Portals of Infinity: Book Five: Demigods and Deities

by John Van Stry

  I sighed and went to Darlene's parents' home. I'd spend what time I could with her and my children. Come the morning however, I'd be leaving. If Nikki wasn't here by then, she'd just have to catch up.

  Twenty

  Riverhead

  We hit the trail not long after sunup, Nikki had arrived about an hour earlier, and I'd had almost everything ready by then, I just needed to hit Black's Bank for some gold, and buy horses.

  Darlene wished I could have stayed longer, but she knew that we had to go save Cameron. Apparently she didn't care in the slightest about what she'd seen of me in the temple. That or she had decided that this wasn't a good time to bring it up.

  Habe had stopped by to let me and Darlene know what the progress was on cleaning and fixing the inn. It felt good to know that mess at least was being taken care of, and was in capable hands.

  "So, what did you learn?" I asked Nikki after we cleared the city gates.

  "It was one person, a man. Harold said when he came in, he seemed normal enough. He asked questions about the town, then the bar, how long it had been there, who owned it. Nothing strange, at first.

  "Then he asked if the family were all good followers of Aryanna, and Harold nodded and said 'Of course.' Sometime after that, he asked if they were all follows of Aryanna, why weren't all the children at temple? Harold's guess was that the man must have heard Cameron in the back."

  "So what did Harold say to that?" I asked.

  "I'm getting to that," Nikki said. "So, he tells the man that the child was recently sick, and they decided to keep him home another week, seeing as the priest was there yesterday anyway and all."

  "Then he asked if the child was yours, Will. And Harold said, that no, and that you hadn't been around in some time. That it was Aryanna's champion's and perhaps he should take his custom elsewhere."

  "Harold talks too much," I sighed.

  "He said that he was a little guy, so he really didn't expect much trouble out of him."

  I almost reined the horse in, "He said what?"

  "That he was a little guy."

  I swore, "That was Cen!"

  "I've seen pictures of Cen, Will! He's not a little guy! He's as tall as you are!"

  "Not in his original form," I growled. "He's like five two or something; I thought he wasn't due back for years yet!" I yelled and swore again.

  Nikki looked at me a bit shocked, "Are you sure of that?"

  "That it's Cen, or that he's not supposed to be back yet?"

  "Yes," She nodded.

  "It sounds like something Cen would do. Especially if he still thinks I'm not around anymore, but that Cameron is Stephanie's kid. As for the not coming back yet. Well, that's what Aryanna told us, so you'd have to talk to her." I said and grumbled some more.

  "So why did he take Cameron then? Do you think he's looking to blackmail Stephanie with him?"

  "How?" I said and shook my head. "And if he's a champion, why the hell didn't he just gate out of there back home."

  "Maybe he's afraid of what his god will do?" Nikki shrugged, "Remember, both Ary and your Feliogustus wanted him kept away from all the other priests, champions, and gods. Maybe when he picked Cameron up, he realized there was something there, and now he's trying to figure out how to use it."

  I shook my head, "I have no idea, and unless we catch up with him and ask him, I don't know if we're going to find out." I shook my head again and swore a few more times just trying to make sense out of it.

  "So what happened next?" I asked.

  "He attacked Harold, no warning, nothing, just attacked him and killed him. From what Emma told me, the first she knew there was any trouble was when Heckle and Jeckle ran out of the room. A moment after that, the guy, came in the room with the dogs on him. He killed them both, and then killed her."

  "What about all that mess in the front bar?"

  Nikki shook her head, "I have no idea. I haven't seen it, was it trashed?"

  I nodded, "Either he did it after he killed Harold, and Emma didn't hear it, or he came back after killing everyone and did it."

  "Why would he do that?" Nikki asked curiously.

  "Because Cen was a very unhappy man last time I saw him," I said and spit. "Did Aryanna find out anything about the temple stuff that Cen had going on back on Earth?"

  "Umm, no."

  "Did you press her?"

  "Will! I can't do that to her!"

  "Sis, if you can't, who can? We're champions; we can bend or break the rules, sometimes finding out why she can't tell you something is just as important as finding out what she can't tell you."

  "Isn't that cheating?"

  I shrugged, "I don't know if it's possible to cheat. But they have to know something about what's going on. The idea that they may not know scares me more than having Aryanna or Fel mad at me."

  "Well, I can ask her when I sleep next."

  I nodded, "Well, once we clear the portal, you'll have to do that just to find out where we have to head next."

  Nikki nodded, and we spent the next several hours riding in silence.

  I checked the portal when I got there, mostly out of habit. I didn't recognize it, and after Nikki checked it we both went through.

  "Well, nothing seems different," I said looking around.

  "Why don't you go make some food while I take a nap?" Nikki said.

  I nodded and led her and the horses over to a small clearing nearby, and then I set out gathering material to make a fire while Nikki hobbled the horses, and then spread her cloak out on the ground and lay down and took a nap.

  She must have been tired, because she slept at least an hour, before she finally woke up.

  "Hungry?" I asked and handed her a plate.

  Yeah, thanks."

  "So, what did Aryanna tell you?"

