{"id":553,"date":"2018-10-18T08:25:33","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T12:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allen-wold.com\/?page_id=553"},"modified":"2021-03-07T10:24:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T15:24:06","slug":"ecliptor-first-pages","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/?page_id=553","title":{"rendered":"Ecliptor first pages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part Nine: The Hunter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 <\/span>\u2022 1\u00a0 <\/span>\u2022\u00a0 <\/span>\u2022<\/p>\n

Chapter Sixty One: A World in Ruins<\/strong><\/p>\n

She lay beside him in the night, half entwined with him. They had pushed the beds together firmly, so that there was no chance of slipping into the crack between them. She was happier than she could remember ever being, physically relaxed and content, linked so closely to Tondorre that she could almost share his mind. Almost. Close enough.<\/p>\n

They were together, committed to each other, and would not have to say goodbye. They would be going together \u2014<\/p>\n

But not home. Not his home, or her home, or a new home they would build together, but back to the pursuit of her enemy, of their enemy, back to conflict and danger in some strange place.<\/p>\n

She could not give it up. No matter how much she wanted to stay here, or anywhere domestic, there was too much invested in her. Her happiness and content became tinged with regret. She could take him home where he could help her run the bookstore. Or she could go with him off on his minor adventures until they found a place that suited them. Or she could accept her responsibility. There wasn\u2019t any question, really.<\/p>\n

He pulled back from her a little, just enough so he could see her face. He was as aware of her conflict and uncertainty, as she was of his concern for her, and was subtly anxiousness that he might somehow be at fault. His eyes searched her face and he said, \u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

It took her a few seconds to find her answer. \u201cWe have to go on.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He put his hand on her cheek, then brushed her hair off her forehead. \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her happiness became sorrow. \u201cI don\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/p>\n

He kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, her lips. \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled back again so they could see each other more easily. He was so beautiful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe could die,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. Once I make up my mind I don\u2019t think about it. It\u2019s part of the deal. But could you go back home now, knowing that there\u2019s another Arkenome out there, doing terrible things to people? It would break you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She untangled herself from him and rolled onto her back, then onto her other side. He stayed with her as only a lover could. After three heartbeats he put his hand on her waist. She liked that. He touched her self with his self, and she liked that too, so much that it almost hurt. \u201cIt would. I have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m going with you. You don\u2019t have to go alone. Whatever happens, I\u2019ll be with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sat up on the edge of the bed. There was just enough to light let her see the room. She knew that Tondorre was looking at her back, and liking what he saw. Some of it was erotic. Much of it was aesthetic, a masculine appreciation unfamiliar to her. But most of it was affection. She would do almost anything to save him from fear and strangeness and pain, except abandon her obligation. He knew that, and he was with her on that, and he supported her completely.<\/p>\n

Everything would be different now. \u201cCome with me,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She let herself become aware of the greater reality, timeless, dimensionless, a meaningless context for everything that had meaning. She gave him a subjective moment to perceive it as it was. He didn\u2019t understand it any more than she did, though he had been into it with her. That was okay. She chose a metaphor, something not completely incomprehensible, something they could talk about and work with together.<\/p>\n

It was a weave of all that was, long strands and short, twisted, or knotted, or just crossing, or not touching at all. She chose another metaphor, a vast structure of places and the pathways between them, platforms and walkways, with a center and an outside. Or another, a white space plane, the intersection of what was, with what was not. Or a new image, the growing face of a crystal, of a vast but surprisingly not infinite number of crystals, each face the present of a different world. Or it was a sea of possibility, out of which grew the worlds of mundane reality. Looked at this way, she saw that her own world was so close to this one that she could almost reach out and touch it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It makes me feel so small, was his unspoken thought.<\/p>\n

Everything is small compared to this. Even worlds as vast as yours and mine are mere specks of dust in all of this. But we are a part of the pattern, and worlds like ours give it meaning.<\/p>\n

Their perception had nothing to do with the senses. It was all an intellectual construct, a product of the imagination that was, nonetheless, absolutely real. They did not hang in a void. She was sitting on a bed, and he was lying beside her. There was no darkness, no light, no direction, only existence. Time did not flow, it grew, and her perception in the mundane world was only of the growing tip.<\/p>\n

Everything was different now. Tondorre was so close that they all but overlapped, sharing awareness, almost sharing thought as they could not do in a mundane reality, even as closely linked as they were. He was sorting things out, keeping her metaphors distinct from each other, finding a way to see that they were all true at the same time. And he could do it, even as he clung to her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t clinging, he was protecting her. It surprised her, and it pleased her. She was protecting him too, and he knew that. She was the hero, and he was her companion. He was with her, not she with him. In time they would be equally with each other, each with their own strengths, their perceptions, their senses and abilities, protecting each other while she did what she had to do.<\/p>\n

Right now what she had to do was find and get to the being called Diapollion, who styled itself the Ecliptor. That was all they knew. They had no hint of what Diapollion was, or where to look for him in the vastness of the greater reality, or which metaphor would serve them best. But they, she, had to start somewhere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She thought of the evil she had known, the Arkenomes and the would-be Arkenomes, and the evil beings who did not need or use such appellations. Just plain people most of them, perverted by their cravings or their weaknesses, exploited by a greater power which seemed to have no power of its own in the mundane. It had to seduce and pervert a mortal for it to be its hands.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She had believed that there was just one Arkenome at a time, but perhaps she had dealt with only the most dangerous at the moment. The thought of a multitude of incompetent Arkenomes, fumbling their way to an evil they could never achieve, was laughable. Tondorre did laugh at it. It had to be just one at a time. That was a severe limitation. But it was like saying a freight locomotive was limited to having only two hundred cars of iron ore, and having to stay on the tracks. If you were standing in front of it as it bore down on you at ninety miles an hour, its limitations were meaningless.<\/p>\n

