She began rubbing her right fist in her left palm, savoring the moment.
“I’m willing to make a deal,” she said with a wicked smile.
“I like deals. What sort of extortion am I looking at here?”
“In exchange for me not pounding the crap out of your arm, you introduce me to a friend of yours.”
“Hmm. That seems too easy. You shake my buddy’s hand and I don’t have to replace an appendage?”
“Something like that.”
“Who?”
“Amanda Walker. And I wasn’t thinking about shaking just her hand.” Wow, Echo had big, blindingly white teeth, didn’t she?
I held out my hand and made the deal. And it wasn’t because I was chicken. No. I am, at my core, a matchmaker. Shadchan Jon, that’s me.
I’ve never been one to put off doing a task, so I led Kendra right to Amanda’s front door, on the off-chance Mandy was home. I knocked and, low and behold, she answered.
“Jon. Ah, come in. Nice to see you.”
“Good to see you,” I said as I hugged her.
“This is Commander Kendra Hatcher.”
They shook hands.
“Oh, yes, you’re the woman who went on Jon’s latest epic mission.”
“That would be me, ma’am.”
“Ma’am? Wow, you can just call me Mandy, really.”
“Thanks.”
“So, Jon, what brings you by? Not that it’s not always great to see you.”
“Our whole trip, all Kendra could do was ask about you. She’s a real admirer of your political theory, it turns out. Anyway, she wanted to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, again, Kendra,” said Mandy with a smile.
“So, how’ve you been?” I asked. “Do you miss the halls of power?”
“Huh? I’m sorry. What did you say, Jon?” Mandy responded with clear distraction.
“I said your nose is on fire and there are demons jumping off the top of your head.”
“That’s nice,” Mandy replied blankly as she continued to stare at Kendra. “If I can help in any way, you let me know.”
“Wow,” I said, “would you look at the time? I’m late for my scheduled autopsy. Got to run.”
“Best of luck, Jon. Kendra, would you like some tea?”
“Nah, it might screw up the autopsy. Too much liquid and all, Mandy.”
I let myself out. I don’t think either woman noticed I was gone.
TWENTY-ONE
After any mission, a good, bad, or indifferent one, it was always a blessing to return home. Seeing Kayla and the kids helped ease the pain I’d experienced dealing with the heartless Berrillians. It also made me twenty times more determined not to let them repeat their conquest of the human worldship fleet. I also did something I, honest to goodness, had never done before. I went on vacation with my family. Most people took such a mundane thing for granted. Not me. I either never had a family or never had time to take a holiday.
I took my tribe to Disneyship. Yes, one of the smaller asteroids was turned into a relaxation mecca. Naturally the Disney theme parks didn’t fill the entire ship. Several other major players were there too. A few large sectors were dedicated to more adult oriented actives. Yes, I’m referring of course to Vegas Ville and Branson Burg. One for wild gambling and debauchery, the other for being old and liking anemic entertainment. Hey, to each their own. That’s my motto.
After an epic three-week visit, it was time for me to get back to work. The Berrillians weren’t going to slow their progress to allow me excessive idle time. I did also have to visit Azsuram to see if JJ had strangled his niece yet. It struck me that since my last visit there, JJ hadn’t called me. I guess that was okay. Adult did that. The old expression was call your mother, after all, not call pops. Still…
Was I ever overwhelmed when I got there. JJ met me at the landing pad with the most troubled look on his face I’d ever seen. After he filled me in on all that had happened while I was gone, I probably had the same look on mine. It was too bizarre, to surreal, too unbelievable to get my head around it. They locked up Dolirca, she befriended a butterfly, all hell broke loose, then, just as suddenly, she was locked up again nuttier than a fruitcake but harmless? I had him tell me the story four or five times, and still I didn’t believe it. It was time to confront Dory.
For better or worse, she was loonier than the last time, but less hostile toward me.
“Grandfather, how nice to see you,” she positively beamed. “I was just talking to JJ about you earlier today.”
