The Real

by Masha du Toit

  “But how do you get from one house to the next if they’re all under the sand?” asked Elke.

  “There are sort of tunnels. Held up with planks and things. Keeps the sand out.”

  Elke took out her water bottle and drank from it. “Who made the tunnels, do you know?” She handed the bottle to Ndlela.

  “Crosshatch, I think.” Ndlela drank and gave the bottle back. “And I know that Jayden fixed up a lot of it too.” He glanced at Elke. “Jayden’s my mother’s boyfriend. He lived out here for years.”

  Something in his voice discouraged Elke from asking more. From what she’d seen in the hotel, the three children were living by themselves with no adults. They’d certainly not mentioned their mother when discussing Isabeau’s disappearance.

  The mother’s dead, or she’s gone away somewhere. Not something the boy will want to chat about.

  “Do you think we’d hear Noor and Crosshatch from here?” said Ndlela. “Maybe they found her already.”

  “Maybe,” said Elke.

  ¤¤¤

  Isabeau sat staring up at the stars, wishing she could sleep.

  Fenris and Anubis had each hollowed out a spot for themselves in the sandy floor of the clearing and were lying curled tight, the feathery tufts of their tails over their noses. Robby lay nearby, stretched out and twitching, deep in a dream.

  Xun kept shifting around, lifting her head as though listening. Her armour creaked and scraped as she moved and Isabeau wondered if it made her uncomfortable.

  And it can never come off. It’s like bolted or grown into her bones or something. The thought made her cringe.

  She’d discovered that her ankle felt better if she propped it up, so she’d made a little heap with her bag and some bricks. Still, she was far from comfortable. Her long-sleeved shirt had been warm enough early that morning but now it was wrapped around her ankle. The thin T-shirt she wore was not enough to keep off the chilly night air.

  Xun got up and sniffed around the clearing again with an intensity that put Isabeau on edge. She watched as the old gardag repeatedly checked the same places, pawing aside a stone to sniff the hollow beneath it, turning restlessly away and back again, sniffing the same stone again.

  “Xun?”

  The gardag ignored her. What scent could possibly interest her so much, here in the clearing where nothing new had happened for hours? Isabeau pushed herself upright, careful not to move her ankle too much.

  The gardag whined softly on each exhalation of breath. It was a long, drawn-out sound but so faint as to be nearly inaudible.

  “Xun?” Isabeau glanced at Fenris and Anubis but they were still deeply asleep, so she risked raising her voice. “Xun? What’s wrong. Is something wrong?”

  The old gardag’s head turned towards her. In the dark, Isabeau couldn’t make out more than her outline and she had to remind herself that Xun had shown no aggression towards her yet.

  “Is something wrong, Xun?”

  Xun stared at Isabeau. Then she shook herself thoroughly and yawned the uneasy yawn of a stressed dog.

  “Do you smell something here? Is there something dangerous?”

  The big gardag paced slowly across the clearing to where Isabeau sat and sniffed at her ankle.

  “It’s still pretty sore,” said Isabeau as Xun nudged her foot.

  Much daring, she did something she’d been wanting to do all day. She touched the massive chest where it emerged under the overlapping plates of armour. When Xun did not move away Isabeau dug her fingers more confidently into the rough, wiry fur.

  “There. You like that?”

  Isabeau moved her hands higher. Carefully at first and then more confidently she pushed her fingers into the gap around the gardag’s face mask. Under her chin and then all around the gap where her ear emerged. To Isabeau’s delight Xun twisted her head and groaned with unmistakable pleasure.

  “Good girl,” she murmured. “That feels good, hey?”

  She worked her fingers in under the armour, massaging around the place where the mask was anchored to the gardag’s skull and rubbing at the calloused skin.

  At last Xun pulled away and Isabeau thought she would return to her place at the far side of the clearing. Instead the gardag turned slowly in place a few times and settled down right next to Isabeau, so close that her shoulder pushed up against Isabeau’s thigh.

  “Good girl,” Isabeau said again, then felt a bit self-conscious. She’s not just a dog like Robby, and she’s so much older than me.

  Still, the old gardag didn’t seem to mind. I bet she likes it. I bet somebody said that to her once, when she was just a pup.

