Forever the Road (A Rucksack Universe Fantasy Novel) (21 page)

“I don’t understand,” Jay said. “How is something like this even possible? And why me?”

“It’d take someone far wiser than me to explain how it’s possible,” Rucksack said. “But I said I’d tell you all I can, and that’s what I’ll do. Just give me a moment to figure out where to begin.”

Jade stared hard at the globe.
This is what the world looks like from space,
she thought.
If I were standing on the moon and looking back to Earth, this is what I would see, only bigger. Is this little world populated with teeny tiny versions of us and everyone else in the world? Do they have any idea that they live in a traveler’s backpack?

If this is the world but in miniature,
Jade thought,
then what are we living and walking and traveling on?
She looked at the ceiling.
How do I know we’re not living in a backpack too? A cosmic pack, flung around the universe by some itinerant being, some itchy-footed god who now and again takes us out and looks at us like a souvenir?

“It’s been a long, long time since there was one of these around,” Rucksack began. “They’re rare beyond belief. When one appears, it means big changes for the world. The appearance is striking. It really is like a wee world, though as I understand it, it’s more just a visual reminder.”

“A reminder of what?” Jade asked.

“That the world is at stake,” Rucksack replied. “Every bit of it, from land to life.”

They all stared at the globe, then Rucksack continued. “You’ll find something like this carved and depicted all over the planet: a small world, floating over a person or a group o’ people. Though it’s not really a world. In any language, culture, or mythology, it’s always described as an egg, but the proper name is
dia ubh
. That’s me native Irish. It means ‘god egg.’”

“Eggs crack,” Jay said.

Rucksack nodded. “And eggs contain a force of life, though in this case it’s far more than a tasty breakfast. When a dia ubh opens, it shines a great golden light. At that time, the world stands on a razor’s edge. If a force o’ good and love stands within that light, great kindness and learning happen in the world. If a force o’ evil and hate stands within that light, great destruction falls. When a dia ubh opens—and before you know it, this will open—the world’s destiny has brought us to a moment of decision.”

“What kind of decision?” Jay asked.

“The choice is what the choice always has been and always will be,” Rucksack said. “Life or death. Continuance or final destruction. Yes or no.”

“The egg,” Jay said. “The dia ubh… It brought me here, didn’t it?”

“I think it did, Jay.”

“I suddenly wanted a change of scene, but I hadn’t been considering India until I arrived here. At least, something was considering India, but it wasn’t me.” Jay drank more of his stout. “Do you know when the dia ubh will open?”

Rucksack shook his head.

Jade looked from one man to the other. “I can guess,” she said. “We’re having an eclipse in two months.”

Rucksack nodded. “Aye, that’s our most likely time.”

“Why did this come to me?” Jay said. “I’m just a traveler. I’m no saint. I’m no hero. I’ve never done anything of note or merit. At one time I was just a working guy in Idaho. Then… Then I started traveling. I’ve eaten with the locals, haggled for souvenirs, paid unofficial fees for visas, and drunk oceans of beer in various countries. That’s all I’ve done. There’s no reason for something like this to come to me.”

As Jade looked from Jay to Rucksack, a light seemed to catch fire in the brown-and-black eyes. “Merit does not always play into the world’s decisions,” Rucksack said. “The greatest loves and choices often come from the unlikeliest people. One day they find themselves on a path they didn’t know they were taking, and they simply do the best they can. Sometimes life’s best hope is the most improbable chance.”

“This came to me because I was such an unlikely choice?”

“It doesn’t always happen that way. But in this case, I would say so.”

“Am I supposed to be the one who stands in the light?” Jay asked.

“It could be,” Rucksack said. “But that isn’t for certain. For all I know, you could have been nothing more than the most convenient way for the dia ubh to get here. We probably won’t know for sure until the day it opens.”

“What happens to the person who stands in the light?” Jade asked.

“Many things can happen,” said an ancient voice behind them.