Her guide had never actually touched the physical world. It had touched her mind, ever so lightly, had showed her how to do whatever needed doing. Or at least it had given her hints. How many other people could have been touched in that same way? How many had the same latent abilities? What made her different from all those other people? Even that first fall through her back yard into the cavern of blue flames must have been something she had done herself. If Diapollion was like her guide, then how would she ever find him, or her, or it, except by working through an Arkenome?<\/p>\n

She knew of no higher order beings who could help her. Even Gedeon, a far greater being than those paltry authors of evil, could not do what she could, else there would have been no crisis in the wither. She looked for him and felt him, not in one place but in the whole of reality. He wasn\u2019t a creator, he was a guardian, of the principle of life, and of the death which was a part of life. He was helpless against what her enemy was doing.<\/p>\n

She pulled back. Gedeon was too vast to be comprehended, and Tondorre had had no experiences to prepare him for such a being. Jeanette showed him where, inside herself, Gedeon had touched her that one time, and how, because of her, Gedeon was aware of him, and offered him, too, what protection he could. It wouldn\u2019t be much.<\/p>\n

Where was her guide? What was her guide? Nothing like Gedeon. She was connected to her guide through the black ring, a connection of which she was almost never aware. She could follow that connection back \u2014 except that she couldn\u2019t, not now, she was not ready for that. There were secrets she would uncover eventually, but not now.<\/p>\n

She looked for and found her companions, and those who were nearly her companions and, if she really worked at it, other people whom she had known, all out of context, like a dim photograph of scattered people, but with no background. Some of the people were those who were important to Tondorre in that special way, of which he had been aware only emotionally. She felt his yearning to see them again, and his acceptance that he almost certainly never would.<\/p>\n

They were so few of those special people, of whatever kind or degree, compared to the vast but not infinite number of those whom they had never known, corporeal or spiritual. The Ecliptor was among them, but which one? That, of course, was the problem to be solved. But not tonight.<\/p>\n

She looked down at Tondorre, rather exotic, attractive to her beyond any meaning of that word. He looked back at her with an expression only she could see, that told her far more than words. She leaned down and kissed him, softly affectionate, only hinting at passion, and he kissed her back the same way. Then she lay down beside him so that her head rested on the hollow of his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we actually do this?\u201d he asked. Then, \u201cCan I say that? We?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can say that,\u201d she said. She put her arm across his chest, and let the present reality fade into sleep.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

They woke early but did not get up right away. They did not intrude on each other in the water closet. They watched each other dress but they did not stare. Jeanette very much liked to look at Tondorre, and knew that he liked to look at her, and she liked it when he did.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She watched him shave. He brought a bowl of water into the bedroom, where the light was better, and set it down on a night table. He sat on the bed, took a small package of oiled silk from his kit, unwrapped a bar of soap, wet it, and rubbed it over his cheeks and throat. He held a mirror as big as his palm in one hand, and with the other he used a little straight razor, its blade barely an inch long. When the skin of his cheeks and throat were as smooth as he wanted them to be, he used a small comb on his beard and mustache, then a small scissors to trim off anything that was too long. The whole process took only fifteen minutes or so.<\/p>\n

They packed up their things and went down to the main hall. Jeanette had the Tash Griaf on her back, but carried the sword belt and scabbard in her hand.<\/p>\n

Sufake Fumumesa was already there, eating breakfast. He looked up as they came in and gestured to the table. Jeanette put the sword under her chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are leaving, then,\u201d Fumumesa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are.\u201d<\/p>\n

A footman came up and waited beside Tondorre. Tondorre told him, after a brief hesitation, what he would like for breakfast, and Jeanette did the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family has not come down yet,\u201d Fumumesa said. \u201cI hope you can wait for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Jeanette said, smiling. \u201cWe are not in that much of a hurry. It\u2019s just that there are things we have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChasing down evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOtherwise,\u201d Tondorre said, \u201cI, for one, would certainly enjoy an extended vacation. I could all too easily get used to the attention you have shown us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fumumesa laughed. \u201cYou should come back some time when my staff is up to full strength, and our routine is fully settled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure I would become hopelessly spoiled,\u201d Tondorre said, grinning.<\/p>\n

They were finishing when the rest of the family came down. These were Fumumesa\u2019s mother, his wife, and his two sons, who were about eight and twelve years old. Jeanette and Tondorre stayed at the table, talking about their adventures, which Tondorre embellished a bit, and Jeanette understated drastically. Then it was time to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore you go, Enidako Tondorre,\u201d Fumumesa said. \u201cYou have no sword. May I give you one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is very kind,\u201d Tondorre said, with a small, formal bow. \u201cI will accept it gladly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fumumesa went to one of the cabinets at the side of the room. Inside, neatly arranged on pegs, were a number of weapons, mostly swords, but some knives, daggers, and even two small bows. \u201cI was quite surprised to discover that Shederote hadn\u2019t stolen any of this. In fact,\u201d he turned to them, \u201cexcept for those rooms which he converted to, well, whatever it was they were supposed to be, he left the house pretty much intact. I understand,\u201d he turned back to the cabinet, \u201cthat he spent a lot of time away.\u201d He took out a sword with a scabbard and belt.<\/p>\n