  That thought made Isabeau frown. She’d read that Gardag book, after all. She knew quite a lot about Xun’s life, and some of what she’d read might explain the gardag’s earlier behaviour.

  What if she was looking for her puppies? Would she still be doing that so many years later?

  Xun lay quietly now, her breathing even and slow.

  They bred her to that wolf and took away her puppies. That’s why she went all crazy and went looking for them. Isabeau’s gaze moved to Fenris and Anubis. They must be her sons. Two of them. I wonder what happened to the others? Has she been looking for her puppies all these years?

  Isabeau remembered watching a cat move its kittens to a new den, running frantically back and forth even after the whole litter had been transferred. She looked down at the sleeping gardag and her heart contracted with pity.

  “Poor old Xun,” she said softly. “Poor old girl.”

  The gardag heaved a sigh and stirred. Then she seemed to relax into a deeper sleep, her head against Isabeau’s leg.

  ¤¤¤

  Elke and Ndlela were pushing their way through a stand of milkwood trees when Meisje materialised in front of them. Ndlela gave a startled yelp and Elke knew instantly that something was up. Meisje’s body was tense with excitement, her tail curved high over her back.

  “Found something, girl?”

  Meisje let out an emphatic “woof”.

  Quickly, Elke questioned her. The fact that Meisje could only express such a limited number of words slowed things down but pretty soon Elke had established that she’d found Isabeau, alive, and guarded by three gardags.

  “Gardags?” Ndlela stared at her. “You’re sure?”

  Meisje blinked at him, not even bothering to answer.

  “They smell quite different from normal dogs,” explained Elke. “We— She scented them around here already. That’s how I knew what question to ask now. Okay. Look. We need to let Noor and Crosshatch know as soon as we can.”

  But Ndlela was already blowing on his whistle, hurrying down the dunes towards the sea.

  ¤¤¤

  “What do you mean, your dog told you?” Noor stood, arms folded, the night breeze pulling strands of hair across her face.

  “I saw it, Noor,” said Ndlela. “She’s a clever dog. She can answer questions. Look.” He turned to Meisje. “Which one of us is called Noor?”

  Meisje, who’d been watching him with interest, leaned over and bumped Noor’s knee with her nose.

  “And you guys, Elke and you, you’re really from the Babylon Eye?” asked Ndlela.

  Meisje’s ears swivelled up and she blinked emphatically. “That means ‘yes’,” said Ndlela proudly. “See? She can understand stuff and she can talk like that.”

  Noor looked unconvinced but Crosshatch lowered himself into a crouch in front of the gardag. He caressed the side of Meisje’s face, looking into her eyes. “You,” he said slowly, “are not what you seem.”

  Again Meisje’s ears swivelled into the “yes” position as she nuzzled her head into Crosshatch’s hand.

  “And your mistress. Would she harm us?”

  This time Meisje’s ears went down and to the sides.

  “That means ‘no’,” said Ndlela to his sister. “In case you were wondering.”

  “But she would say that,” Noor pointed out.

  Crosshatc
h put his hands on his knees and slowly pushed himself upright. “Dogs can’t lie,” he said heavily. “That is one thing I do know. The only question is whether this is, in fact, a dog.”

  “Why are we wasting time!” Ndlela said angrily. “She found Isabeau. Aren’t we going to go get her?”

  “Where did she say she found her?” said Noor.

  “She’ll lead us there,” said Elke.

  “She’ll lead us there, maybe,” said Noor. “And thanks your help so far but maybe we should take it from here.”

  Ndlela gave a snort and seemed about to say something but Elke forestalled him. “I get that you don’t trust me,” she said to Noor. “That’s totally understandable, but you need my help. If Meisje’s right and there are gardags involved, you are going to need me.”

  Noor seemed unimpressed. “And why is that?”

  Elke felt a rush of irritation but bit back the sharp words. This girl is just—what. Fourteen? Fifteen? And she’s taking on all of this stuff like a trooper. No wonder she’s showing a bit of an edge.

  “I’m a gardag handler,” said Elke. “I’ve worked with them for years. I know how to communicate with them.”