Jade and the others turned around. An old woman stood by the mahogany doors at the front of the pub.

“The light brings out the person’s truest self, amplifies it, and makes that all of who you are. Some say it can make gods. Some say it can destroy the world. All these things are probably true.”

What the hell is she doing here?
Jade thought.

The old woman had a wrinkled face and a stooped back. Jade stared hard at her now. When the woman first came to her, her helix had looked normal. But now it was obscured from Jade’s sight, as if by a cloud or a haze.

Adrenalin tapped into Jade’s body. Her mind tightened in on itself.
Stay focused,
she thought.
There’s enough impossible and crazy happening here without the Jade of Agamuskara losing her cool.

“Those doors were locked,” she said, her voice flat, despite her pounding heart. “And it’s not your day to clean.”

“They are still locked,” the old woman replied. “Your Management can continue to feel proud of their security. But there are things in this world older than locks. Older than The Management. And there are ways into a place other than doors.”

“I should’ve asked for references,” Jade replied.

“Who is she?” Rucksack asked. “How do you know her?”

“Remember when I told you an old woman named Kailash had been helping me with the cleaning around here?” Jade said. “Faddah Rucksack, meet Kailash. Kailash, meet Faddah Rucksack and Jay.”

“Not the old woman you thought I was,” Kailash replied as she hobbled toward the table.

Jade blew out a sharp breath. “I do prefer truthfulness when people work for me. You said you needed extra money and asked me for work.”

“Why would you think I was lying?” Kailash said. The playfulness in her steady tone made her sound younger. “In this world, one can always do with extra money, especially when you’re an old woman who doesn’t know how long she has left in this life. But being truthful is not the same thing as telling an entire truth.”

“Are you here to keep an eye on the pub?” Jade said. “Have you been watching me? Did The Management send you?”

“No, no, and no, Jade Agamuskara Bluegold,” Kailash said. “I’ve known The Management for a long time, but they did not send for me, though they are perfectly aware that I’m here. They just clearly did not see a need to inform you. As for what I’ve been watching?”

Kailash locked her eyes on Jay. “I’ve been watching for you. Waiting for you to finally become curious about the dia ubh. It’s about time you started being more accepting of the things that have happened to you, and of the things that are going to happen to you. I’ve been trying to get you to do that for years.”

“What are you talking about?” Jay asked.

“I’m named for the world mountain,” Kailash replied. “The mountain that moves. The mountain that is bigger than Everest, though some say I am Everest, am Qomolangma, the world mother. But I am not Qomolangma. I am only Kailash. I am old, if not quite so old as the world mountains. But Kailash is the mountain of the soul, the axis around which the world turns, that sits in Tibet and shares my name. The mountain that is small enough to fit in your dreams, and that you have seen in every mountain range and behind every stretch of hills ever since you started traveling.”

“That’s an impressive speech,” Jay said, a smirk growing on his face. “Are you going to talk as long as a mountain is tall?”

“You certainly thought the mountain was impressive in Ireland,” Kailash replied. “It wasn’t only the white sign that surprised you so.”

Jay’s smirk vanished.

“The mountain has followed you everywhere,” Kailash continued. “The full moon has spoken with you. You carried the dia ubh, just like you were asked to do. Thank you.”

Jay shook his head. “How do you know about that?”

But Kailash talked over him, and he fell silent. “To speak only of Jay is not enough to convince all of you. After all, I’m just an old woman who showed up unexpectedly,” she said, looking from Jay to Jade. “But tell me, Jade Agamuskara Bluegold, has any day of your life been more important than the day of the blue dragon?”

The pulse of Jade’s adrenalin flashed into a flood. She saw it all again: the strange gardens, the blue dragon carved into the wall, the outstretched hand where the ring’s blue-and-green stone glinted in the afternoon light. And then the world had stopped.
The Management appeared,
Jade thought,
and I chose duty over love.

