“Oh, Huan . . “
“You know.” His words are without the color of emotion, but you can tell he’s feeling a lot of things.
“I do, I … Kevin told me. He’s … pretty shaken up.”
Huan begins rubbing my feet again. I don’t know if I should enjoy it or not.
“He’s dying.” The emotion is back, but hidden under the words. “I … needed to confirm it and find his wishes.”
“Gods … Huan, I’m sorry.” I reach down and run a hand through his hair. He leans into the caress. It’s easy to touch him, he’ll never take it wrong.
“He is high in Guild Esoteric. His death is something we do not wish to advertise. He’s concerned about the fallout. The usual. The Travelers’ Rancelman. His apprentice. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but …”
“I understand. Hey, come on … trust me.”
HUAN-JEN: BALCONY
Trust her.
I do.
“He was my mentor here, Jade, he’s not been that well for a few months. All those little extra tasks … you understand.” I feel like I may cry. I haven’t cried in awhile.
“I know you were busy. A lot. We’re going to have a lot more to do. Hey, we’ll adjust.”
I stop. Her feet are thoroughly massaged. “Yes, we will.”
She tries to force some words out, and then honest words come in a rush. “Hey, people count on us. We won’t let them down. You won’t and I won’t, right. People, need us …”
“I know.” I pat her knee. She really is trying. She does care, too, she thinks much lower of herself than she should. “Jade … we’ll be fine. We’re a team, right?”
That seems to startle here. “Well … yeah. Of course. Um … Huan?”
“Yes?”
“Are you OK?”
The words leave me again.
Jade … is hard to classify. Jade is not an uncaring person, but she has bouts of insensitivity. Of disconnection. She is not always one to reach out.
And she is now.
“I … am not.” The words are surprisingly difficult. No one asks me how I’m doing, how I feel. Or really means it. “I will miss him Jade. He helped me settle in. He helped me belong. I will miss him.”
Jade strokes my hair again. “I understand. I know you’ve been busy, and I know he hasn’t been well. I wish you told me, but I understand.”
“Jade, thank you.”
“Hey, we’re a team.” She smiles as I get a chair and sit next to her. “Right?”
“Of course.” Her eyes glimmer. She has pretty eyes. “Huan?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about what he was like, if you can? Old Man Green?”
I …
… words are limited, but I can see what is there …
… I lean back, and try to let the words come to me.
INTERLUDES: APARTMENT
Lorne Thompson was a polite man. This surprised many people who didn’t know him well; after all, his career had been a military one before he’d become a Gendarme in Metris. They never stopped to consider that, when one dealt with highly deadly devices and people, one developed politeness as a survival trait. Civility prevented unpleasant incidents that could turn you or people you knew into scenery.
Thus, as the Gendarme approached the apartment of his friends HuanJen and Jade, he tried to determine if he should comment on the smell in the hallway, and if so how. The odor, unfortunately, was straining the considerable resources of politeness he had developed over the years.
As smells went, it was truly remarkable. Subtle enough to sneak up on your, powerful enough to linger, hard to identify, a kind of burning-chemical-rotten-cheese odor that defied easy classification while it pounded your nostrils into submission
It was doubtlessly HuanJen’s doing.
Lorne was sure it was the Magican-riest’s fault. Only this floor of the Crosspoint smelled, and as far as he knew, Huan was the only person in the building with tendency to brew strange and exotic substances with medical intent. Travis, the ever-busy Head of Maintenance for the Crosspoint, had confided a few incidents with Lorne a few months ago …
The door to the apartment swung open as Lorne prepared to knock, interrupting his attempts to compose a question that wouldn’t annoy the cleric.
“Ah, hello Lorne, yes, ah, it came from here.”
Rake, Minister of the Church of Jesus Christ the Worker was smiling up at him. Without a word, the squat, black-robed holy man moved aside, and ushered Lorne into the apartment. The smell, begrudgingly, parted enough for Lorne to enter.
“Yes, ah it’s Huan’s doing. No, ah, he’s not here. Yes it came from the lab, ah, no it wasn’t intentional. He’s not here, he’s taking a long, ah, long walk.”
