Jade had to admit he was right. Metris was twice as complex as any large city on any Earth. The benevolent if odd magician-priest had lived here four years, and she had no reason not to take his advice, as much as she disliked taking anyone’s advice. HuanJen had an irritating way of being right because, she had quickly noticed, he really only asserted himself when he was positive of something.
This was one of those cases.
Thus, Jade found herself standing outside of the Crosspoint apartment complex, a shopping basket and dry-ice pack in hand, waiting for her ride. It wasn’t what she’d expected to be doing when she’d escaped her past life to Xai. Of course, she hadn’t expected much, but grocery shopping had not been on her rather short list of expectations.
Eventually, one of the electrical cars that prowled the streets of Metris whined to a halt in front of Jade. A lesson she’d learned before she came here was that Xai’s limited petroleum industry provided materials for plastics, not cars. The results were that the streets were clean, there were fine electric trolleys, and people drove tiny electrical cars apparently designed by toy manufacturers.
The side door of the car slid open, and a muscular arm beckoneded her inside. Jade recognized the bulk of Lorne Thompson crumpled behind the wheel and quickly slid into the back seat.
“Ready to go?” asked the massive but gentlemanly Gendarme as he closed the door.
“Yeah. I guess.” Jade couldn’t say if she was enthused or not. Learning the ins and out of buying food was just something she had to do.
“Great!” Lorne maneuvered the car into traffic. “This should be quite an experience for you. It’s more fun to shop with friends anyway, and the Northwest Market has an excellent selection.”
Jade nodded. “To tell the truth, I haven’t had too much experience. Colony and …”
“I know, no need to talk about it. You’re doing it again..”
“Thanks.” Jade said with relief. A few days into being in Metris she’d started feeling like she had to explain herself to everyone but HuanJen. She was aware she didn’t fit in, that she was still adjusting, but now she wanted to tell people why.
“So, ” Jade tried to strike up a conversation, “How’d you get the car? I know they aren’t cheap.”
“My roommates,” Lorne answered, avoiding a bicyclist with a death wish. “Briia and Randy and I split the cost. Though Randy is getting married next year, so we’ve got to work out who gets it. You can drive, right?”
“Sure.”
“Good. Useful skill. Ah, almost there …”
Lorne manhandled the vehicle into a small parking lot with ease. He quickly crawled out the door and ushered Jade into the sunlight. An infinite labyrinth of smells entangled her nose.
“Woah, that’ll wake you up in the morning.” Jade blinked. The scent was practically a living thing.
“Tell me about it. Took me months to get used to it” Lorne opened what was theoretically a trunk and pulled out a basket of his own. Noting Jade had hers, he gestured at the marketplace; “Shall we?”
“After you.”
Lorne politely led the Vulpine into the depths of the Northwest Market. Most of it, Jade noted, was produce - fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats. The local Farming Collectives were close enough to provide a luxurious amount of produce to the city. However, this meant food preservation wasn’t practiced as extensively as some Earths. Thus, open-air markets were quite common in Metris, with many neighborhoods taking pride in their particular local variant.
“Ah, vegetables over here …” Lorne directed Jade to a stall, and when the proprietor was busy with a customer, and spoke to her in a low voice.
“Notice she’s wearing green beads in her hair? That’s the sign of a native-born. Green for women, blue from men. Always buy native if you can, they know the food and the environment”
Jade raised an eyebrow. “Seriously. That’s it. Why doesn’t …”
“If someone non-native tried dressing like that they’d get the cold shoulder from the natives.” Lorne nodded when Jade shot him a questioning look. “They like to have some way to be distinct, but since half the population isn’t from Xai, they need a way to …”
“Look distinct and alike at the same time”
“Excellent summary. Here, let’s try over here …”
Jade’s companion guided her through the stalls, pointing out selections and reliable and unreliable merchants. She tried to pick up as much information as possible with her purchases. Jade was inquisitive, but preferred to seek information instead of having it handed to her, so she interrogated her companion when possible.
