by Gabi Moore
"Amethyst really likes you. She's usually the skeptical one."
"Well, she's got good taste."
"C'mon, I have something I'd like to show you."
He led me downstairs into a basement room. The walls were lined with books and maps. I imagined that all of the books had been read at some point, and that notes were scattered throughout the text as they were across the surface of each map. There was a madness to the room, as well as a chronic sense of disorganized utility.
Coffee cups, all empty and stained on the bottom littered the landscape like tiny monuments to sleepless nights. There were reams of paper yet to be used, stacked up next to notebooks full of information and concepts. I took the experience as overwhelming proof that everything this person did with their time could be reduced to spending their life in research.
"The animals and plants keep you sane, huh?"
"You got it. That, and my trips out into the field. I stay here until I have a decent shot at tracking one down, and then I get out and try to find them."
"Find what?"
He looked at me and blinked.
"A portal."
For a moment the two of us stared into each other's eyes. I feel like in that moment, I saw him for the first time. Not as a target to be acquired, but as an interesting character of his own right.
"I'm listening."
"All right, well, I've been dreaming of these doors between worlds for my entire life. Ever since I was a little kid. For the longest time, I couldn't find any proof of their reality, except for in science fiction stories and old folktales."
"So what makes you think they're real?"
"Well, stories are models of reality transcribed through human experience."
"That's one way to look at it. Another is that we don't actually understand the world around us as thoroughly as we'd like to believe. I personally would prefer to move forward through a world that still has some mystery left in it. Unfortunately, with the sort of materialistic nihilism that we face in our world today, that's not always an option."
"Which is why you're tilting after windmills."
"Quixote."
I nodded.
The Fae are much longer-lived than most humans will ever conceive. We've been dealing with this variety of human almost exclusively since the first portals were made.
"Well, Sir Knight," I offered, "I'm pretty tired. Do you mind if I take a rest?"
There was a couch over in the corner of the room, complete with a ratty thin blanket. The place looked incredibly satisfying, and whatever adrenaline had been stirred up within me by the dogs.
"Sure," he shrugged. "Do the light's bother you? I could do some work while you sleep."
I shook my head and let my shoulders sink down into the earth. Being human was more work than I had imagined, and I couldn't wait to go back to sleep.
The couch was everything it had promised and more. The cushions were firm. One might go as far as to say uncomfortable, but I was not one of those people. Years of military training left me with little tolerance for luxury. The couch was sparse, and the blanket was worn completely thin. I felt like an accessory in a dingy hovel. For the next few hours, I could feel myself disappear, and that was all right. I had done my work, and now, I needed to adjust to my new form.
Amethyst actually came downstairs and laid down beside me, on the floor. The other dog continued to be standoffish, and contented itself to stare at us from a position at Erol's feet. The Mad Mystic himself dimmed half of the lights in the room so that the only area that was illuminated was his own workspace. I reclined in comfort, and let my mind drift into a familiar and safe place, all the while stroking the dog's thick fur.
* * *
I should have realized that that wouldn't have been enough. I was able to get to sleep, and I didn't fall into a nightmare landscape - both things for which I should have been grateful. Instead of turning into restorative sleep, I ended up waking up seemingly moments late in the astral realm.
The room was the same, relatively speaking, except that certain books spun about in mid air, while the others bobbed on the surface of the shelves like waves in the ocean. The dogs recognized me, and both of them nodded to acknowledge my presence. Erol, on the other hand, continued his work unaware that I was lucidly operating within a sub-conscious state. He was working on a solution to some sort of problem, and apparently having quite a bit of difficulty about it. He was talking to himself, and throughout the dream, the voice echoed around the room, reverberating against itself.
"Unreal... unreal... unreal... By all accounts ... counts... counts.., it should have been there .. er... er... er... "
The sounds of papers being shuffled from one stack to another, as well as the sound of books opening and closing followed suit. Looking down, I could see Amethyst biting at herself as if scratching some kind of itch. She only kept this up for a moment, and then was apparently satisfied with her progress, as she lay back down and offered me a lazy, but inquisitive eye.
I rose from the couch and walked over toward the workbench where Erol hovered. To my surprise, he was literally three or four inches off the ground in this realm, which I found to be incredibly funny. I stared at him with curiosity until I was too dizzy to continue forward with the inquiry.
His hands and eyes were moving at incredible speeds. I could literally see the thoughts flying around in his head, and down onto the papers around him. He was working on something, and there was math involved that I wasn't quick enough to understand. I looked down and the other dog was staring straight at me, narrowing her eyes.
It was a warning.
“You go anywhere near my master, and I will do everything within my power to fuck you over."
The message was clear in my brain. As clear as anything I had ever heard from Thane. The dog had spoken.
I offered a nod, and then stepped back a pace, so I could provide Erol with the space the dog had demanded, while still being able to peep over his shoulder.
