Her expression sat fixed as if to say, “What?”
I sighed. “Trust me, it’s not magic.”
She grudgingly accepted my explanation, though it was clear she didn't have a clue what I was talking about. I could have cracked open a bullet and given her a chemistry lesson, but I don't think it would have helped. Besides, we were budgeted for time.
It was clear we were being watched, and most likely by Gaza. But I had a feeling these creatures were not meant to stop us. Like the fire creatures they were probably sent as a warning or as a scare tactic. I continued to find myself fighting with the notion that I was nothing more than a puppet in an elaborately constructed game. Anger welled up in my chest. Why didn't Gaza just face me and get it over with? Why was he toying with me? I did not like being toyed with, not one bit!
I felt a squeeze on my pinkie. This time instead of looking down at the ring I crouched and peered back into the woods.
Thana turned. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. My eyes scanned back and forth through the murky wood. The sun’s light was dim making it difficult to see but I knew he was there, somewhere.
There! I burst into a run and the crisp ground snapped under my quick footfalls. In the distance I could just make out a dark figure walking through the shadow of the trees. A branch snapped me in the face making my eye water but I didn't slow. As I neared the spot the man became clearer. He was watching my approach. I veered left desperately trying to keep him in view. Crap! He passed behind a thick tree. I reached my destination and came to a skidding halt, my chest heaving from the exertion.
He was gone.
“No!” I kicked at some leaves. “Crap!” I swung at a branch with my hand and snapped it off. “Crap! Crap! Crap!”
Thana caught up with me. “What was that all about?” She breathed heavily.
I scowled at her. “I took care of the puppets. But what I really want is the puppet master. Gaza was here pulling the strings all along.” If Thana hadn’t been with me, I could have used the web to instantly transport myself to him. I looked at her and let out one last, “CRAP!”
“What?” She backed up defensively.
I brushed by her. “Never mind. I’ll get him next time. Let’s go.”
Again we followed the winding path, this time, a little more watchful-- and a lot more jumpy. Every little noise startled us. “How much farther is it?” I asked. “Maybe we should stop and make camp.”
Thana halted suddenly and I almost ran into her. She was looking down over a steep ledge overlooking a deep leafy crevasse. “It’s just a little farther,” she said.
To our left, a magnificent waterfall spilled its crystal clear water over the edge. Directly before us stood a faded sign:
BEWARE THE WRATH OF GODS. DO NOT ENTER.
The crevasse seemed unnatural somehow, as though the ground had been pushed down in an even line. The trees below matched the trees on the upper level, like they had once stood side by side. I looked down over the edge. “What is this place?”
“This is the only thing Humphrey ever used the power for. He could not live among us because his eyes gave him away, and since my people wouldn’t leave him alone, he created this place. The only way to get down there is to use this pulley system.”
Just off the edge of the cliff a metal weight with a red cushion upon it hung in mid air. A rope ran from the center of the weight to a pulley hanging from a tree above, across to a second pulley, then down into a hole in the ground.
Thana explained. “This is a balance system. Inside the walls of this cliff are pipes that funnel water from the river. The water is used to fill the counterbalance. See this hole?” She pointed to where the rope entered the ground. “This tunnel reaches down to the bottom of the cliff. At the end of this rope is the counterbalance to that seat.” She pointed at the red cushion.
I looked at the tiny cushion floating in stark contrast to the large expanse of the crater, and it dawned on me, that she had used the word “seat.” My jaw dropped. “I have to sit on that?”
“Yes, and see that lever down there?” She pointed to a rusty iron bar protruding from the cliff face. “You’ll need to pull that up to empty the water from the counterbalance below. When you start to drop, push the level back down.” She chuckled. “Otherwise it will be a very fast ride. Oh! And when you get to the bottom you’ll find another lever. This is very important. You must pull that lever down for ten seconds before getting off the seat.”
Again I peered downward. It was quite a drop, a couple hundred feet anyway. I looked up and opened my mouth to refuse, but then remembered my experience with Kitaya. If I were to fall, I could always fly. “--So, when I get to the bottom-- I need to pull the lever, down?”
“Yes down, for ten seconds.”
“And what does that do?”
“When the counterbalance gets to the top it will be filled with water. When you get off you will be taking your hundred and eighty-some-odd pounds with you. The lever will empty the water from the counterbalance to even out the weights.”
“So the seat doesn’t come shooting back up. Right. I understand.”
“Good. Are you ready?”
I looked up at the pulley in the tree. “Are you sure it still works?”
“No.”
I shot her a look.
She laughed. “It’s fine. Humphrey always keeps his things in good working order.”
I looked again at the little red seat. “Alright. Here goes nothing.” I reached out and grabbed the rope. It was rough in my hand and burned slightly as I drew the seat toward me. Carefully I placed a leg over, and soon was swinging out over the gulf below. Fear took me immediately. The height was dizzying. Whether this world was a figment of my imagination or not made no difference, vertigo was still a very real phenomenon.
“Now pull the lever.”
“I don’t want to,” I said, clinging to the rope.
