by S T Branton
“When you disappeared, your dad told everyone you were kidnapped. He said he saw nothing suspicious happening.”
She sounded suspicious, and I knew she was starting to question my father.
“He probably doesn’t think he did,” I told her. “The Guild wouldn’t want him running around talking about a key that opens a door in reality. They would have wiped his memory after taking me. It’s what they did to everybody in the bar after I left tonight, too.”
“Then I’m glad I slipped out when I did.”
I remembered the moment I glimpsed her in the bar and the look that flickered across her eyes. It had been recognition, even if that recognition brought with it total disbelief.
“Me, too,” I agreed. “What else? What happened with my father?” I cringed. “You’re not going to tell me the two of you have a thing now, right? Like, he wasn’t at the bar or anything?”
Ally’s face scrunched up so tight it threatened to fully absorb her eyes. Which sounded much more possible after having watched it happen to a fellow prisoner.
“Ewwww. Gross. No. Your Dad cooperated as much as he could. They splashed you all over the news. Your kidnapping was a big story all across the nation. For a while there, it seemed like everyone in the world was looking for you. But no leads ever turned up. No clues ever surfaced. There was nothing to go on and the investigations fizzled out. Everyone moved on. But not me.”
“Not you?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Hell, no. You’re my best friend, Sara. You always have been. I wasn’t about to let you disappear and pretend like everything was normal. Your father had four other little ones to take care of. He couldn’t pour himself entirely into looking for you. But I could, so I did. Losing you really messed me up, so I never stopped searching.”
“You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” she insisted. “I better not have to. But I would. As it is, this search brought me all over. I ended up in some weird places and dove into the nitty-gritty of some strange conspiracy theories.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Maybe. Did you know that in the years following your disappearance, all sorts of odd things happened all over the world?”
I leaned toward her.
“I know literally nothing about the years following my disappearance.”
“Well, they were weird as hell. Unexplainable things were happening all over the place. Tornadoes in New England. Flooding in Nevada. Terrorist attacks in itty-bitty small towns with no apparent motive. Murder sprees that didn’t seem to involve a murderer. And everywhere these things were happening, there was the same story. People with only vague recollections of the time leading up to the events. No idea what really happened. But, like with you, people couldn’t figure it out so they eventually moved on.”
“But you wouldn’t?” I asked.
“No way. In fact, I turned it from a hobby into my career. For the last several years, I’ve been an investigative blogger. I travel all over trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Which brings me back to the theories of alien interference and mass government conspiracy. Not so much on the whole something-in-my-drink thing. That would be a seriously long-acting mickey.”
“Then why were you in the bar?” I repeated.
“One of my investigations,” she said. “I never would have believed it would have ended up like this.” Her eyes brightened. “Wait…if there was a Far where all sorts of magical creatures and whatnot lived, that means things that people here think are myths might not be.”
“In a lot of cases,” I agreed.
“You have to tell me.” She dropped her voice to a whisper and looked side-to-side conspiratorially. “Is Bigfoot real?”
Laughing, I nodded.
“Yes.”
“What about mermaids?” she asked, delighted.
“Absolutely. One ended up in The Deep and they had to flood a cell to keep her in. Sometimes they’d let it drain out, and she’d flop around all miserable until they filled it back up.”
“Well, that’s mean as shit,” she commented.
“They’re not the best hosts.”
“How about vampires?” she continued.
“Them, too,” I confirmed.
“I knew it,” she said. “There are all sorts of forums online dedicated to cryptozoology and mythical beings. I use them for research and to find people to interview all the time. Let me tell you, there are some whacked-out specimens in this world. One crazy in particular, however, might not be so crazy. She constantly talks about living next to a coven. She says they leave at all hours of the night and bring home people she never sees leave. One time, she looked through her window and saw a ton of blood everywhere.”
Ally looked surprised when I laughed.
“Vampires aren’t really like that,” I said. “Only on TV. The real ones are mostly whiny little nerds. From what you’re saying, it sounds like the Philosopher’s Guild has been having a field day wiping memories over the last few years.”
“Do they do that often?” she asked.
I nodded. “The Pax Philosophia has very specific laws regarding how people from the two realms can interact. When those rules are broken, the Guild shows up and wipes everybody’s memories to keep things quiet. Most people in The Near have no idea about The Far, and the Guild wants to keep it that way. But it seems like the wipes don’t always work. Apparently some things sneak through, or people get away without being caught up in the coverup.”
“And end up as people raving on blogs and YouTube videos,” Ally added.
“What was the investigation that brought you to the bar?” I asked.
“There’s been a string of kidnappings the last couple of months,” she replied. “It’s happening all over the place and there doesn’t seem to be any explanation. There’s no connection between the victims and none of the incidents have anything in common. Several have happened right around here. Because they can’t figure out what they would have to do with each other, the cops say the disappearances aren’t linked in any way.”
“But you don’t buy that,” I guessed.
