World's End (6 page)

Bilblox took off his glasses and seemed to stare at Alfonso. His eyes were still entirely white.

"How is your eyesight?" asked Alfonso. "Are you still blind?"

"Blind as a bat," said Bilblox with a rather sad smile. "But I'm still pretty nimble." He laughed heartily. "I got myself a seein' eye dog of sorts. Her name is Kõrgushüpe, but I call her Kõrgu for short. She's nappin' in 'er kennel now. You'll meet 'er later. Ya know, I don't mind the blindness so much, but once in a while I get these wicked headaches. Sometimes they lay me out for days at a time. I suspect it has somethin' to do with that purple ash I put in my eyes. But I ain't complainin'."

He leaned over and passed his fingers across Alfonso's face, examining the contours of his chin, cheeks, and mouth. He whistled.

"You've grown a lot in the last three years, haven't ya?" asked Bilblox. "You're practically a man by now. Dusty and the other longshoremen would love t'see you now! Maybe you'll stop by for a visit in Fort Krasnik on the way home to Minnesota."

Alfonso looked down at his plate, but said nothing.

"What is it?" asked Bilblox. "Don't get all quiet on a blind man—it makes me jumpy."

"I can't go back to Minnesota," said Alfonso. "At least, not right now."

"Oh fer cryin' out loud," said Bilblox. "Why in the heck not? Is this some sorta teenage rebellion?"

"Nothing like that," replied Alfonso. He paused. "I can't quite believe this, but my dad, Leif, may be alive."

"What!" declared Bilblox incredulously. "Whaddya mean? Where is he?"

"Not sure exactly," said Alfonso. "But I think I know who could help us."

"Who?"

"Josephus."

"Josephus!" said Bilblox with a snort. "The old Dormian historian? He's back in Somnos. You can't just pick up the telephone and call him. You'd have to trek through the Urals and ... Wait a minute. Are you suggestin' that we ... No, no way, that's out of the question."

"Look," said Alfonso calmly. "My dad may still be alive, but if he is, I think he's in trouble."

Bilblox stared intently at Alfonso. Snej walked onboard to announce that the Rolls-Royce was hidden and the Twin Otter was ready for takeoff.

"Let's get outta here," Bilblox commanded.

"Very well, sir," replied Snej. "And may I assume the destination is World's End, Minnesota?"

"Just head north," Bilblox growled. "We'll make a decision after I hear what this boy—sorry, teenager—has to say."

The Twin Otter's engines revved up to maximum as Snej settled into the pilot's seat. Soon, the plane took off in a steep ascent out of the desert canyon. Snej set a course due north across the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, Alfonso told Bilblox the whole story, starting in Paris and continuing through the fight with the taxi driver and the discovery that his father was a Great Sleeper.

When Alfonso finished talking, Bilblox sat there in silence. Finally, he spoke. "I remember Leif from the few years that he and your uncle were livin' in Fort Krasnik with me and the other longshoremen," said Bilblox. "He was a few years older than me, but ya could tell he was meant for somethin' special. The way he used to play ballast! Man! I never saw anyone move so quick in my life. A real nice guy he was, too." Bilblox's hand traced the contours of the glass of lemonade and after a moment's pause, he continued.

"But you've gotta realize," said Bilblox, "what yer talkin' about is no small thing. You could be searchin' fer years fer yer old man and, meanwhile, ya got a mom at home who is worried sick about her boy."

"I just want to stop by Somnos," said Alfonso. "That's all."

"That ain't so easy last time I checked," said Bilblox with a snort. "First off, it's winter in the Urals right now and we can't just land anywhere we choose! And even if we found our way back to the entrance, how d'ya suppose we'd get through the mountain gates? They'll never open if we don't have a Dormian bloom with us. And then supposin' we did get in and found a clue in Somnos about where Leif had gone off to, we'd be trampin' around the Urals tryin' to find a needle in a haystack."

Bilblox looked sorrowfully at Alfonso.

"I ain't tryin' to be insensitive here," said Bilblox. "But ya ain't a kid anymore—ya got to think about these things. I mean, let's be honest here, ya really think yer old man is still alive? I mean, I wish to God that he was, but what are the chances?"