“Some god you are.” She laughed, reached down, and pulled up on the lever. Within seconds I was plummeting to my death. I could only hope she would remember to push the lever back down.
I seemed to fall for an awfully long time. It was much farther than I’d expected. But eventually the ground became visible, then more defined, then branches rushed by me until I touched down with a thud.
I sat for moment. “Someone has to talk to Humphrey about this death trap!” I muttered to myself. “I don’t care what anybody says I will not be returning this way.”
In front of me on the face of the rock was the lever. Clearly marked above and below were the words, FULL and EMPTY. I pulled it down and counted to ten. Carefully I dismounted the contraption and stepped back. It rose up slowly and disappeared into the branches overhead. I scanned my surroundings and found nothing out of the ordinary. Many varieties of brilliant flowers blanketed the landscape. Their aroma was sweet. Humphrey's hand no doubt. The river flowed by not far from the site of the pulley system so I perched on a rock and stared off into the falling water. Such power and beauty. The waterfall’s song was medicine to my tired soul. Its thunderous sound echoed off the cliff walls as it weaved its way down into the deeper forest to my right. I sat taking in the sights and listening to the playful chatter of the birds. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. For a brief moment I felt at ease, and the sensation was foreign to me. I’d had so few opportunities to relax in this strange world.
It wasn’t long before Thana touched down with a thump. She held tight to the rope as she dismounted, then scooped up a metal hook that was buried under some leaves and secured the weight so it would not rise back up. “I hope you enjoyed your ride.” She smiled.
“More than words can say.” I smirked.
She chuckled and headed down the path, I hopped off the rock and followed. We passed over a wooden bridge and into a clearing. To our right the river poured into a lake, and on the lake’s edge was a log home. As we approached I could see a man out front chopping wood. He was an
old fellow in a red flannel shirt and green work pants. A long white beard dangled before him. Each swing of the ax was powerful and accurate; he was definitely not a frail man. Suddenly, seemingly unprovoked, he began jumping about and flailing his arms in the air with quick jarring motions, back and forth, like a madman. “Go away!” he yelled. “GO away!” Soon his wild motions brought him to the ground with a crash, then all we could see were the old man’s arms and legs stabbing up into the air from the thick grass. “Leave me in peace!” he yelled out. “Go AWAY!”
For a moment I thought he was hallucinating, but then I spotted the object of his misery. It was a tiny bird, a humming bird. It hovered over his flailing body for a moment then turned and shot off across the lake. I guess the old man was too much of a challenge for the little creature.
“Humphrey?” I asked.
“Humphrey,” she stated.
CHAPTER 9
THE MORTAL GOD
001001011001110
The old man smiled when he saw Thana.
“Humphrey!” she called.
“Thana, precious girl, you’ve come back to visit!”
He was taller than he’d looked from the distance and there was a gentle power about him. His face was stern, yet kind, and although his leathery skin showed deep lines around his neatly trimmed white beard, he was far from feeble. I waited while the old friends shared an embrace.
When they separated Thana turned and introduced us. “Humphrey, I’d like you to meet Jason Tardin.”
“Good to meet you, sir.” I offered my hand.
His eyebrows furrowed and his glowing eyes seemed to darken. “What do you want with me?”
“I’ve come a long way, by horse and by foot, to speak with you. It is a matter of great consequence.”
He scowled at me and grunted.
Thana put her hand on his arm. “He’s all right, Humphrey. I promise.”
Still scowling the old man examined me with a critical eye. “All right,” he said with a toss of his hand, “but I’ll not go on any fool crusades with you. I’m a man of peace. And a tired man at that!”
I tried to be diplomatic. “All I seek is information. Whatever you are willing to share will be appreciated.”
He gave a slight nod. “Then come in and rest your bones.” He offered his arm to Thana. “And grab a few of them logs if you don’t mind,” he said, pointing to the pile next to the chopping block.
I stacked some sticks in my arms and trailed along behind.
Humphrey’s cabin was neat and orderly, and although sparsely decorated, had all the comforts of home. A pleasant piney odor hit me as I entered. Instantly the warmth of the cabin’s rustic beauty enveloped me. “Where do you want these?” I asked.
“In the basket by the fireplace,” he said over his shoulder as he guided Thana into the kitchen. I figured he wanted to grill her with questions about me, but she came back out rather quickly, with thick slice of bread and a large glass of milk.
“What do you want in your coffee?” she asked.
“A spoon of sugar will be fine.”
“One sugar,” she called into the kitchen. “I’m going to wait out here, okay, Humph?”
Humphrey returned with a, “Yup!”
“He likes you,” she whispered.
“He does?” I said, completely surprised. “What makes you say that?”
“He would have turned you away outside if he didn’t. And he wouldn’t offer coffee unless he wanted you to stay a bit. He used to make a cup for Gaza before their long discussions, but he even turned him away a few times before finally giving in.”
“Well, I am certainly honored.”
We stopped speaking as Humphrey rounded the corner.
“Mind if I take your bed tonight, Humph?” Thana asked.
“Not at all. You must be tired after your long trek.”
“You have a bed?” I asked.