The scabbard was of dark maroon leather. The fittings were of brass and needed polishing. The belt was also maroon, with a brass buckle and black stitching. Tondorre took the scabbard and pulled out the sword. The blade was quite plain, and also needed some polishing. He held it away from Fumumesa, tested its weight, made a few small parrying motions, then took the blade in his left hand, and presented the hilt to Jeanette.<\/p>\n

She took it. It was not much heavier than her own, and almost as well balanced. She carefully touched the edge, which was very sharp. She handed it back.<\/p>\n

He returned it to its scabbard, then buckled on the belt. \u201cThank you,\u201d he said to Fumumesa. \u201cIt will be put to good use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am sure it will.\u201d<\/p>\n

They said their goodbyes to the family, and thanked Erivamo Vomado for all he and the staff had done. Fumumesa walked with them down to the great front door. A footman opened it for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have only one horse,\u201d the footman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will walk,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cI would not take a horse where we are going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my horse,\u201d Tondorre said to Fumumesa. \u201cConsider it a house gift, for your hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fumumesa made the same kind of small, formal bow. \u201cI will take good care of it for you.\u201d Then he made a gesture to the footman, who went toward the gate. \u201cI will never see you again,\u201d he said as they followed, \u201cwill I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cIf it makes you feel any better, think about the people whom I have gone to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

The footman pushed both halves of the gates, then stepped aside. The gates swung more than half way open, plenty wide enough for Jeanette and Tondorre to pass through side by side. They each shook Fumumesa\u2019s hand, and went out \u2014<\/p>\n

\u2014 into a place that looked like the pictures Jeanette had seen of bombed out cities. The sky was mostly dark, but shaded to gold and red toward the horizon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tondorre was astonished at the abrupt transition, breathless and speechless, and again at what they were seeing. Brick, concrete, plaster, and less identifiable rubble filled the street. Pieces of building, bits of wall \u2014 especially corners\u00a0 <\/span>of buildings \u2014 stuck up sometimes two, maybe three stories above the ground. No building was intact. The scene was the same behind them where, maybe a mile away \u2014 it was hard to say among the ruins \u2014 something much taller, jagged and broken, stood against the the orangey sky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened here?\u201d he said, not expecting a reply. \u201cIt\u2019s \u2014 how big is this place?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Jeanette said, answering both questions.<\/p>\n

The street wasn\u2019t completely filled with rubble. Smaller stuff had been kicked aside, making a kind of path. There were people here somewhere. She let her senses open up, but she was aware of only the tiny sparks of animals. It was either dawn or sunset. She hoped it was dawn.<\/p>\n

Tondorre\u2019s astonishment faded, only to be replaced by apprehension bordering on fear. He held his stick like a sword, ready to strike if he had to. Jeanette touched him with her calmness, but he also felt her dismay at the destruction around them.<\/p>\n

She watched him as he slowly turned in place. He was different, but not completely so. His skin was dark, his hair was nearly black, his beard completely black. His face was broad, his forehead high, his chin small. His eyes were wide set, his ears were large and set low. He was broad of shoulder, deep of chest, his torso was short, his legs were long. At least his feet looked more or less like his own. His arms were the right shape, but his hands had only three fingers and a thumb. Despite all this he was still beautiful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat \u2014 how big is that<\/i> thing?\u201d he asked. The tall ruin rose three or four floors above anything else near by, maybe six, or seven, or eight stories altogether.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNowhere near as big as it once was.\u201d Her voice was something like a cat\u2019s purr vocalized. \u201cBefore whatever happened here knocked it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything so tall. How could they possibly \u2014?\u201d He heard his own voice, and looked at Jeanette. He was so startled by her changed appearance that he took an involuntary step backwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s me,\u201d she said gently, her voice lower than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, but \u2014 You told me about this. I didn\u2019t really understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might feel a little clumsy at first.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked to the left, then to the right, then back to Jeanette. \u201cAh, okay.\u201d He glanced around again. \u201cAh, where are we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. This wasn\u2019t my intention. I think we\u2019ve been sidetracked.\u201d<\/p>\n

He reached up to touch his own face, even as she was speaking. He stared at her, comparing what he saw with what his fingers felt.<\/p>\n

She smiled at him. Then she kissed him, and he kissed her back. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter does it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so strange.\u201d He searched her face, different and familiar at the same time. \u201cYou\u2019re still you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re still you, too.\u201d She kissed him again. \u201cWherever I go, I look like the people I\u2019m supposed to help. My size stays the same \u2014 conservation of mass, I guess. I keep my clothes, and they always fit. And I keep my weapons. I have no idea how that works. But our changed appearance doesn\u2019t change who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at her a moment longer, then around at the ruins again. \u201cSo, ahh, why are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something for me to do. For us<\/i> to do. But not right here<\/i>. Whenever I\u2019ve gone to some other world, I\u2019ve always arrived somewhere that\u2019s not exactly where I\u2019m supposed to be. Sometimes I feel that it\u2019s my enemy trying to divert me, sometimes I don\u2019t. We\u2019ll know where we really supposed be when we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked around again. This wasn\u2019t he adventure he was expecting. It wasn\u2019t what she had been expecting either. He was distressed, and angry, just as she was. He felt helpless, too, but he didn\u2019t share her barely suppressed feelings of guilt and failure. That was what was hurting her most. That was where she would really need his help. \u201cAll right, so where do we go now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the direction we were going when we got here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, okay. Um.\u201d He looked around. \u201cI\u2019m glad we\u2019ve had breakfast. Now, what do we do about, um \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