The numbers flew up into the air and swirled around the surface of the desk, forming runes and the mirrored surface of a portal.
He's using math to scry... I thought, staring at him.
Suddenly, he stopped, and turned in my direction.
"What's that.. at ..at ..at..?"
I held my breath and stood there, a phantom against the background of his study. He stared at me, and reached out his hand to touch my form. It passed right through me, and he turned down to the dog.
"Rosemary, do you see something?"
The dog snorted, and laid its head down on the ground.
Over in the corner, sprawled out over a rigid couch, I could see my own body passed out half beneath the worn blanket. I looked naked, as my body pushed outward between the tears in my clothing. Erol stared at my sleeping body for a moment, and then stared back down at the dog. One final glance was cast in the direction of my dream body, and then he shuffled back over toward the standing desk.
"Rosemary..."
"Unique that I found... ound... ound... her there. Could be another piece of syner... syner.. er... gystic data.. da..da."
Experimentally, I pushed up off of the ground with my mind, with the expectation that I would not necessarily come back down again. I began to float upward through the air, where I hovered for some time over the standing desk watching Erol work.
The frustration was obvious to perceive, and honestly kind of irritating to watch. His mind worked like a maelstrom, circling around the same conclusions over and over again. Every point of his research was pushing toward a singular factor, but he did not have the relief that proof provided. Instead, he was simply being driven by some form of madness, forward into a future that he couldn't quite apprehend.
I stayed there for a while and watched him, doing my best to absorb all of the information he was working through. The information was abrasive and crude, like a child learning mathematics for the first time.
He would work something out with utte
r sincerity, and then make some mistake in calculation or lose his way somehow. The steps backward from that point were arduous, and the scratching of the pencil on the paper made me anxious.
The more anxious I felt around him, the farther I seemed to be propelled away from his body. I couldn't exactly tell if there was some type of field that he was projecting into the ether, or if I myself was deciding to flee from him on a subconscious level. As the moments passed onward, I drifted straight up through the ceiling, and into the atmosphere above the house. In retrospect, I could have probably used that time to go searching out for relevant answers in the astral realm. I might have even brought my quest to an abrupt close, but I couldn't be bothered with any of that.
I was more than content to let Erol continue to fuss over the issue while I drifted back toward a state of rest.
He obviously had some form of latent psychic capacity, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to hear my thoughts from the astral realm. I would say that much was obvious from our limited interaction so far. His pre-occupation with the occult, and his lifework of finding portals was going to make my job both easier and more difficult in different ways. However, I was confident that I could manage him if things got out of hand, so I felt no urgent need to seize control of the situation.
One thing was absolutely true: whoever had tipped Thane off on this guy was an excellent judge of character. If any human could pull off opening a Rift; it would be this guy. Of course all that means is that he was absolutely nuts to begin with, and totally obsessed. Those were potent forces to deal with, but if channeled correctly, they could do everything Thane had requested, and more.
Poor guy... doesn't even realize that he's a pawn on another person's chess board.
I drifted off to sleep, while floating amongst the stars.
In the background, I could still hear the continued mutterings and explorations around me in the basement of Erol's house. For the moment, I knew I was safe. When the time came, I would give Erol the budge he needed in the right direction. At that point, he would probably stop sleeping until he found the Rift and tore a hole between the dimensions.
Basically, I figured it would be the same as leading three dogs on a hunting expedition into the Outer Forests. The dogs hunt the game, and you basically run along to give them the company that they need to feel supported, and encouraged in the right direction. At that point, all you really have to worry about is not pissing off any Wilder Fae.
An imperfect analogy, but sleep will do that do you.
Chapter 7
When I woke up, I was all alone. The lights had been turned out, and I was tangled up beneath the sheets. The lucid dream hadn't been the only one I had the night before, but the other passed through my memory like water through a sieve. I tried to grab at a few of the last remaining images, but they were too slippery to keep a hold of.
I rolled off of my position on the couch, and then did a few stretches to wake up my body. To my pleasure, I still had every bit as much dexterity as I had when first arriving on this side of the portal. Looking down at my clothes, I realized that with a few more nights of wearing these things, or one aggressive burst of athleticism, I would probably be naked.
Time to shed these things and pick up something else.
I made a mental note.
I must have made some noise waking up because both Rosemary and Amethyst came down to greet me. Well, ‘greet’ is a bit of a strong word. Amethyst licked my toes, reminding me that I also needed to pick up some boots. I get the feeling that Rosemary came along just because she was keeping the friendlier dog company.
I gave Rosemary a bit of a glare, and scratched Amethyst between the ears. Rose wasn't putting up with shit though, and simply snorted and turned away from me. Then it was Erol's turn to come down the stairs.
"See, I told you that they'd both come around to you."
"They're good company. How was work last night?"
"Well, I got caught up on some problem. I keep running into the same wall, but it's all right. I've got to take a rest on that for now."
"Oh, really? Mind sharing why?"
