A World Without Heroes (13 page)

“I am afraid for many reasons. Not so much for myself. I love this land. I do what I can.”

“Can you help me understand what I should do to get home? Or maybe where I should start looking? What do you know about the Beyond? I still don’t really get where I am.”

The king scratched his cheek. “I can’t say how to access the Beyond. I’m not sure who might be able to tell you. Others have crossed over from the Beyond, though never frequently, and as of late, traffic between our worlds has come to a standstill.

“I can do my best to orient you. Years ago this particular fiefdom was called Fortaim, and an earl occupied this castle. Fortaim rests upon a peninsula that juts westward from the mainland out into a vast ocean. Following the river westward over the falls, you would have come to the estuary where it empties into the sea. But you went south without a trail until you happened upon the Repository of Learning. From there you came eastward along the peninsula until you arrived at this ruined castle. The river, once called the Telkron, lies a few miles to the north.”

Jason was impressed. “Who needs a map with you around?”

The Blind King steepled his fingers. “Once I had eyes, and I used them to travel widely in search of the Word.”

“How did you lose them?”

“In a fight with a devious conscriptor. He hurled powdered acid in my face, flaying my skin and stealing my sight. A small inhalation scorched my throat, damaging my voice. The conscriptor captured me. Eventually I came before Maldor. The emperor offered me new eyes. I refused. I would not accept the restoration of my sight at the price of becoming one of his spies. So I was delivered to his tormentors.”

Jason swallowed. This old king was something serious.

“Now you must pursue the Word,” the king said.

“Honestly, I’d rather find a way home.”

“No doubt you would. Should you encounter a way back to the Beyond, I would be the last to blame you for fleeing our world. We teeter on the brink of destruction. But a path back will be difficult to find. Perhaps impossible. In the meanwhile you should seek the Word. Mark my warning—Maldor already pursues you. Seeking the Word is your sole chance for survival. Remain still, or wander aimlessly, and you will be taken.”

Jason shifted uncomfortably. He felt no heroic urge to become Blind Lord Jason. “Did you learn much of the Word?”

“I learned some. More than most, I believe. But the syllables I acquired are lost, along with the memories of where I found most of them. Maldor’s tormentors used relentless conditioning to abolish many recollections. When it comes to the Word, I remember few specifics. But I retain a few fragmented memories on the subject. I still remember Bridonus, and the book itself.”

“So I should leave, then?”

“Rest here for the night. There is somebody you must meet, a fellow traveler. Share a meal with us. I will provide further
counsel on the morrow. How does roasted pheasant strike you?”

“I’ve been living off of mushrooms.”

“Go ring the bell twice. It will summon Chandra, my cook.”

Jason went to a bell mounted atop a dresser and delivered a pair of sharp blows with the tiny mallet resting beside it.

CHAPTER
5
RACHEL

J
ason stood at a narrow window, studying the last embers of the sunset, when a slender man of medium height brought a huge tray to the Blind King’s lofty chamber. A shiny scar interrupted his features, starting above his hairline and curving down his cheek almost to his jaw. Offering no introduction, the attendant moved swiftly and silently, rearranging furniture until a seat awaited Jason across from the Blind King, with a small table between them. With quiet efficiency the man shuttled the contents of the tray to the table. Before long the table held three place settings, a bowl of fruit, a charger brimming with mashed vegetables dusted with spices, a carafe of golden fluid, a pitcher of water, and a platter heaped with slices of white meat.

“Thank you, Dorsio,” the Blind King said as the attendant picked up the empty tray. “If you would be so kind as to fetch our other guest.”

Dorsio snapped his fingers, turned, and exited the room, closing the door silently. From the moment he had entered, the attendant had never looked Jason in the eye.

“Please, have a seat,” the Blind King invited.

Jason sat down. “Dorsio seemed really businesslike.”

“Forgive his reticence. He cannot speak. In my role as the Blind King I must balance various public and private responsibilities. With my public face as the ridiculous veneer, I privately work to undermine the emperor. Dorsio is part of my private circle. He is quite adept at handling sensitive matters. We have developed a system where he traces messages on my palm, or uses snapping for simple acknowledgments.”

“I’m curious about our other guest,” Jason confessed.

“Satisfaction will soon replace curiosity,” the Blind King said. “Not many of my associates have met her. She arrived here two nights ago. I believe your destinies are linked.”