  “But even if I believed that there are gardags mixed up in this,” said Noor, “isn’t it like rather convenient that you just happen to show up? Like, a gardag handler, out of the blue?”

  “Oh, who cares!” shouted Ndlela. “Noor, can we sort all of that out later? Can we get a move on?”

  “I agree,” said Crosshatch to Elke’s surprise. “We need to go. Let the dog show us the way.” He looked at Elke. “Just so you know.” He opened his jacket, exposing a holstered weapon strapped at his hip. “I’ll use it if I have to.”

  Elke’s eyebrows rose at the sight of the gun. She’d seen several like that in the Babylon Eye. Huge, clunky, old-fashioned revolvers, taken off people trying to smuggle them in from the Strangeworld.

  “Right,” she said. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now. Meisje’s going to show us where Isabeau is. I’m going to follow just behind with Crosshatch. You guys—” She nodded at Noor and Ndlela. “—stay behind us and don’t do or say anything. I’m serious. We are going into a potentially dangerous situation with a little girl in the middle of it. The last thing we want is to escalate things. Do you understand?”

  Ndlela nodded eagerly, Noor more reluctantly.

  “Right then.” Elke looked down Meisje. “You’re the boss. Show us the way.”

  ¤¤¤

  Meisje led them along a winding path between the dunes to an area where the ruins were a little less swamped with sand and several buildings were not as damaged. They went through a gap in a wall where the underbrush had grown up into a tangle. Here Meisje came to a stop, throwing a look over her shoulder at Elke.

  Elke signalled to the others to halt, hoping that they’d remember the instruction not to speak. To her relief nobody made a sound. They stayed behind her, as she’d asked them to.

  No sound except for the night noises. The peeping of insects in the undergrowth, the rustling of leaves, the far-off frog chorus from the river mouth and below it all the ever present breathing rush of the sea.

  Elke studied the scene carefully. If this was the gardag’s lair they’d chosen well. It would be impossible for anyone to approach without making at least some noise. The low walls and dense bushes created too many hiding places where a gardag might be lying in wait. She could not go any closer.

  Okay. Here goes.

  “Xun!” she called. “Report!” Then she held her breath, listening. “Xun!” she called again. “Xun, report!” Her mouth was dry. She wished she dared take the water bottle out of her bag for a drink but every movement she made now might be under the gardag’s suspicious eye. Reaching for something in a bag might be misinterpreted.

  Then Meisje’s head went up as she stared at the bushes to the left.

  Noor breathed in sharply and it was a moment before Elke saw what Noor had spotted. The patches of shadow under a stunted tree coalesced into the head and shoulders of an enormous, wolf-like dog. It moved forward out of the shadows. Confident. Arrogant. Eyes fixed on hers. Another dog appeared next to the first.

  What are they? Dogs? Half wolf, if the stories are true. Untrained. They’re not going to respond to any signals I can give.

  A movement in Elke’s peripheral vision drew her attention. It was Noor, striding forward, holding something in her hands—a piece of driftwood.

  “Hey!” Noor shouted, brandishing the stick. Her voice was harsh with fear. “Bugger off, you bastards. Go!” She advanced another step. The wolfdogs’ gaze locked on Noor.

  Oh, shit. Elke barely had time to take a breath before the first dog lunged. It charged without warning, teeth bared, eyes fixed on its target. In a heartbeat Meisje was between them, fur bristling as she faced down her attacker. The wolfdog slowed, taking in this new development, and then, again without warning, threw himself at Meisje. They tumbled in a flurry of limbs, Meisje disappearing completely under her much-bigger opponent. They separated, snarling and circling one another.

  Meisje was on the wolfdog again, throwing him backwards with the ferocity of her attack. He outmatched her in size but she was young and tough and trained to fight. For a moment it looked as though she would beat him back but then his brother joined him.

  Elke ran up, knowing that there was nothing she could do as Meisje turned to fend off her second attacker. The first dog ducked under Meisje’s guard to seize her throat. His huge jaws closed on her shoulder instead but the balance of the fight had tipped.

  Then Crosshatch drew his gun.

  “No.” Elke gasped, hardly able to get the word out. Time slowed and the muzzle of the gun swung up to point at the sky. A flash and a deafening crack of sound. Elke clapped her hands over her ears as three times more, Crosshatch fired.