“Yes. It doesn’t get much use though. On occasion I try lying down to see if sleep takes me.”
“Any success?”
“No, but I keep hoping.”
Thana headed for the bedroom. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk about god stuff. I’m exhausted. I’ll catch up with you in the morning.”
“Good night, Thana,” I said. “Dream for us all.”
She nodded her head in the affirmative.
Humphrey handed me a cup of steaming coffee.
“That didn’t take long.”
“I put the pot on before you arrived.”
“Ahh.”
“Have a seat, young Mister Tardin,” he said, waving his hand at a rocking chair. “What brings you out this way?”
I sat and placed my cup on the end table. “As I said, I’ve come seeking information.”
“Uh-huh. What kind of information?” He perched on the edge of the woodbox.
“Well, two days ago Kitaya and I used an event cell to re-live a portion of Vrin’s history. Kitaya witnessed a discussion between Gaza and Rath where Gaza was threatening to destroy this world if Rath did not do his bidding. She didn’t get all the details, but Gaza was talking about searching for a woman and a girl child. We were hoping Gaza might have mentioned them to you.”
Humphrey furrowed his brow. “He believes his wife and daughter died in a car accident in his previous existence. That might have something to do with it. But I don’t know why he’d be searching for a woman and child in this world.”
“He mentioned something about an exact match. Do you think he was referring to them?”
“It’s possible. He could have made replicas of them to ease his pain.”
“No. --That wouldn’t make sense. He’s searching for them, for an exact match. If he made replicas he wouldn’t have to search for them.” I gave Humphrey a quizzical look. “Right?”
“This world is extremely complex.” Humphrey picked up an iron poker and began stirring the fire. “There could be a great many explanations. Gaza mentioned many details of its creation but most of it was gibberish to me.”
“Did he mention his search?”
“No, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he is searching for them. Their deaths weigh heavily on his mind.”
“Why do you think he would enlist Rath and no one else? If he wanted to find them so badly, why not bring us all in on it?”
“I have no idea.” Humphrey looked into the fire. “He never mentioned Rath to me.”
I studied the old man’s profile. “Well-- do you think he’ll follow through on his threat?”
Humphrey shook his head. “I don’t know. Gaza is something of an enigma. There is no disputing the fact that he is a genius, but his mind is tortured, his reasoning impaired. I spent many a night trying to help him through his questions.” Humphrey stood and began to pace. “He is angry with God. He blames God for the death of his family, but it goes beyond reason. It’s a fixation. I believe he is between calms.” Humphrey stopped and looked out the window.
“I’m sorry? I’ve never heard that expression.”
“That’s because I made it up,” he said gruffly.
“Could you-- elaborate?”
He started pacing again. “In a person’s life there is a flow, or as I call it, a calm. You find the path that is most pleasing and you follow it.” He looked at me.
I nodded, hoping I looked like I knew what he was talking about.
“Unfortunately,” he went on, “things happen, devastating things: the death of a loved one, a debilitating accident. Events like these suck the wind out of a person, leaving them in the emptiness between calms. Most find the strength to stand again, their paths irrevocably changed, but others never regain their calm. Gaza’s physical body has probably long healed but who he is refuses to return. The pain of his experience is holding him back. If he could work through the fear he would be free to return to his body. But he can't, so he's stuck. He’s unable to continue on into eternity, yet he cannot return to the physical.”
“It sounds like you're sa
ying he's a ghost.” I let out a small laugh.
“He’s as close to a ghost as a physical being can be. His path is wrought with uneasiness and loss. I believe his search is nothing more than a desperate attempt to retrieve his calm.”
I shook my head. “How can you sound so sure?”
“Have you not realized? This is a spiritual place. We are no longer in our physical bodies as we understand it. I’m not sure what I would call it, but the best I can come up with is purgatory, a spirit plane between the physical and eternity.”
I squinted at him. “You think we’re dead?”
He nodded slowly. “I’m not certain-- but yes. I think we’re dead.”
I looked him in the eye. “With all due respect, sir, I believe you are wrong, because just last night I had a conversation with a scientist who would disagree with you.”
He looked genuinely astonished. “You’ve talked with people-- on the physical plane?”
“Yes, and although I haven’t figured out what this place is, I’m pretty sure we’re not dead.”
He walked back to the window. “This is very odd,” he said softly. “I’ve had some enlightening conversations with my soul, and it mentioned nothing of being able to talk to the other side.”
“Your soul?”
“Yes. Occasionally I have brief conversations with it.” He reached out and rubbed a spot on the window. “It said I was on the edge of the physical world and that I had more to accomplish. It said this place was special. There is so much doubt in the world, so many questions. We are an inquisitive species. Without this place we would lose our way. What we learn here we bring here. What we carry with us we made under God’s watchful eye.”
Again I shook my head. “With all due respect, sir, I don’t need any more riddles. My life is complicated enough.”
“You wanted to know where we are!” He turned to face me. “I’m telling you what I know!”
“Well I don’t buy the fact that I’m dead.”
Vrin: Ten Mortal Gods Page 9
