by Michael Vu
*******
Then Quin woke up, gasping, choking, sobbing tears of remorse, of fear, of pain. This world that surrounded him was a graveyard of innocent souls, destroyed by the simple invention of a lonely old man. It wasn’t the machine that killed all of these people. It was the Doors. The Doors and the insatiable greed of those that used them.
John stood over him with a worried expression. He twisted his hands, unsure of how to respond to Quin’s highly unusual emotional display.
Blinking rapidly, Quin cleared away most of the tears and swallowed. He tried to sit up. The pain in his head had receded, and the whispers and screams were very faint, and becoming ever more distant. John helped him scoot back to lean against the nearest column of glass.
“It’s a graveyard,” he whispered. “A graveyard for all who died here.” He then briefly relayed the dream to John, who sank down next to him in shock and awe.
“I can’t even imagine,” he whispered. “How long have these Doors been here?”
“I think… I think he made the first one five years ago,” Quin replied hesitantly. “I think he caused all of this.”
“Don’t lay the blame too quickly,” John said firmly. “We don’t know anything yet. Well, we know a lot. But not enough to place blame.”
Quin nodded and looked around. Now that the screams were still, he could see that the landscape was very beautiful. The glass and ash that covered everything gave the world a holy, ethereal feel. It was a fitting grave for the men, women, families, and animals that had given their lives that their children might live. Then he saw, not too far away, a bush which had not been completely destroyed by the battle, and was preserved in glass.
Standing slowly, Quin pointed. “We need to go over there.”
John followed him, as he walked slowly, painfully towards the bush. His muscles ached, his brain cried out – but it was nothing compared to the suffering he had just witnessed.
When he arrived at the bush, he reached out and grasped a glass-encased leaf. “May I take this as a gift for one of your own who survived?” he asked, directing his question at the grass, the sky, the ash – anything that might listen.
The air was still and quiet, so he very gently snapped off one leaf from the bush.
The ground did not quake. The clouds did not rumble. Fire did not fall from the sky.
Soberly, Quin and John slowly and reverently returned to the Door. Before stepping through, Quin turned back, calmly, and gazed at the world behind him – the ashen grey sky, the slippery streaks of blue glass, the mushroom cloud tombs of the dead, the powerful story that echoed in the devastation left by the war – and he committed it to memory. He hoped never to return, but he also intended never to forget.
10. THE GLASS LEAF
The dull grey-brown scene of Path was a welcome relief compared to the overwhelming emotional power of Cadrelle. Quin stumbled onto the bridge feeling weak and tired in a way he had never experienced before. He felt as though someone had taken his soul and stuck it in a wheat grinder and then wrung it out and tried to put it back together again. He grasped the rail of the bridge and took a few deep breaths of air, feeling useless and despising himself for not being strong enough. He looked at the sky, where a few black birds flew in lazy circles, and realized that he had never seen the sky – it had been cloudy every time they had come here.
“We should have Tobias take a good look at you,” John said.
“No,” Quin refused. “Don’t want to go there like this.”
“What, afraid Meriym might think you’re a baby? Well too bad. I’m the boss now, and we’re going to get you some food and some sitting-in-a-chair time, and you are going to do exactly as I say,” ordered John defiantly.
Quin took a deep breath and stepped forward, focusing on his posture, calming the shaking of his hands, and ensuring that enough oxygen was reaching his brain. They were traveling through Doors and facing the unknown at every turn. He needed to be strong, needed to be ready in case something jumped out from around a corner. Once his posture was under control, he readjusted his senses. The world around him was quiet as ever, with most of the right noises, but missing the sound of the river. He had forgotten to ask about that. The wind caused the tall grasses to wave as usual, and the birds floated and hovered in the sky. It lacked any real smell – he hadn’t noticed this before, and wondered why.
“Come on,” John said, tugging on his arm. Apparently he had only moved one step.
Each step he took became easier, as his emotions calmed, his mind focused, and the scene around them solidified. He realized that the vividness of the dream had caused the real world to seem unreal – but as the dream faded, his senses took over.
They reached the house a few minutes later and Meriym answered the door with a gasp.
“You look terrible!” she exclaimed. “What happened?”
John pushed Quin up the steps and into the house, and forced him to sit on the couch.