She laughed. \u201cWe improvise.\u201d Which they did, each going to a different part of the ruins.<\/p>\n

Jeanette finished first. When Tondorre came back she realized, for the first time, that his wound would never completely heal, that he would have a noticeable limp for the rest of his life, even on level ground. \u201cDoes it hurt you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much. It was a bad cut. I was bracing myself to have to use crutches. That surgeon was very good. But \u2026 do you heal this fast?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do. Mostly. I still have scars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn your face. On your side. And those faint marks on your hip and leg. Okay. Don\u2019t worry about it, I can live with it. It\u2019s just that my leg doesn\u2019t work quite the way it used to.\u201d He tapped his stick on the ground. \u201cMore for balance than for support.\u201d<\/p>\n

They walked, shoulders nearly touching, until they came to a cross street, which was less well cleared of rubble. \u201cI really don\u2019t understand all this,\u201d he said. They went on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sky on their right got brighter, and the colors of dawn began to fade. The cleared path, after another block, made a curve around a huge pile of broken masonry, where a large corner building had once stood. \u201cThis is all concrete, isn\u2019t it,\u201d he said. The cross street on their left was well traveled, the way ahead was less so now. \u201cDo you know where we\u2019re going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we\u2019re going the right way, but I just don\u2019t know where we\u2019ll wind up.\u201d<\/p>\n

They went on another block or so. He said, \u201cThis place is huge. The streets are so wide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen only a small part of it. It\u2019s many times bigger than any city you\u2019ve known, though it was probably nothing special here.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They went on for several more blocks, came to where another street angled off it to the right, and went that way. \u201cThere\u2019s no smell of decay,\u201d he said. \u201cThis happened a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome years I\u2019d guess. But not generations, or thousands of years, like some of the other places I\u2019ve been.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He glanced at her, trying to imagine what those places must have been like, but he said nothing. She had told stories. He was beginning to understand that they were real.<\/p>\n

There was a tiny sound off to the right, of rubble grating under a foot. They stopped and looked that way. The sun was just coming up and shone in their eyes. The source of the sound was in deep shadow. Tondorre moved his stick from his right hand to his left.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t draw until you have to,\u201d Jeanette said softly. She felt sparks of life, but what there was could have been just large animals. She let her arms hang loose. Tondorre leaned on his stick with both hands, his right hand on top, so that he could draw his sword if he had to.<\/p>\n

There was only silence for a long moment, then the sound came again, from several different places this time. Then a small piece of concrete came flying through the air toward Tondorre\u2019s face. He was about to duck when Jeanette reached out and caught it, just before it hit him and, in the same motion, threw it back. Somebody scrambled in the shadows. The bit of concrete hit the rubble and bounced away.<\/p>\n

Her instant reaction surprised him, though it shouldn\u2019t have by now. \u201cWill I learn how to do things like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled, but kept her eyes on the rubble. \u201cI think you will. Give it some time. You\u2019re just a beginner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019ve been traveling for \u2014 ahh \u2014 no, you\u2019re right. It feels like I\u2019m starting all over again, almost.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were more sounds and whispers now. Then out of the shadows, from gaps and holes and collapsed windows, came three, five, eight small people. Each of them carried a piece of pipe. Their faces were obscured by the light of the sun rising behind them. It wasn\u2019t by accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re children,\u201d Tondorre said softly. He didn\u2019t like thinking that he might have to defend himself.<\/p>\n

The children spread out as they came. They were nearly a head shorter than Jeanette, no more than ten or twelve years old. Their clothes were makeshift, their hair was finger-combed, their faces were not all that dirty, but their expressions were determined and dangerous. They spread out further, to make a circle around them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeanette drew her sword while they were still some fifteen feet away. She kept it pointed at the ground, but it glinted in the morning light and the children stopped. \u201cI don\u2019t want to hurt you, but I will defend myself, and I will kill you if I have to.\u201d She twisted the blade slightly, so that the light caught it at different angles. The reflections struck the children\u2019s faces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tondorre leaned more comfortably on his stick. He was enjoying her command of the situation, but he kept himself ready to strike at anything, at any moment, with stick, and with sword if necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWha\u2019d\u2019you want here?\u201d one of the children asked. There were five boys and three girls, not that easy to tell apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t figured that out yet,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cUsually I\u2019m supposed to go someplace before something like this happens.\u201d She waved her left hand at the ruined city around them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It came to her all at once. Her dismay was so sharp that it hurt. If she was supposed to have prevented this, she was too late.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her distress was so sharp that Tondorre could feel it without trying to, and it hurt him too. He didn\u2019t say anything, but he tried to reassure her with a thought. His own dismay made it difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat \u2019r\u2019 you,\u201d another child asked, \u201csome kinda hero?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m supposed to be,\u201d she was too late<\/i>, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t always work out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah\u2019ll bet,\u201d another child said.<\/p>\n