JJ shook his head discretely.
“Nice to see you, kiddo. How are you doing?”
“Great. The kids are in school, but I’m sure they’ll be excited to see you when they get home.”
She didn’t mention her home was presently a jail cell.
JJ shook his head again.
“Burlinhar, my grandfather is here,” she called over her shoulder. “Please take the time to be social.”
JJ really shook his head with that faux pas. The girl really wasn’t faking. She was conveniently insulated from reality.
“Dory, I understand you had quite the adventure while I was gone,” I said as neutrally as I could.
She angled her head and pursed her lips. “Me? No, no adventure for me. Same old same old. Cooking, mending the children’s clothes, and visiting with my friends.”
“Really? I heard you got to play queen.”
“Empress,” she said rather sternly. “I did get a chance to play empress with the children. They love those silly games. We used sheets for our fancy robes and pots for our crowns. I wish you could have been here, my sweet uncle. You could have been the court jester.”
JJ visibly cringed upon hearing that title.
“And you had a butterfly as a royal pet, didn’t you?”
She frowned. “A pretend butterfly. There have never been those insects on Azsuram.”
JJ threw up his arms in frustration.
“What was you butterfly’s name?” I asked.
“My pretend butterfly, grandfather. Her name was Callophrys. She was so beautiful, not a nightmare at all.” Dory smiled off into the far distance.
Callophrys? I had to double check the name. I was correct. It was the genus name for a class of butterflies. There’s no way Dory could have known that.
“Where’s Callophrys now?”
“Why, grandfather, she’s where all imaginary creatures are. She’s,” she waved her arms in the air, “out there in the Neverwhere.”
I twisted my head in sad acknowledgement. “The Neverwhere. Okay. Is Callophrys coming back?”
She looked puzzled. “No, I sent her away.” She pouted and looked at me. “She was bad, JJ. She made me cross so I sent her away, back to Neverwhere.”
“What did she do that was bad, sweetheart? Why did you have to send her away?” asked JJ.
“I didn’t send her away. I told her she had to crush and destroy herself.” She crossed her arms and put on a stern face. “She frightened me, you know? She really was a nightmare from the Neverwhere.”
“I’m sure she was, Dory. I’m glad she’s gone for good. Do you remember what happened to Burlinhar?”
“Yes, I do. You’re Burlinhar. Why would you ask such a silly question, brood-mate?”
Oh boy. “No, Dory, I’m Jon Ryan, your grandfather. Burlinhar is dead.”
“Yes, I know. I asked that mean butterfly to punish him, and she refused. She said she couldn’t punish the dead. But I was her empress, and I commanded it. I hate nightmares.”
Hmm. That was an insightful concept for a crazy person, with a dash of gallows humor too.
“Why can’t you punish a dead person?” I asked her.
“Because they’re dead. If you reanimate them and kill them, they’re right where they began. They’re no better or worse off. They’re just dead again.”
No way the simple mind of my niece could generate that argument. “Is that what Callophrys told you?”
“Yes. Did you hear her too? She was wicked, but I’ll miss her. She was so beautiful. And you know what else, grandfather? Her name was never Eas-el. Why did the voice call her that?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. Voices in a person’s head are kind of hard to understand.”
“Good. I didn’t like Tiere’s voice. I am glad he is gone forever.”
“I thought you said the voice in your head was Callophrys?” I asked completely confused.
“No,” she stomped her foot. “The butterfly was Callophrys. The voice was Tiere’s. But it wasn’t in my head. His said it for everyone to hear. Don’t you remember? You were there.”
“No, Dory, I wasn’t. JJ was. JJ, did you hear Tiere’s voice?”
He got a funny look on his face.
“What? You either heard a voice or you didn’t. Which is it?”
“I’m not sure. You must understand things were pretty unreal. Dory wielding super powers, a mountain range appearing out of nowhere…”
“Neverwhere,” Dory corrected angrily.
“Out of Neverwhere. I heard something that could have been a voice, maybe. But it might have been the butterfly. Hell, I don’t know.