“Is Tobias here?” he asked.
“Upstairs,” Meriym replied. She went over and opened the trap door. The rope ladder fell and John scrambled up.
Meriym came over to Quin, concern written all over her face. “What happened? Are you okay? Do you need anything?” She sat down beside him on the couch.
Taking a deep breath, Quin reached into his pocket and pulled out the leaf encased in glass. He placed it carefully in her hand.
“What is this?” Meriym asked. “It’s beautiful.”
“It comes from Cadrelle,” Quin replied.
Meriym’s eyes widened and then began to well up with tears. “I haven’t… haven’t been back. What… is it…”
“Everything is encased in glass,” he said simply. “It is one massive tomb, built to honor those that died there.”
The tears that had started in her eyes began to flow down her face. Quin reached out, feeling inept, and placed his large hand awkwardly on her back. He was not good at comforting. He wished John would hurry up and come back.
“Do you… do you know what happened?” she asked.
Quietly, Quin told her all that he had seen and experienced in the graveyard of Cadrelle, until Meriym’s sadness began to overwhelm him and he didn’t know what to do. So he drew her into his arms and held her while she sobbed.
After a while, she began to calm down, and Quin began to wonder where John was. He had probably found a bookshelf or something.
Meriym sat back and gave Quin a wobbly smile. “Sorry,” she said, “for crying all over your shirt. You were the one to experience it all, not me! And here I am being the watery one. It’s just that that’s where I was born and grew up – everyone I ever knew was on that planet, and when I escaped, I didn’t even do it on purpose. I was just running, and ended up here.”
Nodding, Quin patted her back.
She wiped her nose with her sleeve. “And this leaf – it’s so beautiful. It’s so… thank you.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “I will treasure it.”
“Coming down the ladder!” John announced suddenly. His voice was a jarring contrast to Meriym’s soft, sad voice. “Hey, Quin, guess who I found!”
“Who?”
“Kate!”
Behind him on the ladder, Kate began climbing down. She seemed to have bathed – her hair was no longer in knots, and she now wore an outfit that was not tattered and in rags.
“Oh, Kate!” Meriym exclaimed. “You look wonderful. Do you feel better?”
“Thanks, Meriym,” Kate replied. “I feel amazing. Thanks for letting me borrow some clothes.”
“How do you know John and Quin?”
“We convinced Isabel – Wolf’s sister – to let her out of a cage.” A grin split John’s face. “Glad we managed to get out of there alive!”
“A cage!” Meriym exclaimed. “Well, Wolf’s sister is very dangerous. How did you escape?”
“She let us,” Quin explained.
A brief frown crossed Meriym’s face. “S
he did? Did you meet Althea? Her mother?”
“No,” Quin replied.
“That seems very unusual,” Meriym said with a confused expression. “When Wolf comes back, we should ask him what it means. Normally, you would have to convince Althea to let you go, or fight to the death.”
“That was one of the options,” Kate added. “But now that you mention it, after making such a big deal about me being a stranger and a servant of the devil, she did let us escape pretty easily. Our two options were what? Fight or flee? With the end result of either being death?”
She and John took seats around the room, as Tobias began to climb down the ladder. He smiled at Quin and then said, “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” Quin stated.
“I’ve had a few people come back from Cadrelle who have had similar experiences to yours, but who have great difficulty remembering their visions. The memories left there seem to be most accessible to those who rely on their senses for most of their environmental information, and you are a prime example of someone like that. Wolf, too. He would die if he tried to go back there.”
Quin glanced at John, who met his eyes, as they remembered Wolf’s horrible experience.
“At any rate, the experience has never left long-standing physical effects. I’ve seen some nausea, headaches, shaky muscles, that sort of thing – but the effects seem to fade rather quickly. If you experience anything serious, let me know immediately.”
“You do look better since you got here,” Meriym said. “Let me get you a bowl of soup to give you some energy. John, would you like some too?”
“I’d love it!” John exclaimed.
Meriym stood and reached down to pick up the glass leaf from the table.
“What is that?” Kate asked.
“It’s a glass leaf,” Meriym replied. “Quin brought it back for me from Cadrelle.”
“May I look at it?”