She pushed the thought of failure away. \u201cDo you run this town, or just this street?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tondorre tried to give her strength, but the question of what they were going to do now distracted him, and made him less effective than he wanted to be. Why were they even here?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis part of it,\u201d a girl was saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWere any of you alive when this happened?\u201d Jeanette asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust barely,\u201d the tallest boy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t,\u201d another boy, not the smallest, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to talk to someone who could tell me about it,\u201d Jeanette said.<\/p>\n

The children exchanged glances but didn\u2019t say anything.<\/p>\n

Tondorre stilled his thoughts and asked, \u201cAre there any older people?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot many any more,\u201d one of the boys said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you see them very often?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, somebody\u2019s gotta feed\u2019m.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you hunt?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d another child said, \u201cthere\u2019s rats<\/i> and dogs<\/i> and cats<\/i> and like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we can get brownies and grays and red-tails.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBirds?\u201d Tondorre asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, what else?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlackwings too,\u201d another child said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about things like, ah, vegetables and fruit?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s others \u2018at go outa town,\u201d the middle sized girl said. She sat down on a piece of brick wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cYer not from here, are ya,\u201d the smallest boy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom way off that way,\u201d Tondorre said, pointing.<\/p>\n

\u201cDidja come pas\u2019the tower?\u201d another boy asked.<\/p>\n

He looked back at the tall ruin. \u201cThat thing? No, we didn\u2019t. What\u2019s there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome old folks,\u201d the tallest girl said. \u201cOr there used to be. They try to keep us away. Killed Lemmy a year ago. We don\u2019t go there any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go around,\u201d one of the boys said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you go that way?\u201d Tondorre asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s water in the green place. You didn\u2019t come through there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, we didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

His calm and comfortable conversation suggested to Jeanette that he had more than a little experience with children this age. She liked that, but she said, \u201cLook at us. Our clothes fit, they\u2019re not whatever we happened to find lying around. Where we come from, there\u2019s water in every house, like there used to be here.\u201d She was too late.<\/i> \u201cYou could get meat and vegetables from people who did the hunting and growing for you. It\u2019s a long way away from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d one of the boys said, \u201cI seen pichures \u2018a people wearing whole clothes. Not like yours, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you ever heard of someone called the Arkenome?\u201d<\/p>\n

Again they exchanged glances, only this time there was fear and anger in their faces.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard of \u2019im,\u201d the tallest boy said. \u201cWhat\u2019s he to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve come to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gone,\u201d the tallest girl said. \u201cIt was him \u2018at made all this happen. Then he went away.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was too late.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

The children led them along an almost invisible side path, to stairs going down to a nearly intact cellar. There were four people sitting on scavenged and makeshift chairs and beds, their clothes just as makeshift as those of the children. There were two youngish men, heavily bearded, their hair tied back. One was missing his left arm below the elbow. The other sat staring at a blank place on the wall. A woman in her early forties sat to one side. There was a piece of cloth wrapped over her eyes, but she turned to face the children as they came in. An older man, anywhere between sixty and eighty, without legs from above the knees, sat back on some cushions on the bed. The place smelled unclean, but not foul. Light came from two small windows high in one wall. There was a closed door on the far side. The children went in while Jeanette and Tondorre hung back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey,\u201d the one-armed man said, \u201cwha\u2019ja find?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUs,\u201d Jeanette said from the doorway. Her words startled everybody except the staring man, who just took one large breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd who are you?\u201d the old man cried out.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not from here,\u201d the one-armed man said. He stood from the box on which he had been sitting.<\/p>\n

\u201cA\u2019course they\u2019re not,\u201d the old man said, \u201clook\u2019a their clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The blind woman kept her face turned toward Jeanette. Tondorre kept his attention on the one-armed man.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay we come in?\u201d Jeanette asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ain\u2019t got nothin\u2019\u201d the one-armed man said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want anything. Just to talk for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019re those, swords?\u201d He had been looking at Jeanette\u2019s chest and crotch. Under the circumstances, she couldn\u2019t really blame him. As long as he didn\u2019t try anything. She didn\u2019t want to have to kill him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re swords,\u201d Tondorre said. He changed his grip on the stick in his left hand.<\/p>\n

The blind woman turned her face to him. \u201cHow many?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust two of\u2019m,\u201d the tallest boy said. \u201cWe found\u2019m out onna tower road.\u201d<\/p>\n

The staring man took a long, slow breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo where\u2019s the rest\u2019a your people?\u201d the old man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all there is,\u201d Jeanette said. The one-armed man smiled with obvious intent. He was eight or nine inches taller than she, sturdily built, and he was a survivor. \u201cDo you want to lose the other arm?\u201d she asked him softly. She made no gesture to her sword, but her tone was enough. He scowled and turned away.<\/p>\n

\u201cZebby!\u201d the blind woman snapped. \u201cWhat\u2019cha doin\u2019? Behave yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Meggo,\u201d Zebby said. He sat back down on his box. Tondorre relaxed and crossed his arms and held his stick less aggressively.<\/p>\n