“So, blue beads, eh.” Jade checked some herbs HuanJen had asked for, having been happy to locate a decent source on her own. “So, Rake’s native? He’s not wearing a lot of them.”
“He was born native, but his parents tried returning to their Earth. It didn’t go well after a few decades and he returned.” Lorne was suddenly less gregarious. Jade dropped the subject like her last boyfriend - when Lorne didn’t look happy about a question, you stopped asking.
The Vulpine thought for a moment, paid the proprietor of the stall, and tossed a few bundles of herbs into her basket. “So, how did you get here?”
“Full of questions? Well, let me grab a few lemons … they grow real nice up north … I came here from a Nexial Earth. I was Special Forces, American. You hear about a lot of strange things sometimes. Xai was one of them.”
Lorne casually walked among the stalls, pointing out this product and that. Jade checked the list HuanJen had given her, and followed, ears taking in every word. She was getting a lot more than good shopping advice, and every word Lorne spoke put her one step closer to understanding the people she knew and her new world.
“So, ” Lorne continued casually, “I had to come here. There’s, a kind of simplicity here mixed with complexity here. You can do anything you want, be anything you want, find a place here.”
“Even a cop? I think that’d be kind of boring.”
Lorne leaned against an empty stall, smiling rakishly. Jade grinned a bit herself - he had a kind of appealing, boyish charm. She could feel him preparing a smart-alek response, but he stopped himself suddenly.
“It’s meaningful.”
“Yeah, I …”
“Jade, I need to ask you a favor.”
Suddenly, the Gendarme’s mood changed. His demeanor went from friendly and charming to focused and very serious. It struck Jade that she’d allowed him to lead her out of the crowd for a reason, and she’d missed it. Mentally she kicked herself for not picking up on Lorne’s intentions - no child of Colony should be so easily deceived.
Jade sighed. “What is it Lorne?”
Lorne set his basket down on the stall’s counter. “Jade, right now you’re closest to HuanJen. You help manage his schedule …”
“Yes?” Jade sensed the rank odor of conspiracy. It was an all-too familiar scent.
“We’re worried about him, me, Clairice, the rest. The last few months he’s been busier and busier. He needs to relax.”
“I see.” The Vulpine crossed her arms. “He’s the miracle worker, not me, Lorne.”
Lorne looked away for a moment, then returned his gaze to Jade. His expression was dreadfully intent. “He’s your employer …”
“Partner.”
Lorne examined Jade’s determined expression for a moment. “Partner. Your partner, Jade, doesn’t see his friends as much as he used to. Your partner is becoming what he does, not being who he is. I’ve known him going on two years and Clairice for three. This isn’t him.”
“Let me guess ��� he just keeps getting more to do, it just seems to come out of nowhere. Almost like he’s looking for it.”
The Gendarme blinked in surprise. “Yes, how do you know?”
“I get that way sometime.” Jade tried to sound humorous, and failed. “So you want me to make sure that Huan doesn’t end up trying to fill every spare moment.”
“Yes. Please, Jade.”
Jade felt a bit odd. Trust wasn’t something that Vulpines were used to, yet a week ago Huan had made her his partner. Now one of his friends was counting on her to re-engineer his workaholism. It was a virtual confidence overload.
The situation wasn’t helped by the fact that Lorne has the ability to look helpless and cuddly despite being a six-foot-seven block of muscle.
“I’ll try.” Jade surrendered. She couldn’t find a reason to say no. Besides, it was the least she could do for HuanJen, the likable little shit.
“Thanks.” Lorne shook her hand enthusiastically. He was suddenly all smiles and sparkling eyes again.
“It means a lot, Jade,” Lorne shouldered his basket. “Huan seems to make friends easily. It’s keeping them that’s the problem.”
“Drifts away?” Jade picked up her purchases and the two-headed back into the hubbub of the market. Lorne merely nodded in response.
