Gatewright (9 page)

We
visited a jeweler, where I ogled artwork that would have made Rose cry in
envy.  Fey jewelry predominately featured gemstones and crystals, and both
men and women wore it.  Even Riven had a pair of silver cuffs ringed with
inset amber.  I peered at the selection, and realized that one of the
small baskets held
diamonds. 
I delicately touched them in wonder.

The
owner, an older fey with brown hair and eyes, peered at me over the rims of his
glasses from the other side of the display table.  He must have visited
our world at some point to have purchased them, but the lenses were scratched
and worn.  “Ah, diamonds.  I hear humans are fond of them.  I
guarantee mine are the best foci for meditation and scrying.”  He reached
under the table, and I heard him pushing stones around on the shelf.  He
produced a yellow diamond the size of a ping pong ball, and I tried not to fall
over in shock.

Riven
appeared at my shoulder, giving me a start.  “She can’t afford that,” he
chided the fey, then cocked his head at me and switched to English.  “I
thought you weren’t interested in scrying.  I don’t even know if humans
can do that.”

“Huh? 
A diamond that size would allow me to build my own mansion and never have to
work again.”

He
frowned in confusion.  “You won’t inherit your parents’ holdings?”

I
gave up with a sigh and turned to speak to the jeweler.  “Sir, if you ever
return to Earth for a new pair of glasses, these gems are extremely
valuable.”  I picked a small diamond out of the pile.  “This one
alone would pay for new glasses.”

This
was news to him, and he smiled in appreciation.  “May I give you a
discount on one of my smaller pieces, then?”

Riven
interrupted.  “She’d probably do better with tiger’s eye than diamond.”

The
fey nodded in agreement.  “I’ve got a lovely tiger’s eye necklace that I
just got in last week.  I normally wouldn’t show it, but this lady has
been kind to me.”  He turned to rummage through the shelves behind the
counter.

I
tried to figure out how to say I wasn’t interested without offending either of
them.  Riven reached out and gently took the offered necklace, turning it
over in his hands, and I bent in closer to inspect the beautiful stone.

“Tiger’s
eye is best for protection and problem solving.  It’s not directly tied to
an element, which may be beneficial in your case as a passive user,” Riven
explained.

This
also gave me the chance to peer at his cuffs.  “What’s amber for?”

“Amber
is for fire.”  He shrugged off my question.

Oh,
no, I had
plenty
of practice playing that game with Jack.  “Yeah,
but I’m guessing a lot of stones are.  Why amber?”

My
persistence threw him off.  “I chose it as my main focus when I was
young.  Amber is used for confidence, luck, and love.  In some ways,
like your necklace.”  He took the opportunity to show off his knowledge
about the human world.  “Roses are a symbol of love on Earth – I assume
your necklace was a gift?”

I
self-consciously raised my hand to my throat.  “From my best friend. 
Her name is Rose.  I think she was making it for herself when she found
out that I was leaving so she gave it to me instead.”  It really shouldn’t
have been important to me that Riven knew I was single.

The
jeweler, not understanding our English, feared his sale was about to walk away,
and jumped back into the conversation.  “I can give you the necklace for
just five gold, as a gesture of goodwill.”

Riven
was handing the necklace back, but if I was going to go spend my money, it
might as well be on something lasting.  “Yes.”  I produced my only
five gold rings.  “Thank you, sir.”

As
we walked away from the booth,
Riven
handed me the
necklace.  “You are aware you won’t receive additional funds, yes? 
For the rest of the trip?”

“He
said it was a gesture of goodwill.”  I secured the thick leather string
around my neck.  The stone hung several inches below Rose’s work, and
settled comfortably right where my cleavage started.  “I assume it was a
good deal.”

“Well,
no part of my oath to protect you includes providing loans or gifts,” Riven
grumbled.  “I’m here to keep you alive.  I
will
admit it’ll be
easier to look after you if you’ve got at least some magical defense, as weak
as this is on a passive.”

“A
passive?”