\u201cC\u2019m\u2019on in then,\u201d Meggo said to Jeanette. \u201cWha\u2019d\u2019ya wanna talk about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what happened here,\u201d Jeanette said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019a\u2019ya crazy?\u201d Zebby shouted. \u201cWhere were you<\/i> when the war happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeplace else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShit.\u201d He turned his face to his own part of the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a war,\u201d the old man said. \u201cIt was crazy. Everybody fighting everybody else. Bombs and guns and rockets.\u201d His voice broke. \u201cAnd then he took all the metal and went away.\u201d<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t really mean that. \u201cWhat about the pipes the children carry?\u201d Jeanette asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found them after he left,\u201d one of the boys said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t go crawling through the ruins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Arkenome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Zebby said to the wall in front of him. \u201cThe Arkenome.\u201d It was a dirty word.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen did this happen?\u201d Tondorre asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy,\u201d Meggo said, \u201cbig guy, fair, handsome, a little younger\u2019n me, came about, oh, twelve years ago I guess. To Doghill, not here. He was very popular. Everybody liked him. You look back on it now and you wonder, what was he doin\u2019? He had no job, he didn\u2019t hold office, he was just \u2014 everybody knew him. He was in all the papers, videos, what he said. I saw him myself once. Think back on it and it gives me chills, how could we think he was anything but evil. By the time we figured it out, the war was almost over. That would be nine years ago. Then he got his people to collect all the iron and aluminum and copper and other metal, if it wasn\u2019t buried too deep. Then he left.\u201d<\/p>\n

The staring man took another slow, deep breath.<\/p>\n

Jeanette had to take a deep breath of her own. \u201cDid he have a name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeShaw,\u201d the old man said. \u201cNobody could say it right, it just sounded like that. LeShaw. Le. Shaw.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

They did not stay long. There wasn\u2019t any point. Jeanette had lots of questions, but she didn\u2019t ask them, and Tondorre had none. They found their way back to the tower road.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t the same as what Shiloret was doing is it.\u201d Tondorre said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all.\u201d She was empty. She was helpless. Why was she here?<\/p>\n

Tondorre kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked toward the tall ruin, and occasionally gave her a light squeeze, but he didn\u2019t interrupt her thoughts. She knew he believed in her, but she had to work through this herself.<\/p>\n

The sun rose higher, the day got brighter, and Jeanette\u2019s mood slowly improved. They stopped twice so that Tondorre could flex and rest his leg and, without the sound of their footsteps, they heard small animals moving somewhere in the rubble. Once they saw a bird, and once they heard one singing. If there were other children out hunting, they didn\u2019t show themselves.<\/p>\n

The extent of the destruction was depressing. Ninety percent of the people must have died, maybe more. How had the survivors been able to hang on? The staring man had responded, sometimes, but only with a breath. The children were reinventing everything. The others? Neither she nor Tondorre wanted to think about it.<\/p>\n

She was too late.<\/i> \u201cI spent too much time at Fumumesa\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know that,\u201d Tondorre said. \u201cDidn\u2019t you say that time works differently in different worlds?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe if I\u2019d come here as soon as I defeated Shiloret \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t even know where here is. If you had left then, would you have come here? Or would you have gone somewhere else? And where is the Arkenome now, whoever he is? Should you be there? How can you tell?\u201d He put his hands on her shoulders, made her look at him, and let her feel his confidence in her. \u201cThis is not your fault. It\u2019s his<\/i> fault. Maybe he was doing this while you were fighting Shiloret. Maybe that was Shiloret\u2019s job, to distract you for a while. Would you have sacrificed my world for this one? And what about your own world, if you hadn\u2019t saved that golden child-thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her guilt and uncertainty were so deep, that it wasn\u2019t easy to encourage her with just a thought. He put his arms around her and held her. She let him, then she leaned her head against his shoulder and put her arms around him. It was comforting to both of them. Tondorre was right, and Jeanette knew he was right, but there was an aching hollow he couldn\u2019t touch. The extent of the Arkenome\u2019s destruction was overwhelming. \u201cI used to wonder whether I was on the right side,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe the people I was hurting and killing were the innocent ones. I always had some reason to argue myself out of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now you don\u2019t have to doubt any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2014 no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you left my world, you left people happy and alive. When LeShaw left this world, he left death and destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

She let go of him, took a step back, and searched his face. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of things to make me think I was doing the right thing. That golden creature for example. But \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be no answers for what we should have done, or what we could have done. We need to decide what to do now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to talk to the people in the tower. If there are any left. They kill children. They will have a very different view of what happened here. Maybe I can learn something from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

It took them less than an hour to get to where a side path branched off the main way, and could turn toward the ruins of the tower, a little more than two blocks away. It looked from there as if it had once occupied the whole block on which it stood, as had others near it, which were now just huge piles of rubble. It\u2019s front face, on the right side of the street, was intact for six stories, with parts of it going up two stories more. The whole back half of the building had fallen in, its rubble two stories deep around the base.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anybody there?\u201d Tondorre asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too far away to tell,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cLet\u2019s just walk by and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they have weapons like the thing in your pouch,\u201d Tondorre said, \u201cor even just bows, they could shoot us from the windows.\u201d<\/p>\n

She thought about her predecessors. For them, doing what she suggested had proved to be the wrong choice. \u201cI think I would know it if somebody looked out and saw us. I\u2019ll know more when we get closer.\u201d<\/p>\n