“Of course, I don’t. People don’t start vaporizing with no explanation. They have to be related in some way. So, I’ve been investigating and trying to figure it out before more people die,” she said solemnly.
That brought my stomach right up into my throat.
“Die?” I managed to force out.
“In the last few months, several women have gone to that bar, disappeared, then shown up dead three days later.”
Chapter Fifteen
That kind of took the zip right out of our happy reunion.
“They just show up dead?” I asked. “Nobody knows what happened to them or who did it?”
“No.” Ally shook her head. “Their bodies weren’t exactly in the best condition when they found them. There haven’t been any leads for the investigators to follow or anything.”
“Yeah, I can see why that would be an issue,” I said.
“You don’t think it could have anything to do with that troll in the bar, do you?” she asked. “It could have been some Farsider monster doing this because of how much they hate The Near.”
The idea made her shudder, but unfortunately there weren’t a lot of comforting words coming to mind that I could throw her way. All I could do was be honest and take the edge off as best I could.
“Maybe. But not every Farsider is a raging, bloodthirsty monster. I mean, everyone that I’ve ever met has been a bit of a dick, except for Solon I guess. And he told me not to judge his kind based on those I met in The Deep. According to him, most Farsiders are good folk, nice enough, and want to live their lives in peace. Not all of them love the idea of interacting with Nearlings on a consistent basis, but they aren’t seeking out thrill kills because of it. But, like humans, there are a few bad apples. That troll, for example. Definitely won’
t be making a pie out of him anytime soon. I can’t know for sure, but my guess is that he was at that bar for one reason and one reason only, and that was to pick up chicks so he could kill them.”
Ally’s eyes widened.
“Why would he do that?” she gulped. “Did he want to…rape them?”
I shook my head.
“Probably not. That’s not a thing most Farsiders will do. The Pax Philosophia is really specific about the interactions between Farsiders and Nearsiders. Remember, the vast majority of Farlings live in The Near. That’s why all the laws had to be created. When they were dumped into this realm, measures had to be put into place to control them. One is a strict regulation against any carnal relations between people of the two realms. It’s not all that hard, honestly. Most Farsiders think people from The Near are pretty gross. I highly doubt he’d start prowling bars for that purpose,” I told her.
“Thank goodness,” she breathed. “I mean…hurtful on the whole self-esteem front. But thank goodness.”
“He was probably planning on eating their livers,” I said.
Ally’s face contorted.
“Because that is so much better.”
I shrugged.
“That’s how they roll.” I laughed. “That’s how they t—roll.” Ally wasn’t laughing. “Sorry. I haven’t been around people in a long time.”
“If turning people’s livers into tapas is something this troll dude enjoys, do you think it’s possible he could be the one who did the other kidnappings?” Ally asked.
I thought about it for a second. “Maybe he’s been using that bar as a hunting ground. But you said this has been happening all over, not only at that crappy honky-tonk. No way the troll did that. Much like the unrefrigerated seafood their smell often resembles, trolls don’t travel well. They’re the type to pick one place they like and hunker down there. Not to say it definitely wasn’t a troll that did it, but if a bunch of kidnappings happened in different states, it’s highly unlikely they were caused by only one troll.”
“So, we’re talking a band of trolls situation? A crime ring?” she asked.
It was obvious Ally thought she was right on the edge of some huge break in the case she’d been following for so long, and it was getting kind of sad having to discourage her over and over.
“Probably not on that front, too. Trolls aren’t friendly. They don’t play nice with others. They separate from their mothers as soon as they’re old enough to find food and shelter for themselves, and don’t go back,” I told her.
“I’m guessing there aren’t any beautiful troll weddings or anything that happen regularly?” Ally asked.
“That would be a no. Trolls don’t do the whole courtship and mate for life thing. From what I hear, it’s more a mate and hope they both survive situation. Fortunately, or maybe not depending on how you look at it, getting pregnant isn’t hard for trolls.”
She nodded.
“Never thought my late-twenties would include a lesson on the reproductive opportunities of trolls, but you know…life’s a journey.” She sighed and tilted her head slightly. “Speaking of families, are you going to see yours?”
My heart squeezed, and for the first time in years I was happy my time in The Deep had smashed the tendency to cry right out of me. That was not what I needed right then. Besides, it felt like if I let even one tear slip out, it would reduce me to a sniffling puddle of worthlessness and that wasn’t a direction I wanted to go at this particular juncture in my life.
“No,” I told her.
I carried hope in my heart that my best friend would accept that answer as enough and move on with our conversation. Not so much.
“Why not? Don’t you want to see them? They’ve been looking for you for ten years.”
Her sympathy abounded.
“I know that, and it makes me feel terrible to not be able to go see them. To let them know that I’m okay. Of course I want to, but it’s too dangerous. I shouldn’t even be talking to you. They’ll target anyone I get near. The Guild is after me. I didn’t exactly leave The Deep on the best terms with the people there, and I still have nine and a good chunk’s worth of lifetimes left to serve. These are not nice people and I want to keep them as far away as possible from anyone I care about.”