“Yes,
even fey now and then are as magically-deficient as you are.  Now, help me
find Kim and Neville.”  He took off down the street, and I followed,
glaring at his back.  I’d show him
passive,
all right.

Our
next stop was a grocery, where we learned about their refrigeration
process.  Individual farms sent their produce to the city in carts. 
Water mages,
amayi,
kept the food fresh; they earned lucrative stipends
creating iceboxes for food preservation.  This grocery could sustain a
large inventory due to the fact the grocer himself was
amayi
, and he personally
ensured the quality of his stock, especially for meat products. The fey only
kept livestock and poultry for dairy and eggs, and meat was considered a fickle
and somewhat distasteful addition to a meal.  I got the impression they
saw meat consumption the same way some Americans saw sushi, frog legs, or
haggis.  We ate lunch there, the grocer providing samples of fresh Anowir
delicacies.

As
the day grew longer, Kim and I explored, separately wandering ever farther from
our guide and Neville.  Riven was forced to keep bouncing between me (who
kept trying to talk to the locals) and Kim (who was trying to learn more about
the technical aspects of their economy).  Fey bustled about, the booths
and shops closing in preparation for the festival, and some revelers pre-gamed
in full view.  Liquor laws and public intoxication were clearly not an
issue.  Yet all the fey, drunk or sober, steered clear of our small band,
watching us covertly or even staring openly as we passed them.

As
dusk fell in earnest, we rejoined our companions in the main square. 
They’d been waiting for us, and I slowed as I realized something was off. 
Hazel was pale and visibly shaken. Peter and Isabel were not much better off.
 I wondered what had happened, and apparently, so did Riven.  He
beelined for Hazel, gesturing for us to follow.  I joined Erikah as we
began the long walk back to the Citadel; she didn’t look as rattled as the
others.

“I
love your necklace,” she exclaimed as soon as she saw it.

“Thanks! 
It didn’t cost too much, either,” I replied loudly for Riven’s benefit, then
lowered my voice.  “What happened?  Ya’ll seem unnerved.”

“I
wish I’d picked your trip, Jan,” Erikah lamented.  “I was trying to be
more adventurous.  Usually the technical stuff appeals to me.”

“You’re
still not telling me what happened.”

Erikah
glanced to Hazel, who conferred quietly with Riven ahead of us.  Hazel
kept looking over her shoulder nervously. “Well, the last event of our tour
didn’t go as planned.  We visited their temple for a purification
rite.  Hazel says it’s a fairly common ritual, especially for people who
have traveled a long way.  The idea
was
to align our personal
energies with the flow of magic in preparation for the festival tonight. 
If I hadn’t already felt magic before this, I’d probably have written it off as
a bunch of bullshit.”  Her eyes were slightly glassy, and her speech was
slower than usual.  Was she high?

She
confirmed my suspicions.  “Apparently this ceremony requires some lovely
plants that still haven’t worn off.  I think Peter and Isabel are a bit
more susceptible than I am. I
might
have a tolerance to that sort of
thing.”

I
raised my eyebrow.  I enjoyed the occasional recreational substance, but
not enough to ‘have a tolerance’.  Erikah saw my face and shrugged
apologetically.  “Weed helps me relax before a big speaking event.  I
get anxiety.”

“Believe
me, no judgement.  But that doesn’t explain why everyone is freaked out.”

“Yeaaaaaah,”
she drawled.  “So the priest who was conducting the ceremony, once he
started trying to redirect our energies, started shaking and almost having a
seizure.  He sounded like he was having a horrific nightmare.”

“Is
he ok?”

“He
recovered after a few minutes.  By that time, Isabel and Peter were
completely freaked out.  Hazel hadn’t seemed that high, but she was
practically fucking
panicking. 
Once he came to, and started waving
his arms and ranting in Anowir about fire and death and destruction, she sent
us all outside.  She was in there for a
looong
time dealing with
him.”

“That
would
do it,” I muttered.

Isabel
joined us, still skittish and bright-eyed.  “Do you have any snacks?” she
asked, and I couldn’t help but grin.

“Hang
in there, Isabel.”  I gave her shoulders a squeeze.  “Everything will
be ok.”

