One Realm Beyond (23 page)

Before she reached the crest of the hill, she called out, “We brought you something. You’re going to like it.” She ran a few steps up the incline. “
Them!
You’re going to like them!”

Cantor shook his head, trying to imagine what they could have found at the market that would please him. Let it be clothes.

Bixby stopped and frowned at him. “No fair. You weren’t supposed to guess.”

He laughed. “I think I read your mind, as you did mine. I never would have thought of clothes on my own.”

Bixby lifted one hand to the crown on her head. She pulled the circle of gold and glittering gems off as she reached his side. Her hair clung to the curves crafted in the shining metal,
and she had to tug and wiggle it to free the last strands of whitish curls.

“So you did. I forgot I was wearing this crown so Totobee-Rodolow and Bridger could easily find me should we become separated.”

“And did you?”

“Get separated? Yes. Mostly, it’s Bridger wandering off. He spots something in a booth down the lane and can’t forego examining whatever it is up close. We had to rescue him from trouble several times. The merchants know mor dragons rarely buy anything, and they don’t like their goods being pawed without good reason. Of course, Bridger and Totobee-Rodolow object to their attitude, and Totobee-Rodolow does buy things.” She grabbed his arm and turned him toward the house. “Come on. I can’t wait to show you what we got.”

They went straight to Cantor’s room. Once there, Bixby pulled a hamper from her skirts and laid the innocuous-looking bag on his bed.

She clapped her hands together. “Go ahead. Look.”

Cantor picked up the bag and handed it to her. “I’m not sticking my hand in there. You know only you can pull out what you’re thinking about. I might pull out a snake.”

“You’re thinking about snakes?”

“No. That was an example. Don’t you know how a hamper works?”

“No, not at all.” She took the bag, looked at him, then the bag, and back at him. “I don’t have to know how it works to make it work. It just does.”

“You puzzle me, Bixby. Sometimes you seem to know everything, and now you don’t know a little thing like this?”

She let out a humph of a sigh, pinched her lips, and narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“If you put something in a hamper, only you can get it back. You know what it is, you picture it in your mind, and that thing comes to the surface. I can’t pull things out because I can’t picture what was put in there.”

“You’re talking about a vault, not a hamper.”

“What?”

“A vault. You can’t buy a vault just anywhere; it has to be made specifically for you. This is a hamper. Anyone can use it.” She handed it back to him. “It’s generic. Just think of a shirt in general. Or be even more general than that and think of clothes. Go ahead. Try it.”

Cantor scowled but pulled the drawstring opening wide. Putting in his hand, he felt soft cloth and removed a folded shirt — a shirt that would more likely be called a blouse. Lace and pretty buttons, and pale flowers. He cocked an eyebrow at Bixby.

She laughed and plucked it from his fingers. “Sorry! That’s mine. I must have tucked it into the wrong hamper.”

Cantor waffled again. He felt bubbling amusement trying to escape. But he also felt annoyance that this girl wanted to dress him in fancy clothes. He liked his own clothes just fine — or he had before they rotted. But he understood that part of succeeding at the realm walkers round was to present himself properly dressed and able to engage lofty individuals in conversation.

He gave a great sigh and plunged his hand into the hamper. He should swallow his misgivings and be grateful for the generosity of Bixby and Totobee-Rodolow. At least they’d solved his clothing problem.

And they were willing to advise him, and he should take the opportunity to learn. And he should appear to be gracious about it. He plastered a smile on his face.

He drew out a masculine shirt. Bixby clapped her hands and bounced on her toes. “It’s a perfect color for you. Totobee-Rodolow has such good fashion sense. We bought several of those in different colors. Keep going.”

He retrieved the other shirts next, probably because Bixby’s words brought them to mind and therefore to the surface of the hamper. He rubbed his thumb across the fine weave and admired the different colors, all rich and dark, maroon, blue, green, and gray. They were much nicer than anything he would have chosen, and perfect for a new realm walker looking to properly present himself.