“I … you know Lorne, even after a week here, I’m really glad to be part of this group. My first impression of Metris was … it seemed more interested in business than people.”
“It’s hard to explain, Jade.” Lorne stopped for a moment, thought, then continued walking. “You’ll understand. Huan sees it. I see it on the beat. The business of Metris and Xai only exists because of the people.”
Jade scowled, trying to piece together Lorne’s verbal puzzle, “So, in short, Xai and Metris just aren’t as fucked up as some other places.”
“Well, that’s one way to put it.”
“Hey, makes sense to me.” Jade took a deep breath. “I am still figuring this place out. But I’ll get it. I’ll fit in.”
“Yes. And you are. You did.” The policeman put an arm over her shoulder for a moment and gave her a friendly hug. “You’re going to do fine, now … let’s finish up here. What did Huan need?”
“Let’s see. Some pork … that stall OK?”
Lorne looked at Jades pointing finger, and nodded. Jade quickly paid the stallkeeper in Guilders, after a quick argument that “it couldn’t be that fresh, look at the time of day.” Lorne realized Huan was going to have to watch himself around her - she knew how to talk to people, how to get things done. If she could be as convincing to HuanJen as she was to the merchant, he’d be drunk and debauched in a week.
Lorne blinked. The image was too much for him to handle and he dispelled it. Even he had his limits.
“And finally, Red Skipper. That’s native, right? Huan made some three days ago.” Jade looked up at Lorne expectantly.
Lorne nodded. “Er, yes. There’s a fish stall there. I usually buy there. Remember though, this is all native.”
“Sure.” Jade shrugged. “No one tries raising fish here?”
“Waste of time and resources. And … here’s Red Skipper.”
Jade looked down at the stall’s contents. Yes, it was red, yes it probably skipped. However, the fish Lorne was pointing out looked like an industrial-strength manta ray designed for military operations.
“He’s a better cook than I thought.” The Vulpine tried to imagine the meal she’d had a few days ago had come from the shelled monstrosity before her.
Lorne pried up a part of the shell. “It’s adolescent, you can tell by the pink color under the plates. That’s the best eating.”
“I wonder what brave soul found that out.” Jade paid the butcher without even haggling and slid the creature into the dry ice pack of her basket.
“I have no idea. Ready?”
“Of course. I think I’ve learned enough disturbing facts applying to my life for the day.”
Lorne laughed, and escorted his companion out of the Market. “Well, don’t worry. It gets easier with time. Now, we’re going to see you next Tuesday, at the Nax, correct? With HuanJen.”
“I’ll drag the boss there.”
“Boss? I thought …”
“Joking Lorne, joking. It’s Huan, play with him … and apparently I’ve got to play with him more.”
Lorne gave Jade a bemused expression. His sense of humor and his propriety were locked in epic combat.
“One comment, Lorne, and I’ll make you miserable …”
TIMELINES
Killian awoke with a start.
His mind snapped back to the present like a band of elastic - quickly, but with a great deal of needless fluctuation. He knew where he was: his small, Spartan, rented apartment. It was when he was that was the problem; he was suffering a kind of chronal incoherence.
Someone was after him, or was going to be after him. As his livelihood was considered criminal by many, this wasn’t unusual, but it really put a damper on the new day.
Killian crept to the bathroom, turned on the light, splashed some water onto his thin face, and looked in the mirror. His features always put observers in mind of a ferret with a troubled past, though at this point one would likely add that said past included a wild night with something fermented.
“They’re sending someone for me.” The outlaw talked to himself a great deal. He found he was more interesting than most people he met.
“I can feel his name, almost hear it …”
The rodentine man licked his lips.
“HuanJen.”
Killian brought himself to his negligible full height, and walked purposefully out of the restroom. Someone would soon be after him, and the most practical thing to do was to kill that person before they knew they were after you.
People often asked Killian why he had never planned for the future. They never realized he spent far too much of his time there as it was.