“I
bet you it’s a Halloween prank.”  Erikah confided to her with a
wink.  Bless her. Isabel took a deep breath and nodded, confidence slowly
returning.

I
peered at Riven, trying to gauge his reaction.  He turned to scan the
street behind us, his lips pressed together in a tight grimace.  Our eyes
met, and his jaw set, hands glowing briefly.  My stomach sank as my heart
lifted.  Riven obviously thought the threat was warranted; he would fight
to protect us.

I’d
never felt so vulnerable.

We
took a short siesta back in our rooms, and I seized the opportunity to jump
into the shower.  The glass arched above my head, tiny holes in the pipes
creating an omnidirectional spray.  A wicker mat was the only precaution
against falling.  The water was infused with a familiar, relaxing
fragrance. Lavender?  I didn’t bother with soap; no one could shower here
and not come out smelling like roses.  Besides, I wasn’t sure what their
water treatment facilities could handle.  What
did
they use for
water treatment?

As
I made my way back to our rooms, I caught Hazel’s pitched voice from a
previously unexplored hall.  Curiosity warred with apprehension, and
curiosity won a resounding victory. I crept closer to eavesdrop, and peeked
through a sliver between two green glass pipes.

They
stood in the narrow hall, Riven’s back to me, Hazel emphasizing her points with
her hands.  Riven spoke so quietly I couldn’t pick out his words, but
Hazel shook her head vehemently.  “I know, but he saw fire.  If you
weren’t sworn to protect them, I would assume it was you.” She was speaking
quickly in Anowir, and although some of the grammar was slightly unfamiliar, I
could follow the gist.  “You’re the only
atsili
I know that’s
strong enough. The priest said that he was pulled into the vision as soon as he
started to try to align our energies.  He thought all of us combined caused
it, but when he recovered enough just to try to align my energy, he still got
an echo.  It really is
all
of us.  Riven, don’t you think we
should change our plans somehow?  The priest’s reading was so strong.”

Riven
raised his voice.  “He can’t prove the humans are the victims here. 
The humans might have skewed the flow of magic enough to change his
perception.”

“That’s
why I asked him to tell me exactly what he saw.”  Hazel sounded like she
was repeating herself.  “Fire, death, blood, two gates, and two
Exiles.  Even he couldn’t make heads or tails out of it.”

This
vision intrigued me. 
Two
gates?  Regular gates or
transdimensional gates?  Did the fey plan on creating another
portal?  If they made one in a densely populated area like DC, it might
trigger violence.  Again.

“Relax,”
Riven soothed her.  “I swore to do my utmost to get the humans back
through the portal safely, and I intend to uphold that vow, as foolish as it
was.”

“If
there is some type of attack being planned, they’re probably thinking to do it
before meeting your cousin, Riven.  If we don’t change
-“
Hazel
was passionate, almost afraid.

Riven
suddenly gestured her to be silent and spun on his heel, eyes searching the
glass where I eavesdropped.  No way could he see me through the thin space
between the pipes.  He strode toward me, and I desperately looked for
somewhere to hide.  The hallway was barren.  Riven turned the corner
of the hallway, face dark with anger, Hazel only a step behind him.  For a
moment his hands glowed.  For a terrifying second, I was convinced he was
going to kill me.  But once he realized it was me, he growled, and the
dangerous edge of his expression vanished.

“I’m
incredibly, truly sorry.”  I apologized in elaborate Anowir.  “How
did you know I was here?”

“I’m
obviously
atsili
.”  Riven switched to English.  “I could sense
your heat.”  Unsure if that translated the way he intended it to, I felt
my cheeks warm. 

Riven’s
indigo eyes were cold as he assessed me.  “You listened in when you should
not have.  Knowledge for knowledge.  Fair exchange of
information.  Otherwise you will be in our debt.”

Being
in debt to a fairy was a bad, bad thing.  I couldn’t ask them what they
wanted to know, otherwise they’d have me searching out military secrets or some
such.  I tried to think of something they’d consider of equal value to me
snooping around.