  "She told me where she thinks he's heading, and yes, she thinks you're right, that it is Cenewyg. He obviously can't open a gate to where he's going, so he has to go the long way around."

  I nodded and started to clean up and pack stuff away. "How many spheres from here does she think his destination is?"

  Nikki shook her head, "She thinks she knows where he is going here, and that's only because she agrees it's Cenewyg. After his next pick, she thinks she'll be able to tell what his destination is."

  I looked at her, "What?"

  Nikki shrugged, "I hit her with every question I could think of, to see if there was something else I could learn. She didn't even get mad," Nikki sighed, "but."

  "But what?"

  "But when I asked her how Cenewyg had gotten back early, she told me that she couldn't answer that."

  "Couldn't, not wouldn't?"

  Nikki nodded, "When I tried to find out why she couldn't, she told me that I was wasting her time on those questions, and that she wouldn't tell me why. Then I woke up."

  "Okay, now that's different," I said thoughtfully. "So how far away is the next portal?"

  "About two weeks from here on horseback."

  "Well, if you're done, let's get going."

  Nikki finished the last of her food and we mounted up and left.

  # # # #

  We were at the next portal, it had been a hard two weeks, we'd slept as little as possible, and rode as much as possible. We'd had to stop and walk the horses fairly often, as they were definitely feeling the strain of what we were putting them through. The only stops we'd made that were out of the way, was to pass through a couple of towns or villages that we had spied during our trip, to replenish our supplies and get our mounts better food than they could graze on.

  We went through at the same time, and I broke to the left as Nikki broke to the right and we both looked for cover. We didn't know if Cen knew he was being followed, but we don't see how he couldn't be expecting it. Coming through the portal was a good place for an ambush, so we did what we could to minimize the risk.

  "Anything?" Nikki asked me. I was in my champion form, and I was scanning the area, ears, eyes, and nose active.
<
br />   I shook my head, "I can scent him, weakly. He was here a while ago, probably six or so hours ago."

  "Let's take a break; I want to talk to Ary."

  I nodded, "Let's find a good place first," Nikki agreed and we started looking for a place to camp.

  "Hear that?" I said and started looking around.

  "Hear what?" Nikki said and looked at me.

  "Follow me," I said and carefully started to follow a steady thumping sound. As I got closer it got louder.

  "I hear it now," Nikki said.

  I led us up a small rise, leaving the horses tied to a tree lower down, when we got to the top we looked around the trees at the small valley below.

  "Well, will you look at that," Nikki said.

  I nodded, "Indeed." There was a small village there, with what looked like a couple of inns, a few stores; even what I suspected what was a police station of sorts. But the most interesting thing was the vehicle that drove in, parked next to a line of others, and from which several people got out and went inside.

  "Pretty freaky looking cars," Nikki said.

  "Cars are faster than horses," I pointed out.

  "And ours are about done," she agreed. The constant riding had been hard on our mounts, my dad had always told me that a man could walk a horse into the ground, and up until now, I hadn't realized just how true that was.

  "What do you say to getting a room down there and a decent meal?" Nikki said looking at me and shifting out of her champion form.

  I nodded, "I think we could both us a short break. If we can get a car that would help us tremendously."

  "Especially if Cenewyg already has one," Nikki pointed out.

  I nodded, "I'll have to ask around and see if anyone has seen a man of his description here." Shifting out of my champion form I followed her down the hill and back to our horses.

  I snickered when I noticed something as we got to our horses.

  "What?' Nikki asked looking at me.

  "Nice tail," I said and grinned.

  Nikki swore and put her hands on her butt, "I thought something felt wrong back there!"

  I laughed. "Oh it gets even better," I said smiling at her.

  "How's that?"

  "Men apparently don't have them."

  She glared at me, and then made me lead the way to the village, apparently not wanting me looking at her butt.

  "Didn't somebody make a movie like this?" She grumbled as we entered the town.

  "Yeah, but yours is much nicer looking," I snickered.

  "It's in my pants, how would you know?"

  "I have an active imagination," I said and snickered some more as she swore.

  When we got to the village, no one paid us much attention, the inn did have a stable for the horses around back, though there was only one other horse inside. Apparently horses were still used, but I guess they were falling out of vogue.

  "Excuse me, who would I have to talk to about hiring a car?" I asked the innkeeper after we'd secured a room for the night.

  "Oh, go talk to Rutgarr, his place is just past the constable's station down the road," He said and motioned with his hand in the general direction. "How far do you need to go?"

  "A fair ways," I said.

  He nodded, "Well, there are larger cars that carry people longer distances when you get to the city, for most folks out of the country like you, it's the easiest way to travel."

  I nodded.

  "By the by," I said, "Did you see a short man," I held my hand out to about where I felt Cenewyg's height would be, "Come through here recently?"

  "Friend of yours?" he asked looking at me.

  "Oh, he's no friend. I just want to be sure he's not staying at your inn, wouldn't want to cause a problem if I came across him here."

  "Well, don't worry none, there was a man like that here a month ago, but haven't seen him since."

  I nodded, "Thanks," and we went and had dinner.

  "A month ago," Nikki said while eating, "must have stopped here on the way to your place."