“Of course!” Meriym smiled and handed it to her, before turning and heading into the kitchen. “Kate, I’m going to make a pot of tea. Would you like some?”
“I would love some,” Kate replied.
“Count me in,” Tobias called out.
Kate turned the glass leaf over and over in her hands. She held it up closely to her eyes, trying to look through it. She examined every side, angle, and edge.
“What are you looking for?” John asked. “It’s just a leaf from a bush encased in glass.”
Frowning, Kate tapped the leaf with her index finger. “I feel like I’ve seen something like this before, but I can’t figure out where.”
“It seems like it would be a pretty unique object,” John said. “I would be very interested to know where you saw it, if you can remember.”
Quin leaned back on the couch and drank in the warmth of the room around him. He found it odd that the world outside was so wrong and uncomfortable, but when he was in this house, he felt warm, content – at home. Meriym came back into the room carrying a tray. She set it on the low table between the chairs, and proceeded to pass out mugs of tea and bowls of soup all around. Each person smiled, said thank you, and took a deep breath, smelling the comforting scent of the food.
“Delicious,” John mumbled with his mouth full of soup.
“This tea hits the spot,” Kate added.
A murmur of agreement moved around the room.
“Where is Kip?” John asked.
“Oh, he is playing with some of the boys from the village today. One of the mothers wanted to host a party, and he was invited. It was one of the mothers that Tobias sees regularly, so the boys play together a lot.” Meriym took a sip of her tea, and settled onto the couch next to Quin. She smelled like some kind of flowers, Quin noted, and her eyes weren’t red from the crying anymore.
The group began to chat casually, enjoying the few moments of comfort and the camaraderie of those around them. Then the front door opened, and Wolf entered. A cold draft blew in. He began to walk forward, and then sniffed, and turned to look at the group in the living room.
“Hello,” Meriym said pleasantly. “Would you like to join us for—”
A short, harsh growl cut her off. His eyes flicked from one person to the next, and then he began to stalk forward, his gaze slowly narrowing on Quin. He growled again, and sniffed, stepping closer and closer to Quin.
Quin looked down at himself and realized – his scent – ashes. He set down his soup and stood, moving away from the couch. Then Wolf leaped forward and tackled him. The two huge bodies hit the stone floor of the house with a boom, causing the room to shake. Growling back, Quin reached up and grabbed Wolf by the throat, baring his teeth and throwing Wolf off of him. He jumped forward again, landing on top of Wolf, who growled and spit angrily. The two rolled over and over across the floor, knocking into furniture.
“Make room, make room,” he heard Meriym say, though she sounded rather far away. His attention was focused on Wolf. He knew he had to let Wolf win, but he had to do so without being killed. Around him, he heard the sounds of furniture screeching across the floor. They were making room for the two of them to wrestle without destroying anything else. Blocking out all other sounds and sensations, Quin returned his attention to Wolf. He looked up and met Wolf’s eyes. They were burning with anger and hatred and fear. Finding himself underneath Wolf again, Quin had an idea. He reached up with his one free arm and wrapped it around Wolf’s neck, pulling his face down so that they were close together. He held him there, as Wolf struggled, and as soon as he wiggled his arm free, he wrapped that one around Wolf too, until Wolf was held in an iron-gripped hug.
“I know,” Quin whispered. “I saw it. I’m sorry.”
With those words, Wolf began to relax a little, settling his weight on top of Quin, as if every last scrap of energy was pouring out of him. He weighed far more than Quin realized, and after a few moments, Quin began to find it hard to breathe. He gathered his strength and heaved Wolf off of him and onto the floor. Wolf didn’t move, but simply lay there, breathing, eyes closed. A tear slipped through his eyelid and rolled in one solitary trail down his cheek.
When Quin looked up, the others were standing by the wall, watching the scene before them. John’s eyes were wide and he looked terrified. Kate seemed interested, even entertained. Tobias wore an expression of fear mixed with sorrow, and Meriym was crying. Tears poured down her face. She knew – he could tell – she knew what Wolf was feeling and why, and she was feeling it every bit as much as Wolf.
Quin stood slowly, looking down at Wolf. After a moment, Wolf opened his eyes.
“Thank you,” he whispered, and Quin reached down a hand to help him stand up.
The others began to move about, rearranging the furniture.