A black-furred streak buzzed by the Gendarme. Jade was sprinting around the apartment, lighting a few sticks of incense placed strategically around the living room. Lorne noted that the patio door was open, and judging by the way the curtains were blowing, the other windows in the apartment had the same done to them.
The apartment still stank despite these efforts. Huan had definitely outdone himself in the disgusting odor department.
“What happened?” It wasn’t the most original question the Gendarme could ask, but it was appropriate.
Rake reluctantly shut the door behind him. “Ah, Lab accident.”
“He was making some liniment in the study.” Jade said, setting a final stick of incense into its holder atop a cabinet. “He burnt it. Badly. Like Rake said, he’s walking, I think the fumes and the humiliation got to him. This beats that incident with Beekeeper’s Root.”
“I see.” Lorne set down his backpack. “Can I help?”
“Not really.” Jade shook her head. “You know, he has really understanding neighbors. So, what did you bring? It’ll take our minds off the smell until it clears or we loose all sense of smell.”
“Ah, yes.” Lorne smiled. “I figured after all those Kurosawa films I brought last time we had a movie night …”
“He’s not, ah, bad, you just, ah watch him a lot.” Rake said from the kitchen, gathering a few tins of snack foods together. “Let me guess, you, ah, brought …”
Lorne ignored the minister and pulled a few videotapes from the depths of his backpack. “Something Jade requested …”
“Ah, sadly that, ah, means …”
“A certain Sailor-oriented show!.” Lorne grinned at Jade. It wasn’t quite a cat-that-ate-the-canary expression, but the metaphorical bird was in definite danger.
Jade raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “That’s the one you said I’d like, right? Japanese animation? That romantic adventure.”
“Strange, ah, stuff.” Rake placed the containers on the table in front of the puffy couch that dominated the living room before taking a seat. “Couldn’t bring that, ah, one with the cute little animals and, ah that gay blue-haired man?”
“No.” Lorne handed the tapes in question to Jade, and then lowered his massive frame next to the minister. “She asked for them. She is the hostess after all.”
“Ah, well, we all, ah, get what we ask for.” Rake smirked the smirk of a true critic.
“Hey, I’m curious,” Jade replied, loading one of the tapes into the VCR, “Besides, I might as well expand my horizons here of all places.”
“It’s, ah, girls in miniskirts, ah fighting monsters. There, you’re, ah, expanded.”
“Hey, guys …”
Lorne gave Rake a tolerant look. “Rake, there’s a lot more to it than that, it’s …”
“Boys?”
The cleric and the policeman broke their bickering to find a determined-looking Jade staring down at them. Her expression wasn’t a malicious one, but it also wasn’t pleasant. There was a feral air about her that neither had seen before, and, upon reflection, didn’t want to see again.
“We’ve got to talk. Since Huan’s not here, we’re going to have a little discussion we’ve need to have before the shows. OK?”
; “Um … ,” Lorne tried to form a sentence, but he couldn’t attach enough words together. Nasty suspicious as to Jades concerns began stalking about in his head.
Jade sauntered over to the pair and took a seat. The Vulpine slipped between the two men, wiggling until they gave her enough space. She put an arm over each friend’s shoulders in a semi-friendly hug that was also a restraint.
“Now, now, don’t say anything. First of all, I’m glad to know both of you. Lorne, you’re a good guy. Rake, you helped me settle in. But we need to address the subject of HuanJen.”
Rake and Lorne’s expressions became cocktails of fear, confusion, and concern. No one discussed the Fang-Shih in a serious manner unless things were … serious. You sort of took Huan for granted the same way you didn’t worry about water being wet.
Jade continued. “Now, Lorne, I know you wanted me to help Huan get out more, make his life easier, get him to see his friends. I did, as best I could, he shows up at the Nax, you see him more when we do stuff like this, and Huan I take in a movie or an exhibit when we can. Right? You can talk now.”
“Yes.” Lorne felt like he should say more. “I’m … glad.”