  I nodded, "So he's probably returning to wherever it was he came from."

  "Which means he knows the territory," Nikki pointed out.

  "Well, this is all in the vicinity of Hilshire, so maybe Aryanna knows about it too."

  Nikki nodded, "I'll be sure to ask her tonight."

  I nodded. "I think I need to have a conversation with Fel as well," I said thinking at him as I said that. I hadn't bothered Fel since this whole thing had started, because I didn't know how much help he could be. But at this point, I'd take whatever assistance I could get.

  I went and found Rutgarr next while Nikki left to deal with our supplies.

  "How do," a middle-aged man said as I approached the building the innkeeper had directed me to.

  "I wanted to ask about buying or hiring a car," I said to him.

  "Well, I can't say that I have any for sale right around now, but I do have one for which you could hire. Where be you wanting to travel?"

  "Where do you go?" I asked.

  "Well, on the east road we can take you as far as Laudenfort, it be about a day's drive, and you could hire another car from there. Going to the west, we could take you to Lordsford. It being a bit of a longer ride, you wouldn't get in until after dark. There are a lot of cars to hire there to take you farther, however."

  I nodded; I had felt one of those 'positive' feelings when he'd mentioned Laudenfort, "We're going to Laudenfort, how soon can we be started?" I asked because it was late, I didn't know if they'd be willing to drive through the night. From the way the cars looked and the state of the road that I'd seen so far, I sort of doubted it.

  "I'll have a car and a driver ready to go at first light," he said.

  I nodded and we dickered over the price a little, I just offered a bit less than what he asked for, until we came to an agreement. I'd have to procure some currency later, or figure out how much gold or silver would cover it.

  We shook hands, and I went back to the inn to check out our room, and talk to Nikki.

  "Ah, hot and cold running water!" Nikki said from the bathroom when I came in, she was drawing a bath.

  "You got the supplies taken care of already?" I asked surprised.

  "Traded the horses to the innkeeper, he also owns the shop next door and he's having everything put together for us. We can pick it up in the morning when we leave."

  "Good, I'm going to sleep. Don't go turning into a prune on me, Sis."

  "Oh, Cenewyg left town here this afternoon, probably about four hours before we showed up."

  "What?!" I said surprised.

  "The person who minds the store for the innkeeper told me, I figured Cenewyg would need supplies too, so I asked. He was in with a small child, and bought a lot of food, then left."

  "Damn, and we can't leave until the morning, maybe we should steal a car and try to catch him tonight."

  "From what the guy at the store told me, nobody drives the roads around here at night, they're too dangerous and the cars don't have very good lights. I don't think he's really going to gain that much on us, Bro."

  I sighed, "Well, I hope not, it's just that the sooner we catch him, the sooner we can get Cameron and go home."

  "You're not thinking this all the way through," Nikki said looking at me.

  "Huh?"

  "What are you going to do to Cenewyg?"

  I shrugged, "Kill him?"

  "And then he just comes back and does it all again, doesn't he?"

  I swore and hit myself so hard on the head I saw stars for a moment. "So what do we do?"

  "Well, I for one am going to take a bath." Nikki said and started to disrobe. "But it bears thinking about. We can't just kill him, or if we do, we need to think about the consequences of that. As well as what we're going to do, if he does come back again."

  "Definitely something to think about," I agreed and left, closing the door behind me.

  "Nice to see you too," Fel said smiling at me from behind the bar.
I was sitting at it for a change, rather than the two of us sitting around the table.

  "I'm sorry, Fel, I know this is all something that doesn't really concern you, and I'm sorry it's taking me away from you." I sighed and hung my head a bit.

  "Cheer up, William," Fel said and slid me a beer, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Truth is, this does concern me, because this has become a part of Aryanna's game, and I will do what I can to help. Further, I know how you feel about your children, you've been dedicated and faithful, it is only fair that I help you when you need it."

  I nodded, "Thanks, Fel, I just wish I knew how Cen got out of where ever the hell it was, early. And what the hell he's up too. If it was simple revenge, I would have expected him to have just killed Cameron, and then killed the rest of my family too."

  Fel nodded, "I believe you will discover the answers you're looking for, it is just unfortunate that I can not provide them to you."

  I nodded, "I wish I could press you on that, but after the last time, I have a suspicion that I might get in trouble. But there is one thing I want to ask, can you tell me what Cen was up to on Earth?"

  "I can't tell you anything more then what you already know about that question, William."

  I nodded, "Any advice on what I should do when I catch up with Cen?" I asked and looked up at Fel, "If I kill him, he comes back, but if I don't kill him, he'll probably kill me, or worse, he'll kill Cameron."

  "So maybe you shouldn't kill him," Fel said.

  "I can't do that!" I said loudly.

  "Why not?" Fel asked looking at me calmly.

  "Because he took Cam! He killed Henry and Emma! Hell, he's tried to kill me!"

  "But killing him doesn't really kill him, anymore than his killing you would have," Fel pointed out.

  "He still needs to be punished!" I growled.

  "Ah," Fel said nodding. "Punished, yes, he should be punished. Maybe you need to start thinking of ways to punish him, rather than ways to kill him?"