"All I know is that I was led to that crypt for a reason," insisted Alfonso. "You remember how it was on the way to Somnos the first time. Everything I did, from raising falcons to growing the Dormian bloom itself, had a reason. It was my sleeping-self preparing me for something. And now it's the same thing. All the things I've been up to—from meeting the Wanderer in Paris to diving into the water in front of the Three Sphinxes—there's something important going on here."

"It doesn't make sense, though," said Bilblox. "Suppose that yer old man is a Great Sleeper, where was he headed? You saved Somnos and that's the only Dormian city left. What was yer dad up to? Where was he headed?"

"I don't know," said Alfonso. "That's why we have to talk with Josephus."

Bilblox sighed heavily.

Neither of them spoke for a while and the only sound in the airplane was the drone of the Otter's engines. Bilblox found himself in a quandary. Of course, the sensible thing to do was to say no. The chances that Leif Perplexon was alive—and that they would find him—were infinitesimally small. Not to mention, it seemed inconceivable that they would even find their way back to Dormia. Then there was the matter of Judy Perplexon. What would she say about all this? Bilblox knew that the whole plan was utterly boneheaded from start to finish.

And yet...

And yet Bilblox felt a powerful desire to help his friend. Nothing mattered to Bilblox more in life than loyalty. Riches meant very little. Sure, it was nice to have comforts, but what meaning did they have without companionship, without brotherhood? Truth be told, ever since he had to stop working as a longshoreman because of his blindness, he had been unbearably lonely. He desperately missed being part of the Brotherhood of Magrewski Longshoremen back in Fort Krasnik. He missed the singing, the joking, the rough horseplay, and even the sound of his fellow brothers snoring away in the night. Above all, he missed the feeling of devotion and loyalty that existed among the Magrewski longshoremen. He missed the feeling that if one of them got into a fight, or lost a bet, or suddenly grew ill, that all of them would close ranks and come together. This was the stuff of life—not luxury planes and fancy cars. This was the same feeling that connected him to Alfonso. Again and again, Alfonso had stuck up for him, even when all others believed that Bilblox had become an untrustworthy villain who was addicted to the purple ash of the Dormian bloom.

But there was more to it than just this.

There was Estonia and what had happened there all those years ago, when he was just a boy. This is what really gave Bilblox pause.

Bilblox had grown up in the port town of Väike Kunda. He lived with his mother and older sister, Loviise, in a ramshackle cottage on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Finland. His father, Hillar, had left them when Bilblox was a baby to seek his fortune in Fort Krasnik. Whatever he earned, he sent back to them, and it was just enough for all three to survive.

Väike Kunda was a poor town and the only real wealth existed in the home of the local sheriff. He was a corrupt and ruthless man, who was known simply as the Käskija, which simply means "lord" when translated directly from Estonian. The Käskija was an older man, in his late sixties, who had been married five times and had outlived all of his wives. Rumor had it that he had beaten several of them to death. The Käskija had an eye for pretty girls, and eventually he set his sights on Loviise, who was a striking beauty. As carefully as she could, Loviise tried to avoid the Käskija, but when it became clear that this would be impossible, her mother made arrangements for her to join a Bridgettine convent in the mountain town of Tam-salu. The convent had been in operation since 1412 and it had a tradition of taking in girls in trouble. The abbess general of the Bridgettine order had taken a special interest in Loviise's situation.

Loviise was to leave by bus in the middle of the night. Bilblox accompanied his sister to the town's small bus station that night and, to their horror, they found the Käskija and several of his goons waiting for them there. They grabbed Loviise roughly and threw her into the back seat of a nearby car. Bilblox tried to intervene, but he was just eight years old, and the goons quickly stuffed his face into the dirt.

As soon as the Käskija's car had motored away, Bilblox began to yell for help. "Appi, appi, appi!" Frantically, he knocked on the door of every house he could find. He explained what had happened and demanded that they help him rescue his sister at once. The neighbors listened patiently, shook their heads sadly, and uttered the same words: "Pole midagi parata."
It cannot be helped.
Bilblox was enraged. This wasn't true, of course. It could be helped. All they needed to do was take action together, as a town, but this required more courage and initiative than any of them had. So Bilblox set out at once on the long winding road that led to the mansion where the Käskija lived. Bilblox arrived at dawn and was greeted at the door by one of the Käskija's thugs, a large oafish man with a pockmarked face.