“Wait, wait!” Meriym said, wiping away her tears. “As long as we’ve moved the furniture, I’d like to sweep the floor underneath.”
Tobias chuckled, and the tension in the room began to alleviate.
“I’ll help.” Kate ran into the kitchen and pulled the broom from the cupboard.
Slowly, the room was put back together – the floor swept; the chairs, couch, and tables picked back up; the blankets refolded and set in their place; and, finally, a fire lit in the fireplace. In only a few short minutes the room was organized, cleaned, and once again feeling warm and comfortable – like home. Then they all settled back into their chairs.
“So, could someone explain to me what just happened?” John asked.
“He smells,” Wolf stated.
Kate laughed. “Agreed.”
“Like ash,” Quin clarified.
“Ohhh.” John nodded, indicating his understanding.
Quin wondered if he had not been there, if Wolf would have tackled John, or if maybe, because he had experienced the memory, that he smelled the strongest.
“Um, I have to tell you,” Kate spoke up, “I remembered where I saw this leaf.” She held it up.
Wolf growled as he saw it, and threw an angry glance at Quin.
&nbs
p; Quin only shrugged.
“A long time ago, when I first started traveling, I ended up in a land called Canaan,” she explained. “There, I met a group of elderly women, called the Covey. Each one had a glass leaf that looked very similar to this tied around their necks. I don’t know where they got it, and I never really thought about it until now.”
John frowned. “A group of old women?”
“They were the leaders of a tribe of nomadic people living in a desert,” Kate explained. “They decide the laws there.”
Quin looked at John. Would this be a valuable place to visit? Would they find any clues there?
“So, if their leaves are the same as this one,” John said, “then they would know more about the war, and they survived.”
“Yes,” Kate replied. “Presumably. And they know a lot about the missing children, too,” she added. “They have helped a lot of people in their search.”
“Should we check it out?” John asked Quin. “I mean, it’s a stretch, but if they know about the war and the missing children, they might know about Dad, too.”
Nodding, Quin finished the last of his soup. He looked at Meriym and stood. “We’ll be back,” he said, “and one of these days, we will figure out what is going on.”
“Please,” Meriym replied, “come back here to rest. We have plenty of room.”
“It’s true,” John exclaimed. “I didn’t tell you about the upstairs, but it’s amazing. Beds everywhere!”
“It is a safe house for refugees,” Meriym explained.
Quin lifted the backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He took Meriym’s hand briefly, in the Cadrellian fashion, and then turned and strode out of the house, with Kate and John right behind.
“Lucky meeting you, eh?” John said chattily as they walked towards the Door.
“Not sure if that’s good or bad,” Kate said, almost harshly, “but if you’re friends with Meriym and Tobias, then you are probably – probably, mind you – okay.”
As they reached the bridge, Quin turned and looked at Kate. “You first,” he said, and they stepped through the Door once more.
11. THE LAND OF CANAAN
Colours blazed – a brilliantly blue sky flamed with orange and purple clouds that streaked across the horizon; the darker blue on the opposite end of the sky from the sunset slowly grew deeper and was dotted with stars and moons; the white and soft yellowish-brown mountains of sand stretched out in every direction, rippled by the wind. A village of tents was set up on top of the acres of sand. Hundreds of fabric structures spotted the landscape – yellow, blue, green, white…they looked like very large sprinkles on a very large donut.
“Welcome to Canaan,” Kate said in a straightforward manner, striding forward. The people in this village seemed to know her; they waved and shouted out, smiled and hugged her. “Please find Gilead,” she said to one of the little girls that ran about.
“It’s hot here,” John commented, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt – which Quin noticed was beginning to look a bit dirty.
Shifting focus away from John’s disheveled appearance, Quin made note of the situation around them. There were a lot of people, but none of them seemed immediately dangerous. He didn’t see any guns or obvious military presence. Most stayed away from the group that had stepped through the Door, but he could see eyes peering at them from behind the flaps of the nearest tents. They seemed to have an organized watch, at least, ensuring that they always knew who was coming through the Door; and, if Kate was right and this Covey was aware of the war on Cadrelle, he was certain they had taken measures to ensure the security of the community.
“I thought they were nomadic,” John said.
“They are,” Kate said, “sort of. They don’t move, but the land moves underneath them. The Door is their access to trade and supplies.