Ally stared at me intently, but she let whatever she was thinking pass.
“What are you going to do?” Ally asked instead.
“Well, as much as I’d like to think the world is my oyster and I can go frolic through the meadows now, that’s not realistic. The truth is, I probably don’t have a lot of time ahead of me before I get caught, so I need to use it as effectively as possible. And that means keeping the city safe. These dudes are no joke, Ally. They’re planning something terrible and if it happens, it will be a disaster. The only problem is, I have absolutely no leads. The only thing I could use from all his ravings was the location of that warehouse.”
“I’ll help you,” she said without hesitation.
I shook my head adamantly, holding up my hands like I was trying to shove the commitment back at her.
“No. Absolutely not. There’s no way I can let you do that. It’s way too dangerous.”
“Charleston is my home, too,” she pointed out. “If they pull off their plot, I could get hurt. It’s too dangerous for me to not get involved. You might not have any leads, but you have me. I’ve built up some pretty good investigative skills over the last decade.”
I stared at her, not wanting to accept the offer, but also knowing there wasn’t a ton of choice left to me. With no idea of where to go from there, it limited my plans for what to do next to sitting on the ground and hoping one of the Harbingers wandered by handing out flyers about their evil plan.
Shit.
“All right,” I finally said. “You can help me.”
Ally grinned.
“Awesome. They won’t know what hit them. We’ll find these guys and stop whatever they’re planning before they have the chance to hurt any innocent people.”
“And once we get that under control, I’ll figure out how to escape before the Guild catches me and dangles me over the Pit in The Deep for a month,” I said.
“I don’t know what that means, but it sounds like a good plan,” she said.
She offered me her fist and I bumped mine against it. That was it. We’d sealed our partnership for life. Now I needed to figure out how to make that whole “for life” part last more than the next couple of days.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know what it means. If for some strange and sadistic reason you do, I’ll tell you over tacos sometime.” I gasped, my hand going to my chest. “Tacos! I need some.”
Ally laughed.
“Still an obsession for you, huh?” she asked.
“I haven’t laid lips on a taco in a decade, Alejandra. A decade. I was denied a whole plate of them the night they took me to The Deep. You and all three hundred r’s you put in your name should have some compassion for that,” I told her dramatically.
She laughed again.
“I know that’s hard on you. But it’s late. I know I need some sleep and I’m sure you could use some, too. Why don’t you come to my place?”
We had made it back around the loop, and she was pointing toward her apartment. It was an amazing offer and one I wanted to jump on, but I couldn’t bring myself to put her in even more danger. Being near her at all was already a risk. There was no way I was going to potentially lead the Guild to her house.
“Thanks, but I already have a spot. I’ll meet up with you tomorrow.”
It was a complete lie, but at least it would funnel the Guild away from her if they showed up.
“Are you sure?” she asked suspiciously.
“Absolutely,” I confirmed.
Absolutely not.
“All right. Well, if you need anything or change your mind, call me.” She pulled out a smooth, flat little device and poked the screen on the front. “What’s your… Oh, shit. You proba
bly don’t have a cell phone, do you?”
“Nope, didn’t have a chance to snag one in the less than five hours I’ve been out of the pokey.” I snatched the device from her hand and stared down at it. “Is this seriously what phones look like now? The words at the top of the device caught my eye. “There’s an iPhone 8 now?”
“Actually, that’s outdated as hell. I haven’t been able to afford a new one since I so inconveniently smashed the last four during investigations.” She carefully took the phone back.
“It’s so sleek.”
“You should see some of the other ridiculous stuff they have on the market now.”
“I want to see everything.”
“We’ll get right on that as soon as we get through the first two steps of our mission,” she promised.
“Stop the destruction of Charleston and escape the Guild,” I recapped.
“Those are the ones. You’re positive you don’t want to come back to my house? Old-school slumber party?”
She was pulling at my heartstrings, but since I’d prefer all her heartstrings to remain in their current not-snapped-in-half-by-magic condition, I had to decline. She finally relented and gave me a hug.
“I missed you.” She must have really meant it. Even in my grimy condition, she didn’t flinch as she pulled me close. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The words were insistent, like they held the unspoken parenthesized comment because you damn well better not get yourself stolen again.
Chapter Sixteen
One of the few things Solon didn't teach me during our years of lessons was what to do if I finally did manage to break out of The Deep. There were no simulations or role-playing sessions that could guide me through wandering around the city a couple of hours before dawn, completely exhausted, and with zero concept of what to do next.
As I walked along a dark sidewalk a few blocks away from where Ally and I had split up, I contemplated my next move. Whatever it was, it needed to balance my need for sleep and shelter with my need to duck the Guild as much as humanly possible, for as long as humanly possible.