The door opened, and Dorsio escorted a girl into the room. She was almost a head shorter than Jason, and didn’t look much older than he was. Her short brown hair had a stylish cut, and she had dark brown eyes and a faint spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her clothes seemed homemade and didn’t fit right: The dark yellow shirt sagged in the shoulders, and the coarse brown pants were too loose in the waist, cinched into place with a wide belt. The Blind King rose politely, and Jason awkwardly followed his lead.

Dorsio exited quietly as the girl approached the table.

“Thank you for joining us,” the Blind King said with a smile, gesturing toward her seat.

The girl sat down, eyes regarding Jason with interest. “So you’re the mysterious visitor.”

“You stole my line,” Jason said, trying to recover from the shock that the visitor was a cute girl around his age.

“They haven’t changed your wardrobe yet,” she commented, looking him up and down.

“Those aren’t your clothes?” Jason asked.

She smirked, plucking at the yellow top. “Not exactly my style. But my other outfit makes me look too much like a Beyonder.”

“You’re a Beyonder too?” Jason exclaimed.

The Blind King sat down.

The girl grinned. “They warned me in advance that you’re from my world. Totally ruined the surprise.”

Jason glanced at the Blind King. Their host waited in silence, a small smile on his lips, listening with his hands folded on the edge of the table. Jason realized he was the only person still standing, and sat down. “How long have you been here?”

“This will be my fifth night,” she replied.

“Mine, too!”

“Pardon me,” the Blind King interjected. “Would the two of you mind verifying that you both truly come from the Beyond? I do not believe either of you is an imposter, but it never hurts to be certain.”

“Ooh,” the girl said with delight. “Cross-examination.”

“Where are you from?” Jason asked.

“Olympia, Washington,” the girl responded. “You?”

“Vista, Colorado.”

She nodded vaguely. “What’s the capital of Pennsylvania?”

“I don’t know. Philadelphia?”

“No. But that’s the kind of wrong answer somebody from America would give. Let me guess, you’re not a very serious student?”

“Just because I’m not a trivia expert doesn’t make me a bad student,” Jason complained. “I’m in eighth grade. I take honors classes. What’s the actual capital of Pennsylvania?”

“Harrisburg,” she replied smugly.

“I’ll believe you. Who won the 2004 World Series?”

She shrugged. “The Yankees?”

“The Yankees? And you claim to be an American?” He enjoyed rubbing it in after her attitude about Harrisburg. “It was the Red Sox. The year they broke the curse.”

“But the Yankees win the series a lot, right?”

“They’ve won the most,” he conceded.

“Do you play baseball or just watch it?” she asked.

“I pitch for school and on a club team. And I’m a pretty good infielder. What year are you in school?”

“I skipped a grade, so I’m in ninth. But I’m homeschooled. I only go to school to run track.”

“How do you skip grades when you’re homeschooled? Mom just decides to shorten her teaching career?”

She scowled. “My classes are much harder than anything in public schools.”

“If you say so. What track events?”

“Hurdles and pole vault.”

“Pole vault?” Jason repeated, impressed. “You must have some guts.”

“I like trying new things,” she said.

“I’m long past convinced,” the Blind King inserted. “Judging from your inflections, I would say you speak English in a similar manner, and based on your intonations, I feel confident that you’re both telling the truth. But I already knew that. Consider the exercise a lesson in vigilance. Without extreme caution you will not survive. Shall we eat?”

Jason started transferring meat to his plate. “What’s your name?” he asked the girl.

“Rachel,” she replied, spooning vegetables onto the Blind King’s plate, then helping herself. “You?”

“I’m Jason.” Following her example, he shared several cuts of pheasant with the Blind King.

“Don’t mind me,” the Blind King protested. “My table is set in such a fashion as to enable me to feed myself. Eat your food and get acquainted.”

“Can you believe we’re actually here?” Rachel asked as Jason made a small pile of mashed vegetables on his plate.

“I’ve had a hard time getting used to all of this,” Jason admitted, trying a bite of pheasant. “Did you get swallowed by a hippo too?”

“Excuse me?”

“Jason came into our world through the jaws of a hippopotamus,” the Blind King explained. “The residue of very old magic. There is no rarer or stranger portal connecting our realities.”

Rachel pursed her lips. “What, the way I came here was typical?”

The Blind King shook his head. “In these times any visit from a Beyonder is virtually inconceivable.”

“You came through a different way?” Jason asked.

“I was hiking with my parents,” Rachel said, her eyes losing focus. “We were in Arches National Park, in southern Utah.”

“But you’re from Washington,” Jason said. “Let me guess—the vacation schedule for homeschool is flexible.”