"Not that I'd rather be doing something else, but I gotta pay the bills, just like everyone else. My line of work is a bit unusual, which means I have to take on clients when I get them."
"Do tell," I said, stretching my spine upward into the air.
I was probably flashing him both nipples at this point, but I didn't even care. Soon enough this entire relationship would be nothing more than a thing of the past. If he was attracted to me between now and then, that was his problem, not mine. In fact, it would probably only make my job easier.
"So, I guess I can get you some breakfast, and you'll be on your way..."
He popped my ego right out of the sky. I practically sagged to the ground for a moment, and then caught myself.
"You can feed me if you like, but I want to hear about this gig that you got."
He nodded, and I pushed forward through the layers of hesitation and space he was attempting to orchestrate between the two of us. I rolled my eyes, and lead the way upstairs while Erol and the two dogs followed.
Dude doesn't understand what he's up against...
"Kitchen is to the left."
"Got it. What's this job about?"
Turns out the weirdness didn't exactly stop with manic spurts of researching portal technology into the early hours of the morning. In addition to obsessive occult research, Erol was also a paranormal investigator, psychic, and certified exorcist. He shared his brief resume with me, and I practically spit out my orange juice laughing.
"Is something wrong?"
"No," I smiled. "It's just when you go at something, you dive in all the way. I mean you're basically trolling the bottom of the ocean of occultism. No shallow waters with you."
"Well, I don't like to half ass things, and I've found that I've got a natural talent for this sort of thing."
"Can I come?"
"What do you mean come?"
"Come with you. Come to see your client today."
"You don't even know what I'm going to be doing. I could be exorcising a demon from a saw mill for all you know."
My memory actually flashed back to the hell realms for a minute, and I thought about the tentacle creature that had dragged me beneath the surface of the tar sands. Then I thought about the Fae Revolution. The montage of prior experiences passed through my mind in a few moments, which allowed Erol to believe that I actually took him seriously.
"I can handle it," I said, taking another mouthful of cereal to my face, "but we need to stop somewhere first. These fucking clothes aren't going to put a very professional image on for your client."
"Professional?"
"Well, sure. I'm going to help you out."
I laughed. This whole thing was too much fun.
"I like you, Erol," I said, bringing my bowl to my lips and savoring the last sugary mouthful of breakfast. "I'm ready when you are."
Sometimes, you have to be a bit forceful with these types. I knew what I was doing, and the whole goal was to mix flattery and a bombardment of desire to share company with a lonely man. That's what gets them every time. Eventually, you end up getting on their nerves, but by that time, you've usually got them hooked. At least that's been my experience.
I got up and washed my glass and bowl out, indicating that while I was persistent and imposing. At least I wasn't a bad guest. Then, the two of us made our way out the front door.
"So, tell me about this job."
Erol had let me bully him straight into the car, where I promptly began interrogating him about his employment.
"This one is a long time client for me. She's a woman named Cate. Late sixties, and pretty well off. She is forever having problems with her extended family. They are always having minor disputes or needing to call on psychics for help. She used me once about five years ago, and ever since, when she needs someone who knows his way around the occult, she gives me a call."
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He was a good driver, even though he tended toward being a bit scatterbrained. Each time the car approached a stop sign; he would meticulously slow to a stop, and then remain immobile for exactly three seconds. Following the pause, he would check all of his mirrors, look both ways, and then move forward through the intersection. In spite of his attention to detail, he didn't seem to have any trouble continuing to keep track of his own thoughts.
I was impressed.
"Anyways, the whole reason she gave me a call today is because her daughter lost an engagement ring, and she wants me to give her a hand in finding the damn thing."
"You find lost objects?"
"If I was high, I might be able to pull something like that off, but I can't just enter the astral realm and walk around at will. Besides that, I don't have enough time to deal with a full on trip today. No, in these sorts of situations, it is better to use my intuition and problem solving skills. Rita already trusts me, so she's more likely to share information than a new and more skeptical client."
"So you're basically a con artist."
The car came to an abrupt stop.
"What the fuck?"
"Stay here a minute."
"What did you just call me?"
"It's cool, just stay here a minute. Rita doesn't want to see my tits pop out of my shirt."
I left him fuming in the car for a couple of minutes.
He ended up stopping right in front of a laundromat, and I knew that this would be the easiest opportunity for me to change clothes. With a strut in my walk, I moved confidently into the building, and walked straight for the dryers. There was only one person in the building at the time, an older man about the fifty-five years of age. I smiled at him, and then opened up a drier that appeared to have women's clothes, and not too much time left on the timer.
The first try didn't produce what I was looking for, but by the third load I looked through I found a great dress that was just my size.
"Excuse me ma'am..."
I also found a leather jacket. No boots though.
"Ma'am..."
I let out a deep breath and did what was asked of me in the moment. Dropping my pants to the floor first, and then pulling off my shirt, I turned around and addressed the man.