  It worked. The dogs separated and fell back, momentarily stunned, but their confusion didn’t last. First one, then the other turned to face Crosshatch, ears slicked back against their heads, eyes glaring, lips drawn back and snarling.

  Meisje, to Elke’s relief, was still on her feet.

  “Don’t hurt them!” A small, shrill voice called from the shadows, nearly drowned by a volley of barks. The bushes shook. There was a gasp of “No, Robbie, keep still!” and another desperate call. “Please don’t hurt them! They’re my friends, oh, please!”

  “Isabeau!” Noor charged towards the bushes, then came to an abrupt stop. Elke tore her eyes from the approaching wolfdogs. Yet another dog was shouldering its way through the bushes. Xun’s sheer size, and the surreal beauty of her face mask, robbed Elke of her breath.

  Xun gave an abrupt bark and the wolfdogs glanced uneasily at their leader as they crouched down in the sand.

  Okay. This is it. Will she listen to me? Elke gave the gardag hand signal for “no danger”, “friend” and “stand down.”

  “Don’t move,” she said to Noor. “Isabeau, you’re safe now. Just stay where you are a minute, okay?”

  Xun walked slowly closer.

  “Hello,” said Elke. “I’m Elke. I used to be a gardag trainer. I came for the little girl you have back there.”

  She held out a hand. Xun moved her armoured muzzle to sniff it.

  “We don’t want any trouble.” Elke made the hand sign for “friend” again and then the release sign used when a gardag had successfully completed a task. “We just want to take her home with us. We won’t do anything to you, or to those two over there.”

  The old gardag’s eyes were invisible behind lenses misty with fine scratches. After a moment, Xun turned and walked towards Meisje who had sunk into a crouch. She sniffed Meisje’s muzzle, then spent some time sniffing her shoulder.

  At last she turned away and approached Noor.

  “Hold out your hand,” said Elke softly. “Let her smell you.”

  Noor, who had luckily dropped the stick, stood quietly as Xun inspected her.

  “You can come out now, Isabea
u,” Elke called. “Just come quietly and don’t make any sudden movements.”

  “But I can’t!” Isabeau’s voice trembled and it sounded as if she was struggling not to cry. “I’ve hurt my ankle. I can’t walk.”

  “Okay,” said Elke. “Don’t worry. We’ll come and get you.”

  She turned to Xun, who’d been inspecting Ndlela’s trembling hands.

  “Xun. We want to go in there to help Isabeau. We’re going in there now to get her. Then we will leave. Do you agree to this?”

  The gardag’s ears swivelled up into the signal Elke knew so well.

  Yes.

  Elke let out the breath she’d not been aware she was holding. “Okay,” she said to Noor, “It’s best if I go in there by myself. Nobody else move. Right?”

  Noor nodded. The whites of her eyes glinted as she stared at Xun.

  Elke walked slowly towards the place she’d heard Isabeau’s voice, keeping an eye on the two wolfdogs. The urge to go and check on Meisje was hard to resist, but while she was clearly hurt, Meisje still looked alert. Whatever was wrong with her, it couldn’t be too urgent. One thing at a time. Got to get the little girl out of there first.

  ¤¤¤

  Crosshatch carried Isabeau all the way back to the hotel with Noor walking close beside him and a carefree Robbie trotting ahead, head and tail up like a conquering hero.

  Ndlela, talkative with relief, walked with Elke. He pointed out another entrance to what he called the “underground route”.

  “I’ll show it to you, if you like. It’s pretty cool. All these old rooms.”

  “Are there lots of those—pip things?”

  Ndlela looked at her in puzzlement and then laughed. “Pippets! You mean pippets. Yes, there are some down there. Why?”

  “I’d like to have another look at them,” said Elke. “I’ve never seen anything like them before.”

  “Really?” Ndlela looked at her with interest. “You should talk to Crosshatch. He knows all about that kind of thing. But if you want to see lots of pippets, I’ll take you to see the Cathedral. That’s where most of them are.”

  “The Cathedral?”

  “That’s what we call it. It’s one of the underground rooms.”