"Mis see on?" asked the thug.
What is it?

Bilblox demanded that his sister be let free.

"Tehke, mida iganes vajalikuks peate," said the goon with a laugh.
Take whatever actions you deem necessary.

Bilblox nodded, reached behind his back, brandished a crowbar, and hit the goon as hard as he could on his right kneecap. The goon wailed out in pain. Bilblox ran past him and into the mansion, calling out frantically, "Loviise, Loviise, Loviise!" She never appeared. Other goons eventually found Bilblox and beat him to within an inch of his life. Bilblox was in the local hospital for three months. When he was released, his mother sent him to live with his father in Fort Krasnik. This was for his own safety. And as for Loviise, she was released only years later, when the Käskija died. She was immediately taken in by the Bridgettine nuns and was never seen again.

This story haunted Bilblox. He still shivered when he pictured the Käskija's face. But he saved his greatest contempt for the townspeople who wouldn't help him. Their words still rang in his ears. "Pole midagi parata."
It cannot be helped.
Bilblox knew that this was the lie that facilitated the greatest evils. It was also the tonic of the spineless wretches who would rather be safe than do what was right.

"Let's just suppose Snej could find a way to land this plane in the Urals—in the height of winter. What's your plan for getting into Somnos?" asked Bilblox finally.

Alfonso smiled.

"Do you remember that the gates to Somnos only open once every twelve years for Great Wandering Day?" he asked.

Bilblox nodded.

"When we left Somnos, Hill told us that the next Great Wandering Day was just three years away. I even remember the exact date because it's nearly two weeks before Christmas—December twelfth. Well, that was three years ago, and it's now December eleventh. The gates should open tomorrow."

Bilblox whistled.

"You think that's a coincidence?" he asked.

"Not a chance," replied Alfonso.

***

After considering Alfonso's story, Bilblox announced that he would take him to Somnos on one condition: Alfonso needed to tell his mother and receive her blessing. Alfonso used Bilblox's satellite phone to make the call. As he dialed, the Twin Otter headed due north across the Mediterranean, passing above the Greek islands, which appeared as dots of brilliant white against a backdrop of sparkling blue-green waters.

Judy was, of course, incredibly relieved to hear from her son. She had been beside herself with worry. Alfonso assured her that he was okay. Over the static and crackle of the phone, he tried to explain everything that he had learned in the past few days.

"This is madness," said Judy. "Absolute madness!"

"Come on, Mom," said Alfonso. "Didn't the thought ever cross your mind that Dad might be alive?"

"Of course it has," replied Judy. Even across the crackle of the satellite phone, her anguish was apparent. "But that doesn't mean that I want my only child—who's just fifteen years old—to run off on some fool's errand. What if something happens to you? Then I have lost my husband and my son."

"Nothing will happen to me," replied Alfonso. "My sleeping-self..."

"Your sleeping-self!?" said Judy. "Enough of all that!"

"Mom," Alfonso replied. "I'm begging you—you've got to let me do this."

There was another long, static-filled pause.

"Somehow I have the feeling that I don't have much of a choice about this," said Judy with a sigh. "I really don't know what to tell you. If you're asking me what I want, I want you to come home right this instant."

"What about
Dad?
" asked Alfonso with exasperation. "He may be alive and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can help him. We can't just forget about him.
Is that what you want?
"

Alfonso wished he could take back these last words as soon as he had uttered them.

"I can't believe you would even suggest that," said Judy with a choked sob. "Of all the hurtful things you could have said."

"Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"I love you very much, Alfonso," said Judy coldly. "Now go ahead and put Bilblox back on the phone."

Alfonso handed the phone over to Bilblox and, as he did, he felt about as low as he had ever felt in his life.

Bilblox pressed the receiver to his ear and listened intently. He nodded his head repeatedly and said "yes, ma'am" no less than a dozen times. Finally, he clicked off the phone and dropped his head, as if he were in pain.

"What happened?" asked Alfonso.

"She made me swear on my honor that I wouldn't let any-thin' bad happen to ya," said Bilblox.