling into ruin.

  The houseboat looked like it had been made of whatever washed on board. There seemed to be an inner structure which may have actually have been a boat, but it had been built upon for many years, by the looks of things. There was even a small tree growing to the side of what might have been called a garden if more of the specimens had been alive.

  "I don't know," said Lilly, "this is pretty cool."

  "Dad is inside," said Mary.

  She led us through into a tiny living room. It was stuffed full of the treasures of the ocean, from coral and shells to sinkers and treasure. There was a small brass cup on the shelf that caught my eye.

  "Dad pulled that in last year with his nets. It's amazing the stuff he finds out there."

  Mary led us into a smaller room where her dad was lying. He did not look well but looked up when we entered.

  "I found some foreign people," said Mary.

  "Hi," I said. Hank was making a fuss again. I mentally patted him on the head and told him it would be OK.

  "This is Alex, she said that she might be able to help you."

  "That's very kind of her," said the man, though he did not look at all convinced that he could be helped. "Mary, would you mind leaving me with these charming young people?"

  "Sure, Dad," said Mary, kissing him on the cheek.

  "Her heart is in the right place," said the man when she had left. "My name is Elthred. I'm sorry that I can't get up."

  "That's OK," I said.

  "I'm not sure what Mary told you, but I'm afraid I'm not really in a place to be getting better if you take my meaning. I got bit. No one lives who got bit. I tried to tell her that, but she doesn't want to hear. Can't blame her really."

  "Bit?"

  "Yeah, a sea-naga. A kind of a snake. You will probably have seen 'em."

  "No, we haven't seen any snakes."

  "You serious? Just how foreign are you?"

  "Excessively," said Lilly.

  "Well, they used to keep them in the city a long time ago in enclosures. That was back before when there were four patriarchs and not the two degenerates which run the place now. I'm really quite surprised you haven't seen them. This region is famous for its snakes."

  "We thought that maybe if something else had happened, like, something strange, then maybe, well, we kind of help with that sort of thing," I said.

  "Strange like what?"

  "Just out of the ordinary."

  The man grew watchful, careful with his looks. "Mary," he called, "why don't you take these folks back to the city. There's not much more they can do for me."

  "But - " I started.

  "Did you help him?" asked Mary.

  "Awfully obliged to you," said Elthred, nodding his head.

  When we were out of the house and back on the deck, Mary pushed for answers. "Well? Can you help him."

  I glanced at Lilly. She seemed to have picked up on the same strange vibe that I had. "Maybe," she said, "it doesn't seem like he wants to be helped today, though."

  "He does get very tired," said Mary.

  "I think we better get back to the city and find somewhere to stay," I suggested.

  "You haven't got a room yet?" asked Mary, incredulously. "That's just poor planning."

  "That's us," said Lilly.

  "I'd offer you a bed here, but we don't even really have a floor."

  "That's quite OK, " I said, wondering if I would ever get the smell of fish out of my nostrils.

  ***

  Mary left us not far from the market square. She pointed out a couple of inns which she thought were less likely to try and rip us off and then hurried on her way back to the market with her apples. We decided to walk and talk.

  "So there is definitely something up," said Lilly. "Good instincts on that one, Alex."

  "Yeah, somethings up, but is it void related? I don't know."

  "He got all strange when we asked about anything out of the ordinary though."

  "There's that," I said.

  "But that could just mean drugs."

  "There's that too."

  "It's usually an object though, or at least it has been so far. It's a big city too." Lilly gasped, "what if it was one of those hats?!"

  "Then it's too bad because I'm not going back to that market."

  "Sometimes we need to do dangerous things if we are to find what we are looking for," said Lilly.

  "Why, what are you looking for?" asked a voice.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  I turned to see a person walking towards us in the alley behind. He was a human boy-like person. I was frozen for a moment.

  "Hi," said Lilly, eyes wide.

  "What are you looking for?" he asked again. He was the visual manifestation of the word charming.

  "I don't know, but I think we found it," said Lilly. I elbowed her in the stomach.

  "You two look like strangers here," he said.

  I looked down at my clothes. I really had to do something about blending in.

  "I'm a stranger myself, but I've been in the city for a month or so now. Are you looking for a place to stay?

  "No," I said at the same time as Lilly said "yes." Lilly gave me a significant glance, which honestly could have meant anything.

  "We are OK, thank you," I said. "No, thank you," I added for good measure.