She opened her senses, in case there were other ambushers in the rubble around them. Tondorre kept his hand on her arm to guide her. She felt only the tiny glimmers of animals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They stopped at the first cross street, impassible in either direction, so that he could rest his leg. \u201cAre you all right?\u201d she asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I want,\u201d he said, sitting down on a slab of concrete, \u201cis a big stuffed chair and a glass of brandy. Can you give me a minute?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no one in the rubble on either side, or farther along the street toward the tower. She sat down beside him, put her arm around him, and leaned against him, letting him feel her confidence in him as she felt his in her. Despite his distress, and uncertainty, and confusion about what he had experienced since leaving Sufake House, he was glad he was with her. After a while he was ready to go on.<\/p>\n

They were almost at the near corner of the tower, sticking up anomalously and alone, when she became aware of people in what was left of it. She couldn\u2019t tell how many, but there was somebody on the ground floor and several on higher floors. Tondorre couldn\u2019t feel them, but if he shut out everything else, he became aware of them through her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all so strange,\u201d he said, looking around at the ruined city. \u201cI thought I would get used to being here, but I feel like nothing is real.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like that the first time. And the second, a little less. Maybe we should get out of sight and wait for a while. After all this time, an hour or more isn\u2019t going to make any difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, let\u2019s find out who\u2019s here. Then maybe we can take a longer rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The path went past the intersection, then curved away from the center of the street and ended at the building entrance. It wasn\u2019t used often, there were just a few scuffs in the dust. The people who lived here had to have another way in.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you tell any better who\u2019s there?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo down here I think,\u201c she pointed at the near corner. \u201cSeveral more about half way up. One \u2014 no, two near the top. Maybe they\u2019re all asleep. I don\u2019t feel much activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis late in the morning?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat reason do they have to get up early?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got to get their food from somewhere. Either they hunt it themselves \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr they send children out for it. Maybe that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were no bird or animal sounds, and no sounds came from the tower. There was no distinguishing smell. All the windows on the ground floor had been covered over from the inside, with fabric or cardboard or wood, as had many of those higher up. There was no glass in any of the other windows.<\/p>\n

They went to the building\u2019s entrance. The double door had once been glass, but was now just two empty wooden frames. Beyond it was a lobby, like that for an office building, rather than for a hotel or apartments. There was a small reception desk in the middle, two closed doors on each side, and open elevator shafts at the back, their metal doors and cables taken away, along with the elevators themselves probably, and all the rest of the metal in the world. How could he possibly have done that? The floor was tile, gray and green, and was mostly clear of debris. The only light came from the entrance.<\/p>\n

The first doors on right and left had once been half glass, which had been replaced with cardboard carefully wedged into place. The farther doors on both sides were solid. A door to the left of the elevators had the remains of a sign above it, which had probably once read \u201cstairs.\u201d The floor there, and in front of the other solid door, was less dusty than elsewhere, but there were signs of traffic in front of the near doors as well.<\/p>\n

There was somebody beyond the door on the right, but some distance from it. She went to it and put her hand on the knob. It was not locked. She turned it. There was no response. She pulled it open. There was a darkened room on the other side, devoid of furniture. The windows on the right, at the front of the building, were poorly covered with pieces of wood. There was a door on the far side. They went quietly to it. Whoever was beyond it was still some distance away, and had not moved.<\/p>\n

The second room was also quite dark, and also empty, but there was a smell here like burned plastic. Tondorre sniffed a couple times, but he did not say anything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There was one more door. There could be only one more room, they were nearly at the corner of the building. She touched the knob, and someone on the other side reacted, just a little bit. Tondorre stood to one side, hefting his stick. She pulled the door open, ready to move quickly if she had to.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t have to. The corner room wasn\u2019t quite as dark. There were gaps in the wood covering the windows. It looked as though it had been ripped from hollow doors. There was a desk and chair in the middle, a rack of clothes on the left, and a pile of mattresses in the outside corner, under the windows. On this, under several blankets, were two people, wrapped up in each other. Opening the door had penetrated their sleep, but had not awakened them. Jeanette and Tondorre backed away, shut the door quietly, and went back the way they had come, closing the doors after them.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you suppose they live there,\u201d Tondorre asked, \u201cor were just taking advantage of the moment?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no kitchen, no water closet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore like camping out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it\u2019s their honeymoon.\u201d She wanted a honeymoon. Tondorre wanted a honeymoon. They would have to find a place where they could be alone for a while.<\/p>\n

The lobby was as they had left it. The people upstairs were still there. They went quietly to the stairwell. It was totally dark inside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeanette took her flashlight out of the pouch, covered the lens with one hand, and slowly twisted it until the light came on. It was like magic to Tondorre, but said nothing. She let a thin beam of light escape from her glowing red fingers and shone it on the steps. They were clear of dust in the middle, and there was no rubbish at the sides. \u201cThe people two flights up are mostly toward what\u2019s left of the back of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t feel a thing,\u201d Tondorre said. \u201cI wish I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

She focused on him, forgetting the people in the tower. He turned his attention to her in the same way. They needed practice. Right now, even with Jeanette to help him, they could feel either each other, or everybody else \u2014 he not at all clearly \u2014 but not both at the same time. They took some time to become more sure of each other before reaching out for the other people again. They were not flames or sparks, just vaguenesses, smudges in space. None of them had even the potential to be a companion. Tondorre paid more attention to how he was perceiving them, rather than to what he was perceiving. After a while they came back to themselves, and let each other go.<\/p>\n

They went up two flights and stopped by the stairwell door. She put away her flashlight and slowly eased the door open.<\/p>\n