This
wasn’t going to be pleasant.

“Um,
you probably won’t be very happy about this.  My friend thought it was a
good idea.”  I reached to my back and carefully revealed Jack’s
knife.  Silence fell.  Riven squinted.  “What is it?”

“It’s
a knife.  You open it like this.”  I carefully pointed it away us and
pulled the lever.  Both fey jerked, startled, as the blade jumped out with
a
snick. 
I offered it to them, hilt first, and Riven accepted it
ever so gently.

“Who
gave you this, and why?” Riven challenged me, inspecting the knife carefully,
passing it to Hazel for her to examine.

“I
have a friend, back on Earth.  He was worried about me.”

“A
friend.”  Riven chewed on the words.  “And how did you know how to
get this past security?”

“Uhhhh…”

“Is
your friend an Exile?” he pressed.

I
winced.  This was getting worse by the second.  “Yeah.  I know I
shouldn’t have it.”

Hazel
made a slightly strangled noise.  Was she connecting Jack to the
vision?  I wish I’d had a chance to speak with the priest myself. 
Could it be Jack?  If so, why?  I didn’t actually know any other
Exiles lurking this close to the gate.  Generally, they stayed in dense
cities where odd accents and behaviors went unremarked, and under-the-table
jobs were plentiful.  Some Exiles lost their minds, and were found on
street corners, harassing pedestrians with shouts about the “Kool-Aid man” and
magic.  They didn’t last very long.  Other Exiles found solace in the
wild places in the world.  As long as they kept their heads low, they did
well, or so Jack told me.

Riven
took the blade back from Hazel, turning it over and over in his hands, as if to
make sure he didn’t miss anything.  To my utter surprise, he offered it
back to me, and I reached out to take it in disbelief.  However, he didn’t
let go, and I looked up.

“Swear
you will use this
only
in self-defense.”  Riven challenged me.

“I
swear,” I replied with confidence, and held his gaze.

The
corner of Riven’s mouth quirked in a smile, he let go of the weapon, and I
closed the knife and tucked it again at the small of my back.  “Hopefully
you won’t need it,” he told me with a hint of apology.  “But we should
return to the group.  The festival will distract them from omens, yes?”

As
we started back, I couldn’t help but correct him.  “Actually, in human
cultures, Halloween is generally considered haunted.”

“Trust
me, there is nothing ominous about this night.” Hazel reassured me, but I
wasn’t sure if she was saying that for my benefit or for her own.

Everyone
was ready to go when we returned.  Isabel gave me an odd glance. 
“What’s up?” she asked me, as I threw on my jacket.

“They
had some specific questions about Halloween,” I lied.  “They wanted to
make sure we would have a good time.”

Isabel
shrugged.  “Okay.”

Erikah
overheard me, and sniffed loudly.  I don’t think she was convinced.

The
sun had set a while ago. Light from the quarter-moon weakly illuminated our
path as we walked for almost an hour across the now-quiet town.  As much
as I’d enjoyed my shower, my wet hair practically freezing to my skull was
making me think that perhaps it had been a bad idea.  Eventually, we
picked up the sounds of drumming and following them to a giant field, where
bonfires lit up the night and dancing fey cast flickering shadows.  Our
guides led us to a log bench, where everyone settled in.

“You
are all welcome to dance,” Hazel told us loudly.  “But we strongly advise
against consuming any beverages here, as they are very often spiked with magic
that can have unusual effects.  Please stay with a partner, and return
here within the hour.”

Isabel
immediately beelined for the dancing, dragging Erikah with her.  I think
she would have dragged me too if I had been within arm’s reach.  Peter
followed Hazel to the buffet, asking questions about the food.  Neville
and Kim relaxed on the bench.  I had the impression that Kim had won his
recruitment battle and now they were developing a friendship.

I
huddled next to one of the fires, hoping my hair would dry faster.  I was
still edgy from the conversation with the fey barely an hour ago.  I
shifted so I could feel my knife against the small of my back; it gave me a
modicum of comfort.