  "Sure, alright," said the probable parallel dimension version of a young Nathan Fillion. "I get it, there are lots of people asking you annoying questions today. I don't want to be o
ne of them. In fact, I am fully available for a person-fending-off service. Free of charge. No strings attached."

  "Strings are fine," said Lilly. "You are-"

  "We really need to be going," I said, pulling on Lilly's arm.

  "No, we don't," said Lilly.

  The boy smiled, "it's alright. It's a small town, I'll catch you later."

  "Not if we catch you first," said Lilly.

  "What?" asked the boy.

  I think Lilly's version of Hank must have had her by the throat at that moment.

  "Well, if you wanna hang there are some chill hot pools in an abandoned area of the city."

  "Chill in the heat, sounds fantastic," said Lilly.

  "I'm Trist, by the way."

  "I'm Lilly."

  "I'm Hank."

  "Pleasure. Alright then," he said. He waved one hand in a way that maybe seemed a little too practiced. "I'm staying at the Snake and Stables," he said, tuning around. "Come by sometime."

  In a few moments, he had disappeared into the bustling market of Kanboor. Lilly watched him go then turned on me. "Are you out of your goram mind?" she asked. Lilly was smiling a slightly lost, silly smile. She wrapped her arms around me. "I didn't know they made them like that," she said.

  "He was something," I said.

  "Are you serious, Alex? This pavement is something," she gestured towards the pavement, "this shirt is something," she tugged on my sleeve, "but that boy? He was something else-"

  Lilly's face dropped. She gestured behind me, and I turned about. Strolling down the street coming our way was one of the black-clad men, two enormous wings were hanging from his back. He was talking to another of the Ravens and was flanked by two more.

  "Also something?" I whispered.

  We stood to one side as they passed. For a moment, the winged leader looked over at us. He frowned for a moment and then returned to his conversation. I caught a glimpse of the pistol at his belt as he passed.

  ***

  The next day at lunch, Lilly's mind was still stuck on Trist at lunch.

  "Trist is French for sad, did you know?" she said, scrolling on her phone.

  "You know he's not French right?"

  "You don't know that. Maybe he is parallel dimension French?" Lilly sighed. "All I can think about is hot pools."

  "I believe that that is a lie, Lilly Bennett."

  "Controversial opinion," said Lilly, "young Han Solo is prettier than old Han Solo."

  "Are you still talking about Trist?"

  "I just think he's great, that's all."

  "You don't even know him."

  "That's why I think he's great. Can we go to the hot pools tonight? Please? I'll be good?"

  "I dunno." This whole thing was making me uncomfortable. "What about Daniel and Carl? Aren't we supposed to be on a date thing with them on Saturday?"

  "Maybe I just won't go?"

  "Lilly."

  "You didn't turn up last time. It seems fair."

  "You know why I didn't turn up. It's not as though I -"

  "Alex, I'm kidding. If anything, though, I'm being proven right. I knew we had to get onto it with this dating game thing. Sooner or later, Captain Tight-pants was going to come along, and we were not going to be prepared. I know I'm playing catch up but -"

  "I didn't get a good look at his pants."

  "Well, neither did I, but you are missing the point."

  The more Lilly went on about the hot pools, the more I felt the need to be anywhere other than Kanboor that evening. When Mom text about coming in to help at the museum, I jumped at the opportunity. I'm not exactly sure why I didn't want to hang out with Trist, it just made me feel so uncomfortable.

  I caught the bus toward the city after school. These days I had fewer issues with random people talking to me on the bus. I wish I could tell you that this was because I had learned to manage Hank, but it was mostly because my new headphones covered most of the side of my face. It was pure introvert bliss.

  The museum was a bit of a walk from the middle of town, but I would rather wander alone in the city than get to the museum too promptly. It's not as though I actually wanted to stuff envelopes. Besides, I was reading an audiobook about a space cowgirl and her cat, and it was kind of amazing.

  I arrived at the museum doors just as they were closing up. I recognized the guy at the front, and he recognized me, but we ignored each other in accordance with a well-established rule of shy people.

  Mom's office was a few levels up. I used to love coming to the museum when I was a kid. My favorite exhibits were always the ones with ancient artifacts. I remember spending a full hour one summer afternoon when I was in middle school just staring at this small rhinoceros carved in sandstone. There was something about the fact that it had been carved with human hands so long ago that made me feel connected to the wonder and craftsmanship of all humanity. I was a weird kid. I also remember that I was sipping a slushy that day, and some douchebag security person made me throw it out. I felt so stink.