I stepped to the nearest computer panel and deployed my probes. Within a few seconds, I was downloading the recordings of three security camera nearest to the event. Only one had audio recording. I boosted and amplified it to the point there was more noise than signal. Yes, there was a voice. Someone was scolding Eas-el for playing a foolish game. That someone, I’m pretty sure, was Tiere, the leader of the Last Nightmare. Who the hell were they?
I returned to JJ’s house. I asked Fashallana to join us.
“I hope you will allow me to take Dory to Kaljax. I think they can provide the best care for her there. We have doctors, but they have specialists we simply don’t,” I said to them.
“Dad, I know my daughter is psychotic, but she’s still my daughter. If you take her, I’ll basically never see her again.”
“I’ll return to shuttle you there and back as often as I can.”
“Which is basically never. Dad, you’re busy. You’re likely to get busier as the Berrillians ready for another assault.”
“You’re right, sweetheart.” I walked over and hugged her.
“I think we can maybe have you take her there for a consultation. Whatever treatment they recommend, we can then do it here,” said JJ.
“When did you become a responsible, thoughtful adult?” I asked. I grabbed his head and gave him a noogie.
“Since always,” he replied, struggling to arrange his hair back to normal without a mirror.
“How’s that sound to you, Fash?” I asked.
“The best we can do. When do you want to make the trip?”
“Now. Soon. Maybe you can arrange for a couple of our doctors to come along. Can you all be ready in a couple hours?”
“I think I can pull that off,” responded a dejected looking Fashallana.
“Okay, I’ll hang out here and meet you at the cube in two hours. JJ and I can discuss the intricacies and nuances of local politics.”
“I’ll bet. Home brewed, no doubt,” she replied with a sad smile.
I arrived at Wrath before anyone else, probably because I was the most anxious to get this over with and get back to Exeter.
I chatted with Al as I waited. Since no one else was around, we conversed in my head. I rarely chatted with Wrath. He was too psycho.
Is everything shipshape and ready to set sail?
Yes, Pilot. Wrath tells me it is impossible for everything to not be ready. In the for-what-it’s-worth category, Shearwater is ready.
The sooner I get Dolirca to Kaljax and back, the better I’ll feel.
I am truly sorry about her failing mental health. I know you love her deeply.
Thanks, Al. You’re becoming more human every day.
I’m going to stop being nice if all it gets me in return are insults.
Consider the source. I’m as human as a toaster.
No, Captain. All kidding aside, I cannot allow that remark to pass. You’re the most human homo sapiens I’ve ever encountered. Never doubt that.
You know I’m going to start bawling like a baby now, right? Your affirmation means as much to me as, well, as the affirmation of another toaster.
I fear Dr. De Jesus is correct. You’re incorrigible, mostly because you love being the jerk-ass wise guy.
Why, Al, I do believe I’m going to have to wash your speakers out with soap. Such a foul mouth. I’m going to raise this as an issue with Toño ASAHP.
Don’t you mean ASATP?
Huh?
As soon as toastery possible. Please try and keep up, Pilot. But again on a serious note, I am sorry about Dolirca. The little I knew of her, she seemed sweet.
She was. Hell, maybe she still is. Nuttier than a bushel of almonds, I’ll tell you that for nothing. Did I tell you about her imaginary butterfly friend?
No, but I reviewed the records.
And you can believe my shock when some of her voices turned out to be real. She was babbling about this Callophrys not being a nightmare from Neverwhere, then I hear a disembodied voice say it was the tiere, the leader of the Last Nightmare. You ever hear about them, Al?
Can’t say…
Form. Excuse me for interrupting. Did you specifically hear the words tiere, the leader of the Last Nightmare?
I didn’t know you listened in on us, Wrath.
You are using a radio frequency, Form.
I guess we are, aren’t we? In answer to your uninvited question, yes. I think what my granddaughter was trying to say was that the butterfly she called Callophrys was really named Eas-el. He or she was a member of the Last Nightmare. That mean anything to you, Wrath?