“Who do they trade with?” John questioned, wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead.
“A place called Fjord, mostly,” she answered. “And sometimes others, when they find us.”
“Fjord?” Quin asked. The hair – he kicked himself for not realizing it before – she had Fjordian hair and he hadn’t even noticed. Yellow streaks underneath a layer of brown. “You’re from Fjord. Aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
At that moment, a young man jogged up to the group, smiling broadly. He picked Kate up in his arms and spun her around, kissing her soundly on the lips. Kate’s face broke into a smile and she laughed.
“You’re back!” he said. “It’s been ages!”
“I know,” Kate said. “I’m sorry. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too. Who are your friends?”
“I would hardly call them friends,” Kate replied, raising an eyebrow. “This is Quin and John. They’re looking to talk to the Covey. John and Quin, this is Gilead.”
“Good sir,” John exclaimed, bowing. “We commend you on your admiration of Miss Sour Pants. She has been a huge asset to our team, and a huge pain as well.”
“John!” Quin exclaimed, elbowing him. “I’m sorry, Gilead. Thank you for your welcome.”
Gilead burst out laughing. “She can be both of those things, at that, John. And you are most welcome, Quin.” He turned to look at Kate. “The Covey is in conference for the moment, but I will have Chicha tell them of your arrival as soon as possible. Please, come with me and we will find a place for you to rest. Would you care for some food?”
“We just ate,” John said. “But thanks.”
“May I ask what you want to talk to the Covey about?” Gilead asked. “It might speed their interest. Sometimes it takes them days to get around to talking to someone.”
“A glass leaf,” Quin replied.
Gilead frowned slightly. “Will they know what that means?”
“Yes,” Kate interjected. “I want to see them, too, and they’ll see me at any rate.”
“Well,” Gilead said. “Why don’t you start by coming to the waiting area outside of their tent, and I will find out when they can see you. If it is going to be a while, we will find you a place to relax while you wait.”
“Thank you,” John said.
They followed Gilead through the tents. People bustled about. There appeared to be a well in the center of town and people carried buckets on yokes slung across their shoulders. Barefoot children skipped and played in the sand. Wind pulled at the tarps of the tents, and men and women carried wares about, beat animal skin rugs and blankets, and peeked through their tent flaps at the group as they walked by.
Suddenly, a scream sounded.
“Gilead! Gilead!” A little girl sprinted towards them, kicking sand up with every step.
“What is it, Chaya?” Gilead asked.
“I saw one! A sand monster! Like you described!”
Gilead frowned. “Where were you?”
“I was watching because it was my turn and I was on the fourth rise and I saw one and it was spinning and coming this way!” She was breathing heavily and looked as if she was about to cry.
Looking around, Gilead called to one of the older boys. “Fivel! I want to you to run as fast as you can to the fourth rise and see if the sand is coming. Go, now!”
A tall boy wearing a white tunic and cream trousers dropped what he was doing and sprinted back towards the Door. Around them, the bustle of people increased to a buzz. People began picking up their wares, rugs, blankets, and possessions and putting them inside tents. Then, one by one, they formed a parade, heading down towards the far end of camp.
“Liesl,” Gilead called to another girl. “I want you to go to the Covey and tell them we have a suspected sand storm. Run, now!”
Then Gilead turned back to them. “I’m sorry about this, but your meeting with the Covey is going to have to wait. Kate, you know the procedure. I want you to take them to the cavern and ensure their safety.”
Quin was surprised to see that Kate was smiling. Gilead seemed surprised, too.
> “Why are you smiling?” he asked her.
“It’s like the first time we met,” she replied, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his chin.
He smiled back. “You’re right, it is. Now get going.”
“This way,” Kate said, leading them in the same direction as the parade of people.
Before they had made it very far, Fivel came sprinting back. “It’s coming!” he shouted. “It’s coming and it won’t be longer than fifteen minutes. We have to hurry! Hurry!”
At these words, more teenagers took up the cry, running between tents and shouting that a sand storm was coming.
“Where are we going?” John asked over the noise of the crowd that grew larger by the second.
“The cavern,” Kate shouted back. “You’ll see.”