His lungs felt tight, and he breathed in slowly to loosen his muscles. As Ahma had taught him, he named the emotions that affected his body. Anger. Resentment. Chagrin. And he named the source of the emotion. Bixby’s grasp of the world of a realm walker far outpaced his own. Yet she was a nonsensical sort of person who didn’t seem to value the special gift given to her.

She had showed him up several times in being able to cope with Dukmee’s demands and performing manipulations that he had only heard about. He had held firm to the view that she was trifling with the ways of a realm walker. But this knowledge of what he needed to wear showed sophistication he sorely needed. Humility. As Odem often said, “If you don’t reach out and take a piece for yourself, someone’s going to throw the whole pie in your face.”

He expelled the air, and the tension eased. He acknowledged to himself that the ladies’ purchases intrigued him. He
focused briefly on Bixby’s smile and then plunged a hand into the hamper.

His next surprise was shoes and socks. Now he got into the spirit of the unusual gifts. Trousers, tunics, sashes, a slicker, and a coat piled up on the bed. He imagined Ahma’s face twisted with disdain, and then an image of Odem bending over and slapping his knees, succumbing to outlandish mirth. Cantor laughed.

“What’s funny?” Bridger appeared at the door.

The dragon started to come in, but his sister, Totobee-Rodolow, tapped him on the shoulder.

“Ouch.” The dragon rubbed his hand over the place she’d poked. “Why do you have your claws out?”

“To get your attention, dearest. Since we’ll be out in the world, you must polish your manners. You’re supposed to let the female enter ahead of you.”

Bridger made a face and backed out of her way.

“Are you pleased with our selections, dear boy?” Totobee-Rodolow’s eyes wandered over the new garments.

“Yes, they’re very fine.” He didn’t think they would be as comfortable as the trousers and shirts made by the village seamstress. Ahma didn’t sew.

“And why were you laughing?” she asked.

“I imagined Ahma’s and Odem’s greetings for me should I come calling dressed up in these fancy duds.”

Totobee-Rodolow raised her chin and looked down her elegant snout at Cantor. “Both your mentors have been to courts within the nine realms. You’d be surprised how much experience they have with high society.”

Cantor nodded, but his private belief was that Bridger’s sister didn’t know his Ahma and Odem at all.

“Pack up,” ordered Totobee-Rodolow. “It’s time we left Effram and headed for Gilead.” The two dragons left, but Bixby lingered.

“I have one more thing for you, Cantor.” She dug in the folds of her skirt until she came out with a metallic bag the size of a barn cat. She held it out to him.

He took the sagging sack and rubbed his fingers over the surprisingly soft, smooth fabric.

“It’s cold like metal, but obviously this material is woven.”

“Yes.” Bixby’s curls bounced in disarray as she nodded. “Totobee-Rodolow and I looked for days before we found a hampersmith with the skills to fashion a vault.”

“This is a vault?” He turned it over and over, examining every side. “Where’s the opening?”

“You have to make the opening.”

“How?”

“Pick a side that you want to be the top. Poke your finger through and pull until you have the size opening you want. You can only do this once, and it has to be you who does it. Otherwise the vault would allow that other person to retrieve things but not you.”

The oblong bag didn’t seem to have a top or bottom. Cantor decided to make the opening along the longer side, so he could fit larger items he might want to hide away.

Using his index finger, he carefully pushed through the material, then pulled in a straight line. The edges of the gap folded over and sealed the loose strands made by the cut. When Cantor removed his finger from the vault, a heavy string clung to him.

“The drawstring,” explained Bixby.

Cantor pulled and the hole drew closed.

“This is amazing.” Cantor put an arm around Bixby’s shoulders and gave her a quick hug. “Thank you.”

With pink cheeks, she shrugged out of his casual embrace and sidled toward the door. “See you outside. I’m going to go say thanks to Mistress Dante.”