“No,” Jade said. “Everything in my life changed that day.” Wetness stung her eyes and she looked away.

“Two out of three is very good,” Rucksack said.

“I’m glad you approve, my dear boy,” Kailash replied. “You are wily and not easy to impress. You are old too, I know, but compared to me you are still a child. I have failed only twice of three times, though. Your disbelief will not be my last failure.”

Jade dried her eyes and turned back to the people in the room.
I’ve never seen anything like this
.

She stared hard at Kailash. The longer Kailash spoke, the younger her voice sounded. The old woman’s dark brown skin reminded Jade of earth and trees, with hints of sunset and gold. When she was young, Jade realized, she was beyond beautiful. Even now, as Jade looked at her, the old woman didn’t seem as old as before.

Did I simply get caught up in the idea of her being an old woman?

“Never made claim to being the most ancient slightly-not-human in the world,” Rucksack said, staring hard at Kailash. “But you’re not yet rocking me with your specialized knowledge.”

Kailash smiled. “Maybe because as you aren’t sure who I am, I am not entirely sure who you are either. How can you be who you say you are when everyone knows Faddah Rucksack died in The Blast?”

Rucksack held her stare. “My parents died in The Blast, along with millions of others. If you want proof of who I am, I can tell you that my father died first. I thought I could shield my mother with my body, but the way she screamed… Before the world went black for me, her scream was the last thing I heard.”

“That does sound like Faddah Rucksack,” Kailash said. “If so, there’s something you can tell me.”

“What’s that?”

“What did your mother wear around her neck that day?”

Rucksack replied without hesitation. “I still see it in my mind every day. Around her neck was a silver-and-gold necklace with a simple pendant of a rare jade that shimmered both blue and green. She always said—”

“She always said,” Kalish interjected, “that this rare jade was found only in the Heart of the World, deep in the Himalaya, where she had grown up. The necklace was lost after The Blast, just as she was lost to you.”

As Kailash spoke of Rucksack’s mother, Jade saw that the woman now looked like a mother herself. Her face had smoothed over, but lines of worry and laughter were lightly etched around her eyes and mouth. Her breasts seemed full of milk. Kailash’s back was no longer stooped under the weight of time. She stood like a queen. A fire burned in her brown-and-black eyes.
 

Rucksack said nothing, and silence fell over the pub. At last, Rucksack looked at each of them, and he stared again at Kailash. “You know who we are. Who are you?”

“You’re not ready yet,” Kailash replied. “I am sorry I have to come to you now. I had not wanted to reveal myself, but it was destined to be otherwise. I will tell you only that I am here to help and that if we are to survive what is to come then we must trust one another.”

“What changed?” Jade asked.

Kailash nodded at Jay. “He carried the dia ubh past the guardian—first yesterday and now today too. He should not have been able to pass at all. There are old protections there that should have prevented this, but they did not work. The guardian was there to prevent passage of anyone who sought to wake the Smiling Fire, and that was our failure.”

“But Jay walked down the alley today,” Jade said.

“No,” Kailash replied. “He first walked into the alley yesterday.”

Rucksack nodded. “Asha.”

“Yes,” Kailash said. “When he came to the alley, it was with concern for another in his heart. The protections could not stop him because his intent was pure. But his pure intentions could not prevent what happened, though he did not intend it. All these years and it all is undone by an accident.”

For a moment, Kailash seemed old again, weak and bent. But with a breath the strong mother reappeared.

“The Smiling Fire felt the presence of the dia ubh, the first to arrive here in many generations,” she said. “It woke hope in his flaming heart. Even now I can feel him gathering strength.”

“What are you talking about?” Jade asked. “What is this Smiling Fire?”

“When the world was new, born in fire and heat, there was a being that lived in the world. How he came to be, I don’t know. But he dominated the world, bent its forces to his will. He wandered the world and had a grin that was as of flame. Nameless, he became known as the Smiling Fire.”