Soon, hundreds and thousands of people had joined in the trek. The crowd seemed to be disappearing over a particularly large dune of sand in front of them. All of Quin’s senses were on red alert; hundreds of people crowding, bumping, and shouting was a security guard’s nightmare. You’re not security right now, he reminded himself.
As they came over the rise, an incredible sight greeted them. A huge tent – the biggest tent they had ever seen. As they moved into the tent, the sight became even more incredible. The ground dropped away as a huge cavern appeared in front of them, with massive stone steps leading down to a flat stage-like area in the bottom center. The room looked to be set up like a large theater.
“People have assigned seats,” Kate said. “Visitors over here.” She led them down the stairs to the very bottom, on the opposite side of the stage. “That way we can make sure everyone is safe, and if someone doesn’t make it, we know who to look for.”
“But how on earth does this hold the sand out?” John asked. “It’s like a basement. Doesn’t it get buried?”
“Of course,” Kate said, “but the objective is not to avoid getting buried, but to avoid dying. The Covey has a piece of technology that creates a solid bubble over the top. That gets covered with sand, but we have a team that digs us out at the end. It’s not fun, of course, but everyone lives. And there is food down here, too, that gets rationed if the storm lasts for more than a day.”
They sat and watched as people filed in. One woman carried a screaming baby on each hip, and was followed by a line of more children – like ducklings. She counted them by placing her hand on each of their heads as they filed by to sit in their seats. A short gentleman with a bow and arrow was using an arrow to direct traffic – or trying to at any rate. The people seemed to largely ignore him if they could get away with it. A man in brightly covered clothes carried a parrot on one shoulder and a bird cage with several other birds in it in his opposite hand. From a different entrance, several men herded in a tribe of goats and three camels, and fenced them into an area on the other side of the cavern that seemed to be made specifically for livestock.
Then the Covey appeared at the entrance. Everyone in the room stood respectfully as they filed in. The group of old women walked down the stairs, directly to the center of the cavern, and stood in a circle with their backs to the crowd. As soon as they were no longer looking towards the people, everyone sat down and began talking again with normal vigor.
“Can we go and talk to them now?” John asked. “I mean, they’re not doing anything.”
“They’re busy,” Kate said, “preparing to protect you from the storm! They’ll come talk to you if they want to.”
The room was becoming fuller and fuller by the minute. People were crammed into every square inch of the place. It seemed to Quin that if this place was designed to last for several days, it should have been made slightly larger.
“There are a lot of people in here,” John said, echoing Quin’s thoughts.
“We’ve had a population boom in the last few years,” Kate said. “One of the things the Covey is working on is finding a way to make this place support more people – or possibly to build a second one.”
“It is an amazing feat of engineering,” John commented.
They watched as Gilead came skipping down the stairs. At the base, he bowed formally to the Covey. One woman turned to look at him. They whispered back and forth for a few minutes, and then he pointed to John and Quin and she turned to look at them.
She was wizened, so old that her skin was nearly dripping from her face, but her eyes were blazing hot stones of fire, and Quin knew in that instant that if he had to fight against her, he would lose. Just before she turned away, he noticed a glass leaf dangling from around her neck, and he knew that she knew exactly what he wanted to know. It was as if the leaf was speaking to him, the same way the glass had spoken to him in the graveyard of Cadrelle.
She turned away and he released his breath.
“That was odd,” John said. “She stared at you like she was trying to set you on fire.”
“She has the information we need,” Quin stated simply.
Gilead made some additional hand gestures and comments and then left the Covey, striding towards Quin and John. Behind him, one at a time, each member of the Covey turned and looked at them sitting quietly in the corner.
“They want to talk to you,” Gilead said, “and that was the weirdest they’ve ever been. I’ve never seen them look at anybody the way they looked at you, Quin. I suppose the whole ‘glass leaf’ thing must mean something to them. But first they need to secure the cavern.”
“Did everyone make it inside?” Kate asked.
“No,” Gilead replied, “as usual the Dauber twins are missing. But they seem to have figured out some system of surviving, as this is the fifth storm they’ve been out in.”
Quin glanced over at John. He was making the thinking face, rubbing his chin and squinting at nothing in particular.
“I think I can help the Covey,” he said suddenly. “I think I can find them an acceptable solution to their problem of having enough space. But I want to see what technology they’re using to secure this place first.”