She slipped out into the hall, and Cantor was left to deal with all the clothes. He dressed quickly and had to admit the new outfit was comfortable. He scratched the back of his head as he surveyed the rest. He had never owned so much in his life. If he’d had to carry this without a hamper, he’d probably have left it all behind. But after Totobee-Rodolow and Bixby had been so kind, he didn’t dare forget anything.

He packed quickly, putting the clothes back in the hamper, and tucked the vault inside his shirt, beneath the hip-length tunic he wore.

He looked around the room to see if he’d left anything else. With a grin, he remembered he’d been carried into the room with nothing but the disintegrating clothes he wore. He picked up the hamper that was no bigger than when it had been empty and strode out to the hall, ready for adventures leading him to realms beyond his own.

HOME

B
ixby and Cantor stood in the pasture beside the Dante home. In a field closer to the lake, the dragons extended their wings, stretching before the flight. Excited children ran between and around the adults and visitors gathered for the momentous occasion.

Bixby leaned closer to Cantor. “Does it seem to you that the number of Dante children has multiplied in the last half hour?”

“Some of them must be neighbors’ children.”

“It’s amazing that they came all this way to see us off. Their abodes are quite a distance from one another.”

“Seeing realm walkers teamed with their local dragons must be a big event. Mistress Dante said that there used to be many realm walkers and now, only a few.”

A boy cannoned into Cantor’s legs, squeezed a short but powerful hug, then took off racing another boy. “It could be they’re moving so quickly it just appears there are more of them.”

The movement slowed as soon as the realm walkers strolled
down the hill to the dragons. Female adults and children followed Bixby and Cantor to the field.

After a final round of thanks and good-byes, Cantor climbed onto Bridger’s back with only a girth to hold on to. Jesha sat between the dragon’s ears. Bixby jumped onto the elaborate tooled-leather saddle on Totobee-Rodolow.

“Look at you,” he called to Bixby.

She looked down at her dress, the saddle, and the boots that showed with her skirts pulled up to her knees. “What”

“Do you remember how frightened you were the first time you flew?”

“Nervous, not frightened.”

He winked and was satisfied by the blush it brought to her cheeks. “You’re an old hand at dragon flight now.”

She arched her eyebrows. “Shall we race?”

Mistress Dante objected. “You two are to ride safely. You’re just like family now.”

Cantor waved. “We will, mistress.”

“And we’ll come back to visit,” promised Bixby.

Mistress Dante put a handkerchief to the corner of her eyes, dabbing away some wayward tears. “This is so strange. I never cry when our men go away from home. I’m happy to see them go. But I rather like having Cantor and Bridger around.”

Marta stopped skipping and came to her mother’s side. “It’s ’cause they aren’t Brinswikker men, Ma.”

Mistress Dante patted the girl’s head and called to Cantor. “Come back any time, young man. You have the means to visit again. Totobee-Rodolow and Bridger-Bigelow know every portal in the nine planes.”

Totobee-Rodolow stretched her lovely neck and batted her eyelashes at Cantor. “Well, perhaps not all of them, darling,
but between Bridger-Bigelow and me, you can choose any destination and we’ll know where the portal is on Effram. We could come here first and then on to your intended location.”

Amid hoots and hollers, the dragons rose up into the air. Soon the dragons flew together, close enough for their wingtips to brush against each other.

Cantor announced his plans, calling across the expanse to Bixby. “I’m going to stop by my home before we go to Gilead. You can come with me or go on ahead. Dukmee may already be at the Realm Walker Council and wondering what’s taking us so long.”

“It’s been forty days.” Bixby’s already large eyes grew bigger. “He’s probably gone beyond wondering to believing we’re captured or dead.” Bixby consulted with Totobee-Rodolow. “We’re going straight to Gilead.”

Bridger and Cantor both nodded their approval of the decision.

Bridger spoke over his shoulder to Cantor. “I’ll take you to the portal you came through when you first entered Effram. It’s a drifter but probably hasn’t moved too far from that point.”