“Now I’m quite sure he’d been antisocial for a good reason or reasons. Did you, ever, ask him, point blank, if he was well?” Jade asked. Her manner was friendly, but the edge in her voice was less so.
“Once, but he’s …” Lorne began, but Jade’s words cut him off.
“I see. Rake, now I’m glad you helped him find an assistant, but I assume that you figured he was fine, and things would work out eventually?”
“Ah … more or, ah, less.” Rake’s thick face screwed up into an expression that made him look like an embarrassed fist.
Jade looked from one companion to another. “So, what you’re saying is, you sort of tried in a half-assed or even quarter-assed manner… and then stuck me with the task, right?”
“He is, ah … occasionally unapproachable.” Rake had begun to turn a shade of bright crimson.
“So am I,” The Vulpine’s civil voice still held and undercurrent of incivility. “but Lorne here still came to me. Guys, look, HuanJen is a very nice man who really doesn’t like to trouble people. So if you think something is wrong, try and actually make an effort to figure it out, OK? We all need friends, and I’m damn glad to have him and all of you, but try and be good Metrisians and butt in more, OK?”
“Of course.” Lorne nodded, not sure what else to do. Rake stared into the distance, soberly.
Jade smiled at her friends. “Now, what have we learned?”
Lorne and looked at the Vulpine warily, but said nothing. Rake kept staring at nothing, fidgeting slightly. After a few more moments, she answered for them.
“We’ve learned that its best to help our friends directly when we think something is wrong, and not to fost them off on other people. That’s our lesson for the day.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I … see.” It was Lorne’s turn to blush.
“Good.” Jade’s demeanor shifted, the snarl-smile turned into a simple grin. “Now, let’s watch some anime.”
“Ah, yes. I …”
Jade hefted the VCR’s remote control. “Rake, Lorne, it’s settled, right? No more apologies.”
Lorne and Rake shot each other pleading looks, each hoping the other would keep their mouths shut. Continuing the discussion with Jade would be akin to arguing with a landslide, only with more sarcasm and less rocks.
“Oh come on people, it’s solved, over. Huan’s OK, we’ve straight on a few issue … no offense Lorne … ” Lorne grumbled at the quip, “and all is well.”
Rake, in the vast cathedral of his mind, noted that Jade had asserted herself strategically, knowing they would agree beforehand. It was, he acknowledged while holding back a smile, a familiar habit.
When you realized who she was acting like, she was suddenly less menacing.
“You, ah, probably wouldn’t have it, ah, any other way.” Rake nodded. “I …”
“We’re sorry.” Lorne said begrudgingly. His voice didn’t hold a tone of anger, but one of guilt. “I was trying to help.”
“I know.” Jade ruffled the Gendarme’s blond hair. Her mouth twitched as she tried to find words. “Um, am I being a bitch?”
Silence enveloped the room. Jade again looked from the Gendarme to the minister, and back again. Her hard expression was diluted with pleading look.
“Well …” Lorne began cautiously.
“Yes.” Rake nodded, interrupting the Gendarme. “Ah, yes. Quite a bitch. But, ah, a bitch for a good cause, Jade.”
The Vulpine appeared to deflate as she untensed. “Good. This isn’t easy to deal with. I mean, its complicated, and I’m not good at subtlety.”
“No, really?” Lorne tried not to smirk and almost succeeded. “It’s no problem Jade. I’m glad you care. Really.”
“Ah, yes. Really. Hey, we’re, ah, always sticking together.”
“Thanks.” Jade sighed. “Thanks guys. Just remember, don’t pull anything like this again, please. I not only work with the man, I’m not only … well, his friend … I have to live with him. Imagine that.”
There was a moment as the minister and the Gendarme were lost in thought. In this case, the thoughts were a very strange territory to be lost in.
“Um …” Lorne began. Images danced through his mind he tried not to focus on.
” … lets watch some anime,” Rake finished.
“You got it short stuff,” Jade pushed the button on the remote, and settled back.
A little more of the world was right, and she could afford to relax.
GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT
The stately, gray-haired man regarded his latest victims with a kind of suave calm. He liked being so much more relaxed and sophisticated than the average person was; it contrasted so well with his killing. Life was contrasts after all.
“You, see, of course, I am superior to all the others, Mr… . what did you say your name was?”
“HuanJen,” stated the first victim, who was apparently taking photos of his captor with some exotic camera. It was so nice to be appreciated by your next meal.
“Ah, yes, Mr… . Jen. And dear Miss Jade. I am the prince of the predators, the king of carnivores, as my female companion can … er, where is she?”
He looked around his apartment. It was messy, terribly messy, actually. It was as if some Philistines had searched through it without an ounce of respect. The young couple that was there now didn’t seem the type, so someone much less refined than they must have been responsible.
Wait a moment, how did they get here anyway? He didn’t remember kidnapping them, and he was quite thorough about such things. One had to be.
“Your friend,” said the black-furred woman named Jade, “got tossed through Portal Gimmel yesterday. She’s not here, and I doubt the little psycho-tramp is coming back.”
Black fur. That was really quite improper for a human. This wasn’t right. How dare she be so improperly constructed!
“I … that was rude, well, then I shall make sure both of you are … wait.”
The confused King of Killers looked down. He was standing in a table - quite literally, in the middle of it, as if it were a fog instead of the fine, cherry-wood table he’d so carefully tried to acquire as the perfect decorating touch.
That was completely unacceptable.
“I … appear to be immaterial.”
HuanJen looked at Jade, apparently indifferent. “He really is totally conscious yet unaware or unwilling to admit his situation. This is quite rare.”
“Yeah.” The vulpine woman shrugged. “I’m sure the University’ll be thrilled to get some data, but gods he is annoying.”
“Most like him are, you know …”
“Excuse me, I demand to know why I’m immaterial!”
“Pissy, isn’t he.” Jade scowled, her green eyes twin pits of contempt, “Hey, Casper, see that stain on the wall? It was your brains. Neve
r, ever, ever tell the Gendarmes ‘you’ll never take me alive’ they consider it an invitation, especially after kidnapping someone.
“I, I …” He was stunned. He didn’t feel dead. In fact, he felt quite wonderfully alive. But it wasn’t the right kind of alive, and the past seemed fuzzy, and these two weren’t his captive future meals, were they?
“I’m done,” HuanJen said, setting down the camera on a still-upright chair. “Let’s clear out the apartment, do you …”
“Oh, please, I like to watch, you know that.” Jade winked. “Go to it, he’s starting to annoy me anyway.”
“I demand to know what is going on! I …”
“You demand nothing.”
HuanJen appeared to draw the room into himself. Already a dark figure in black, he became something darker, a void where even words vanished. The spectral man found him drawn towards the strange, oriental mystic, as if he were a great pit …
… and everything became One.
HuanJen staggered. Most of the exorcisms he did were of simple haunts, mindless-or semi-mindless patterns woven into the world by thought, death, the occasional psychic accident, and the unusual magnetic fields of Xai. However, sometimes one found a conscious haunt, a true disembodied soul. Those were far harder to cope with mainly because they were quite adamant about not leaving or stopping unpleasant activities. Some people were more annoying dead than alive.
“Huan, you OK?” A firm, furred hand grasped his shoulder, steadying him.
“Quite well, Jade, thank you, just a bit disoriented …”
“More than usual, you mean.”
“Very funny,” HuanJen countered, “No, that was more unpleasant than average. Nasty, vicious, egomaniacal man.”
“Well, now he’s an memory, a police record, and some interesting data for the University.” Jade picked up the camera. “We done?”
“Of course. Let’s … you … collect the fee and we can call it a day.”
Jade escorted her partner out of the apartment building, past a few concerned residents, and up to the usual group of Gendarmes that appeared whenever there was the potential for trouble. The Metrisian police had a policy of trying to make sure they were around before incidents occurred, so most incident-inducers didn’t get much accomplished. Considering the not-quite-prevented incident that had led to the apartment being haunted, the beat officers were still nervous enough to keep an eye on the place.
Crossworld of Xai Page 9