“They have been very open to suggestions thus far,” Gilead replied. “But most haven’t been feasible. And you won’t have to wait long to see what they’ve got going. They’re starting.”
Quin turned his attention to the group of elderly women in the center of the room. They held their hands in the air and began speaking in unison. It wasn’t chanting – it was nearly singing. A lyrical poem of sound, drifting from their lips and cascading over the crowd.
“Noooo…” John whispered. “Really? Really?! You have got to be kidding me. Ridiculous.”
“Hush,” Kate hissed, elbowing him. “You’ll distract them.”
“This is just… just…”
Quin elbowed him harder and John let out a burst of air.
“It doesn’t matter,” Quin whispered, “as long as it works.”
John scowled and crossed his arms, leaning back against his chair and slouching down sullenly.
As the lyrical singing continued, the tent over their heads drew back to show the massively darkening sky. The sun was still setting, and the clouds were still lovely, but the deep blue of the encroaching night was invisible above the angry swirling clouds of dust that rapidly moved towards the cavern. All eyes gazed upwards as the circumference of the cavern began to sparkle and flicker and a bluish barrier slowly grew in a dome-shape over the top of the cavern. It was beautiful… and then, as soon as it sealed overhead, the storm hit, smashing against the barrier. It was amazing to watch – like a glass ceiling.
Then the entire community began to sing a song of loyalty, community, and faith.
The visitors listened respectfully, a captive audience, and John sat up into a more appropriate position.
As soon as the song ended, the crowd began to talk in normal voices.
John gestured to the barrier. “It is pretty impressive, I guess. But really, the pomp and ceremony is unnecessary.”
Quin raised his eyebrows.
“And I can definitely help them solve the
ir space problem if this is what they call a barrier,” he added defensively.
“You had better be quiet,” Gilead hissed. “The Covey – they’re coming.”
Quin and John turned to see seven elderly women walking towards them, wielding the immense power of their age, and creating one of the most intimidating armies Quin had ever seen. He stood formally, and bowed, nudging John to do the same.
“We hear you have a question for us,” the woman in the center said. She wore a red sash draped across a white tunic that fell to her knees. “We have an answer for you.”
“What do you know of the glass leaf?” asked a second woman, with a blue sash.
“We visited Cadrelle,” Quin replied. “And the glass spoke to us.”
“It spoke to you?” asked a third. She wore a yellow sash.
“Perhaps we should all sit,” a fifth one, with a purple sash, suggested. “Follow.”
The group of women walked stiffly back to the center of the room and sat in a circle on the floor, leaving space for Quin, John, Kate, and Gilead.
“By the way, Kate,” the sixth said (green sash), “it is lovely to see you!”
“And you, too, Mistress Taylor.”
“We know what the glass said to you,” the first one continued.
Quin noted that the seventh woman, who was wearing a black sash and was the one who had stared at him so harshly, had not said a word during the entire exchange.
“The glass speaks to us also. What are you seeking?”
“We are seeking my father,” Quin replied. “Grise Black.”
All of the faces of the elderly women went blank. It was eerie – exactly the same expression on each face.
“I see.” The first woman pursed her lips and took a deep breath. “We have no information on him. Why do you seek him?”
“He is…” Quin paused, considering how to explain. “He is a fugitive from our home.”
“And they sent you to find him?” the woman asked.
“Not exactly.”
All of the women nodded at once – another eerie thing to watch. It was as if they all acted from the same mind.
“Do you have a glass leaf?” she asked.
“I gave it to someone,” he replied.
The woman raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Do you know the Cadrellian custom of leaf-giving?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Is the one to whom you gave it Cadrellian?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
All of the other women raised an eyebrow simultaneously.
John snickered.
“And you gave her a glass leaf from Cadrelle.”
“Yes ma’am.”
The elderly woman took a deep breath and leaned forward. “This custom is slowly dying,” she explained. “Because most of those from Cadrelle are dying or dead. We encourage your efforts to keep the old tradition.” She reached out and touched Quin’s knee. He flinched; it felt as if an electric current flowed through him.