HuanJen awoke as he always did - peaceful, relaxed, and energized in a rather calm way. Those who observed the cleric found he radiated a kind of serene energy that could be very peaceful and empowering - or if you weren’t a morning person, made you want to hit him. Nothing seemed to tire him or make him frantic and little seemed to upset him.
He was in a better mood than usual as his life and his job, his service to the people of Metris, was improving. Months ago he had tried vainly to find an assistant to organize his work as a Holy Man and Zone Cleric of Guild Esoteric. He’d needed a person who could balance books and manage schedules and deal with a person willing to face everything from marriages to exorcisms. He’d had no likely takers until a twist of fate had dropped the Vupline known as Jade in his lap, a woman who was a newcomer to Metris and Xai who had needed a place to stay while she settled in.
It appeared that she’d be staying for awhile: she’d declared herself his partner, and gotten to work. He was a great believer in the virtue of acting-by-not-acting, and having her come into partnership with him was some of the most successful non-acting he had done in awhile.
The Magician-Priest smiled as he prepared breakfast. She was still settling in, but nothing phased her - not him, not his records, not his job. She’d gotten her life and his life in order within weeks, an amazing achievement in his eyes.
Nothing seemed to stop her.
Jade tried getting out of bed and gave up.
Jade was not a morning person by any sane person’s definition. This was surprising to those who thought of the black-furred Vulpine as assertive, energetic, and quick to act. Such people rarely thought that being assertive, energetic, and quick to act meant you really needed your sleep.
She certainly needed as much as she could get lately.
She had been very busy the last two weeks in her new job; helping HuanJen organize his unorganiziable self. Trying to put some form around the formless. Sorcerer’s … well, not apprentice, but partner, handling the business side of things.
It had promised to be a job of adventure and excitement, of unusual experiences and mystery. She was sure it was eventually going to turn out like that, but so far …
HuanJen’s finances had required a great deal of accounting acrobatics to straighten out. He had kept good records, but his life was hard to translate into simple columns and numbers - and his job was his life. Guild Esoteric s
et parameters for charging for services, which he cheerfully followed, though parameters were something he easily wandered out of. The man had once been paid in onions for a service “not quite defined by the Guild.”
He and his counterparts, Jade mused with some tired affection, the Xai equivalent of the old medicine man or village witch. HuanJen did his part, and that was that. It wasn’t easy to put into numbers or schedules, but that was just him. He was sometimes a sage, sometimes like a little brother, sometimes like a pet. You never knew when to listen in awe, talk to him in simple words, or tickle his belly.
“I’m gonna have to get up, aren’t I?” She asked the universe in general. The universe, knowing the answer, declined to respond.
Jade poured out of bed. It was time to take the cleric out for a walk for the first time.
“More Spectral Jade?”
Jade nodded around a mouthful of muesli. Huan filled her glass and busied himself cleaning the kitchen. She’d become quite fond of the native fruit drink, and Huan himself always kept quite a stock. Jade seemed to appreciate all of his efforts at cooking, though having tasted her few attempts at making meals, he found it was really only a testimony to her ability to eat anything.
“So, looking forward to our first day on the job together?” Huan asked, finishing tidying up the kitchen.
“Sure … well, yes.” Jade nodded, flipping through a folder on the table. “You look the itinerary over?”
“Yes. One wedding in the morning. One counseling. Two deliveries of herbal remedies, and a visit to Chin’s to pick up supplies. Very nicely organized, quite an eventful day.
He’d read her schedule. Thank gods. He’d been so accommodating the past weeks that she was waiting for the moment when he suddenly started questioning her. Jade was a dyed-in-the-fur cynic, and Huan was irritatingly not one to confirm her worst fears.
“Did you respond to the Gendarmes about that Killian thing?” Jade stuffed another spoonful of breakfast in her mouth.
HuanJen sat down across from her, glass of water in hand. “I’m going to wait and see if there’s any other information. They know.”
Crossworld of Xai Page 5