  I stopped going to the museum after that. Was I really still that same person? I still wanted a slushy, that's for sure.

  The office upstairs was quiet. I pushed the door open and saw Mom at a desk. She was busy with some papers and didn't see me.

  "Hey," I said quietly.

  "Hey Alex. Why are you whispering?"

  I shrugged, "because I'm in a museum."

  "You are confusing museums with libraries," she said.

  "Same thing."

  Mom smiled, "thanks so much for coming in to help. Lilly couldn't come?"

  "She had a lot on her mind."

  "That's a shame. It's going to be dull work."

  "Dull is fine."

  Mom shook her head. "If you say so."

  Mom really wasn't kidding when she said they had a lot of envelopes to stuff. I was quite good at creating systems so that jobs like this were done as efficiently as possible, but even after twenty minutes of folding, stuffing, and sealing, I had barely made a dent in the pile that still needed to be sent.

  I started to wonder if maybe I should have gone to the hot pools with Lilly and Trist after all. Was I just avoiding upsetting Hank again? It was kind of difficult to tell sometimes. I always tried to make sure I was doing the things that were important to me. Helping Mom out was definitely important to me, but so was being a good friend to Lilly. There was also the tiny little problem about how boys terrify me. That was probably something I had to sort out sooner or later.

  Being a Hank tamer was hard.

  It was well past dinner time by the time Mom took me home. I think I had made a reasonable effort with the whole envelope stuffing thing, and it was definitely good to be on Mom's good side, but I was tired, and feeling guilty for avoiding Lilly.

  Once home, I opened up Alice again and fell into The Library. The timing was just right again for me to catch the sunset on my mountains.

  The air was sweet with the evening perfume of some hidden mountain flower. All the world was cast in the otherworldly glow of the setting sun. I plugged in my earphones and ran. I didn't pass anyone today, but slowed when I came to the place where I fell. I shivered when I thought of what it was like to fall.

  My favorite spot to watch the sunset was on a ledge just off the ridge track. Here I could dangle my feet over the edge and watch the birds chase insects in the failing light.

  I reflected on where I was, on my life, on everything. When did things get so complicated? "I guess this is just how life is now, Hank," I said.

  Maybe Hank shrugged. I don't know, do hedgehogs even shrug? It was a privilege to be able to come to places like this, it really was, but it was so much harder to enjoy them when you know that this is just a temporary reprieve from a sea of responsibilities and expectations.

  I laughed out loud. It just occurred to me as I thought through all my problems that I was still mostly worried about the stupid double date. I guess some things never change.

  Once the sun had disappeared beyond
the horizon, the world turned from orange to purple, to silver. I stayed to watch the world become remade with every gradation in color and tone.

  The moon rose shortly after the sunset in that way it sometimes does. It seemed somehow ghostly to me. It heralded with it a chill night breeze. Hank started to make a fuss.

  What if Elaine was really still out there? She was a wreck when she jumped into the void. I had really hurt her too. What exactly would her ghost even think of me?

  I shook my head. I had enough problems with the living.

  I took out the map and returned to The Library and then to my room.

  ***

  I noticed that there were messages on my mobile as soon as I was back home. There were six of them, all from Darcy. Why on earth would he be texting me? It's not like we are texting buddies. I scrolled through.

  After the initial We need to talk there was a series of messages with only a question mark, and then one that read now would be good.

  I frowned. Where are your sleep gods now, Alex Reed?

  I punched in a question mark of my own and hit send. Almost immediately, my phone began to ring. I hesitated and then answered.

  "What is this?" I asked, doing my best to convey the annoyance I felt.

  "Hi. Go turn on your TV."

  "What? Why?"

  "It's important, Alex."

  "First you call me, and now you want me to turn on the TV? I suppose we have jumped into a world where it is still the 90s?"

  "Just do it."

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Darcy hung up, and I was left standing in the dark, cringing at my own 90's based zinger. Still unsure as to what Darcy was getting at, I walked downstairs to the living room. Dad was in his chair, remote in hand. He was shaking his head at the news playing before him. This was not an uncommon scene. Whatever was happening in the world, Dad tended to disagree.

  Mom was in her chair, looking very seriously at her iPhone. We had one of those living rooms which were still completely orientated towards the television set. For that reason alone, I usually avoided this room. This was unfamiliar territory. I sat down.