“I am Lydrielle,” she said slowly, as if she were beginning to tell a story. “I am from Cadrelle, but was sent from my home with my sisters at a very young age. The prophets predicted that the end was coming, and to preserve the customs of our people, they taught us, and then sent us away. We were raised by a hermit who lived in the desert, guarding this Door. He died long ago.
“Five years ago, people began to appear through the Door. They were from all over, places we had never known or heard of. And most of them were refugees – fleeing as their world was invaded by alien races. We welcomed them here, and began to build a community.
“Then, one day, we heard tell of a great battle that was taking place. This battle was miles wide – no one could see one end or another. Thousands of people were dying – hundreds of thousands. And not all of the same species. People from all over the universe were losing parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles – they were terrified that those that waged war on this planet would come to theirs.
“Then we found out that the world was Cadrelle. And when a young Cadrellian man came to us, we made a decision no one should ever have to make. We gave him the power to end the battle, but in doing so, to destroy everyone that fought, including himself – and to ultimately destroy the planet itself.”
Quin bowed his head.
“He is the one that spoke to you,” the elderly woman continued. “The technology we gave him turned the planet to glass, and preserved him forever. His memories are bleeding through.”
John was sitting forward, rapt. Kate and Gilead were holding hands tightly, eyes wide in mirrored expressions of awe and fear.
“How does this help me?” Quin asked.
“We heard word of a man who appeared near the end, to save the children,” the second woman chimed in. “He is a legend, a mystery. We have not seen nor heard from those children. But the last time they were seen was on an unknown, uninhabited planet to which we send many refugees that cannot withstand our environment.”
“Path,” John whispered.
“But we fear,” the third woman said, leaning forward. “This unknown planet does not speak to us. We cannot hear its soul. We cannot hear its purpose. We cannot feel its place in the universe. It has no future and it has no past. It is both young and old, existent and non-existent. We believe your search will end there.”
Quin nodded. He hoped John had memorized everything they had just said, because he was feeling emotional again. It was probably the leaves that hung around their necks having a similar effect on him as the glass planet did.
“Now, you must repay us,” the fourth woman commanded. “What have you to give in return for our information?”
Quin looked down at his hands. He hadn’t anticipated this.
“I can solve your space problem.” John’s voice rang out clearly.
All seven faces turned to look at him. He didn’t even flinch.
“You see, that barrier you’ve got up there is lovely and all, but the way it works is that it is just a really large Door which – I assume – leads to an inter-dimensional space. The only awesomely-shaped Doors I’ve ever seen lead to inter-dimensional space. All you have to do is expand the inside and then put people in there. And if you design the inside nicely enough, you could have beds, living space – an entire city if you wanted! Well, I mean, there are limits – but you get the idea, right? Just put the people inside there. There’s no reason why you only have to put people underneath it.”
All seven sets of eyes blinked at him in unison. Then they turned to each other and started babbling in a foreign language.
John frowned and tapped at his ear piece. Why wasn’t it working? Quin poked at his, too.
“Is that a language?” he asked Kate.
“Sort of,” she replied. “They operate on the same wavelength… I mean, they can read each other’s minds, so sometimes when they want to look like they’re talking they just make nonsensical noises to fool people while they talk telepathically.”
“Oh.” John grinned. “I bet it drives people nuts!”
“People like you, anyway,” Kate muttered.
The women stopped talking.
“You are correct,” the first woman in the red sash agreed. “And we thank you for your insight. We have many ideas and are looking forward to implementing this concept.”
“When the storm is over,” the fourth woman said, “you are free to go with our blessing.”
Kate’s eyebrows shot up.
“Thank you,” Quin said. John echoed him.
“Now you mustn’t sit with us any longer or our people will think we are showing you favoritism,” red sash said, pointing them to their original seats. “If we have any more thoughts, we will tell you before you leave.”
The four young people stood up, and turned away, heading back to their seats. As Quin was about to step down, he felt a bony hand grasp his wrist. It burned like fire. He turned to look – it was the seventh woman, the one who had never spoken. She yanked and h
e bent down.
“Boy,” she hissed in a voice that sounded misused, “when you find your father, not all will be as you expect. Be prepared to choose the opposite of what you think is true.”
“What does that mean?” Quin asked, but she abruptly dropped his hand and turned back to the group, ignoring him. He frowned and stepped down from the platform. What could that mean?