“If
you do that too much, it’ll become obvious that you either are hiding something
or have an illness of itching.”  I hadn’t heard Riven come up beside me
over the crackle of the flames.  He really needed to stop doing that.
 “Your friend must be concerned for you.  Did they also instruct you
to get a fey to swear to your safety?”  The firelight made his red hair
almost glow.

I
nodded.  “He’s a wonderful friend.”  I continued before he had a
chance to ask more about Jack.  “So who’s your cousin?”

He
elbowed me, catching me where he had tripped over me.  I winced. “I heard
that elbowing someone in the ribs in the human world indicates the need for
silence,” he muttered.

“Yeah,
yeah it does.”  A thought occurred to me.  “Why don’t fey touch each
other?  I mean, that’s why no one knew the knife was there.”

He
looked about as embarrassed as I felt when he told me he could sense my heat and
fell into Anowir.  “Customarily, touching is reserved for moments of
intimacy.  I apologize deeply, I was attempting a human gesture.”

I
hadn’t meant to call him out on that, I was just curious.  “No, no, you
used it perfectly.”  I stammered, but then thought back to Jack’s
hug.  Suddenly it had a whole new dimension.  What had it meant to
him?  Was something going on in his head I didn’t know about?  I
really hoped not.  That would be too weird.  “Do you make exceptions for
wrestling, horsing around, tickling, that sort of thing?”  I spoke in
English, not knowing the correct translation in Anowir.  Riven just looked
at me blankly.  “Fighting?”  I tried.

“Fighting
is done with magic.  Why would we attempt physical contact when it is much
easier to roast your opponent, drown them, bury them, or blow them away?” 
Riven sounded as if he were merely pointing out the obvious.

“So
you’re saying that fey don’t know how to fight?” I exclaimed.  Suddenly
their fear of us made a bit more sense.  Not only did we have guns, we
were stronger and heavier.  Their villages and castles were protected
magically, but not physically.  If humans could fit a tank or a jet
through a gate, or build one on this side, it was game over.  That chilled
me more than any hallucinating priest could have.

Riven’s
indigo eyes narrowed; he took an intimidating step toward me.  “We have
spent thousands of years perfecting the magic arts.  Far before any human
learned to build a cannon, we have been learning to fight each other quite
effectively with just the elements at hand.  I’d advise you not to insult
fey in that manner, especially if you would prefer not to get an unpleasant
demonstration of our power,” he grated, and my breath caught.  I didn’t
doubt that he could more than handle himself.  I caught a flash of
violence just under his calm demeanor.

The
flames in the bonfire echoed his reaction, jumping several feet higher with a
roar.  Startled, I jumped away, adrenaline flooding my system.  I
glanced back to Riven in alarm, but he’d abruptly stalked off.  I let out
the breath I’d been holding.  I hadn’t meant to insult him.  I
concluded that my fey communication skills sucked and I should just stick to
the tour for now.

I
spent most of my time at the festival enjoying the environment and taking in
the sounds and sights of the celebration.  The fey’s impromptu
call-and-response style between songs was interesting to watch and the music
was pleasant, but after two hours, I was ready to turn in.  Riven failed
to reappear, much to Hazel’s irritation.

I
wandered away from the crowd, letting my eyes adjust from the light of the
bonfires to the darkness of the night sky.  The fresh air and the privacy
felt good. Thinking of Jack, I looked up to take in the Azry night sky.

I’d
never seen so many stars, so bright.  A universe I’d never seen
before.  The immensity of that hit me like a truck: was it just our planet
that was paralleled, or was the entire
universe
like that?  How
many universes were out there?  How many cultures?  Were there other
universes besides ours and the fey’s?  Would we ever be able to know?

I
returned to the festival shortly afterwards, and was slightly disturbed no one
noticed my absence.  Or, apparently, Riven’s.  Wasn’t he supposed to
keep track of us?

The
humans slowly clustered together; our innate herd instincts took over as worry
shadowed the night.  We had originally planned to stay up until dawn,
participating in the
elohi
earth magic festival along with the rest of
the fey, but Hazel took us back after only four hours.  Riven was still
nowhere to be found.