He made no response. I asked again, this time out loud. Still, no reply. The butthead was being difficult again.
“Wrath, I am your Form. I…”
I stopped speaking when I felt faint wisps of nausea, but a shade different than normal for cube travel. Then there was a rustling sound outside the vortex. Maybe the others were finally here. I stuck my head out the portal to chastise them for being slow.
There stood Kymee, Yibitriander, and six other Deavoriath I didn’t recognize. There were two cubes behind them.
Yibitriander walked over to me with the most somber face I’d ever seen.
“Jon, it’s probably too late, but we had to investigate. We’re probably already dead; the entire universe is already dead.”
TWENTY-TWO
“With Eas-el gone, we count but eleven. I vote we return to the Neverwhere and exist as best we can,” said Cor-ax to the collective of the Last Nightmare.
“We have been committed to act. There is no choice. There can be no vote. Our course is predetermined,” responded Des-al.
“But it was Eas-el who pulled us along. He is no longer. We can do as we will. We are the Last Nightmare,” replied Gil-em.
“He crossed the boundary between the Neverwhere and this universe. There can be no going back.” Des-al was resolute.
“Of course there is egress, Tiere. After we destroy a universe, we always return there. Why can’t we return before we destroy a universe?” Min-il was always to most clever.
“If we returned before we destroyed a universe, that means we were going to destroy it. If we were about to, we already have. If we have, we must.”
“I should have said why can’t we return instead of destroying a universe?”
“In saying instead, you bring to existence the concept of our destructive act. As it is then real, we must fulfill the act.”
“There is no logic in your argument. We have not entered the time-space. Eas-el alone did. We can stay here and not leave to destroy a Thirteenth Universe. To think a concept does not cause it to exist. Only its being means it is real.”
“Ours is not the logic of buttonholes and dirt. Our logic is beyond experience. So, it has been, so it will be.”
“But none of the eleven Last Nightmare wishes to attack this universe the foolish Eas-el did,” complained Min-il.
“Desire has nothing to do with obligation. We have always attacked once a plane of existence knows of us. We must destroy it. To do less would break a pattern established before time began. Plus…”
“Plus, you now lust for souls. You, Tiere, want to feel the pain of others and know the anguish that is inevitable when we strike. I see it in your words; I hear it in your eyes.” Gil-em was furious. “I say if you wish to exist there, then you should. Do not involve us.”
“I would if I could. We are the Last Nightmare. If I sojourned forth and was demolished, there would remain Last Nightmares. I would not have been a Last Nightmare. But I am. Therefore, we all must go. I am tired of the discussion. The tiere has spoken. We depart for this Thirteenth Universe now. We return only if any among us outlasts the resistance we will face.” Des-al took hold of Gil-em’s mind. “If you want to exist here, little one, all you need do is survive.”
TWENTY-THREE
Seeing eight Deavoriath together at one time was rare. To see any off Oowaoa was inconceivable. Multiplying rare times inconceivable equaled be very scared. I sure was. Knowing the race as well as I did, I could come up with absolutely no reason to justify my observations. No reasonable, unreasonable, or imaginary reason popped into my mind. In fact, the Deavoriath actually standing there was much less likely then all my optical systems failing simultaneously, making it only appear they were present.
“Wrath alerted us as to what you heard concerning the Last Nightmare,” said Kymee as we bumped shoulders. The usual joy in his face was gone.
“You have to know it basically freaks me out to see so many of you off world. For people who never leave home, you did so in number,” I said.
“Then you understand how very serious this news is,” remarked Yibitriander.
“Uh yeah,” I replied. “I honestly didn’t think there was anything that could move y’all off Oowaoa.”
I doubt there’s a second,” responded Yibitriander flatly.
“What’s so…” I began to ask.
“There will be plenty of time for questions later. For now, we’d like to inspect where the incursion happened,” said Kymee.
Forever Series 5: The Forever Alliance Page 12