The hallway on the other side went to both right and left, and elled toward the back of the building at both ends. Light came from around the els, and from open doors on the near side. The people were at the back, toward the right.<\/p>\n

They went into the hallway and closed the door behind them. They went to the right and looked through the open doors they passed. There were bedrooms made up with salvaged furniture. There was a lived-in smell, but no stink of waste. Without water, what did they do for laundry or toilets?<\/p>\n

The hallway past the corner was bright because, about a hundred feet farther on, the rest of the building was gone. But that was where the people were.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel any danger here,\u201d Tondorre said, almost in a whisper. He was relying on his own natural senses and experience, not on anything like Jeanette\u2019s ability.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither do I. That doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll be gentle with intruders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was only blue sky beyond the end of the hallway. Another open door on the right, at the outside of the building, was a workroom of some sort. The doors on the left, in the windowless central block, were mostly closed, but one showed what might once have been cubicle office space, now used for storage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen this kind of thing before,\u201d Jeanette said softly, \u201cpeople living in the ruins, making the best they could of a new life.\u201d<\/p>\n

They came to the broken end of the hallway. The floor extended a few yards beyond the remains of the side walls. It had been covered with soil, ahead and to right and left. There were a variety of such vegetable crops as could thrive here. Night soil would be fermented well away from the inhabited areas, maybe right at the top of the tower, then brought back as fertilizer. The broken edge of the next floor up was back a few feet, the remains of its walls even farther back, and that was where the rest of the people were.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The four people on this floor were working near the front, where racks for drying the food had been set up against what remained of an inner wall. They were wearing scavenged clothes, rather cleaner than those the other people had worn, and in better repair. The two men, both somewhere in their mid thirties to mid forties, were as heavily bearded as the others, and like them had their hair tied back. Their hard life had aged them. One of the women was about the same age, the other was quite a bit younger, about fifteen Jeanette guessed, but by no means a child any more. There wouldn\u2019t be time for that now.<\/p>\n

Jeanette and Tondorre watched until one of the men looked up and saw them. He hissed and the other three looked up. They were not so much frightened as startled and angry, but the anger gave way to apprehension as they saw more clearly their clothes, their stature, and their weapons.<\/p>\n

\u201cForgive us for intruding,\u201d Jeanette said, and felt the people upstairs responding to her voice. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping you can help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d the man said, and, \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d the older woman said at the same time.<\/p>\n

Tondorre was standing against the door jamb just behind her, with his arms crossed, outwardly calm but focusing on her, lending her courage? confidence? strength? She said, \u201cI\u2019m Zanat Digatho. This is Enido Tandari. We came to kill someone who calls himself the Arkenome, but I understand we\u2019re rather too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are that,\u201d the other man said. \u201cHe\u2019s been gone these nine years. You should have come before he ruined everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I had,\u201d Jeanette said, desperately wishing that she had, \u201cbut there have been others before him, and I was busy with one of them, and then his agent.\u201d She looked out over the ruins which extended as far as she could see. Here and there were other slightly taller stumps of buildings, but not many. She was too late\u2026. \u201cI usually get to the Arkenome before he destroys everything. My timing was badly off, which could have been his agent\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not making much sense,\u201d the woman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose not. I know the Arkenome is no longer here, and it\u2019s really his master I\u2019m looking for. I talked to some people up the road \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crazies,\u201d the girl said. \u201cWere they awful?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Tondorre said, \u201cthey were, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy were we talking to them? We were, ah, captured, as it were, by a group of children, who thought they could stone us into submission. Digatho convinced them to take us to some adults. They were rather pitiful, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t doubt it,\u201d the first man said.<\/p>\n

Maybe a dozen men and women, and two very small children, were looking down at them by now, from the floor above. \u201cWe should talk inside,\u201d an older man called down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Patisa and Gordo?\u201d a woman asked anxiously. \u201cDid you see anybody downstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did,\u201d Jeanette said, a little calmer now. \u201cThey were sleeping. We didn\u2019t disturb them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d She spoke to one of the small children, about five years old. \u201cGo downstairs and tell them to come up. Knock on the door first!\u201d The child disappeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you come inside,\u201d the man who had first noticed them said. \u201cMy name is Stevo. This is Renagar,\u201d gesturing to the other man. \u201cMaris,\u201d the woman. \u201cAnd Doria,\u201d the girl. \u201cLet\u2019s go this way.\u201d He gestured to the other hallway.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour clothes are very strange,\u201d the girl said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoria,\u201d Maris said, \u201cbe polite.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were taken into what had once been a board room, and was still pretty much set up that way, but with more chairs brought from other offices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The people upstairs came down. Someone brought in a tray of assorted glasses. Another brought mismatched pitchers of water. \u201cTime for a break anyway,\u201d she said. Another brought in bowls of cut raw vegetables. Jeanette and Tondorre were invited to sit. Jeannette did, but Tondorre stood behind her chair with his arms crossed. He was making a deliberate gesture, and he was enjoying himself. She was the only person he felt he could follow.<\/p>\n

The people, about thirty of them, were curious and cautious. The youngest were infants, the oldest in their early sixties. There were no teenagers. \u201cThey\u2019re off hunting,\u201d someone said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got the energy and aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo,\u201d one man said, \u201cdid you come by saucer or flying carpet.\u201d Or words which amounted to the same thing.<\/p>\n

Jeanette smiled. \u201cWe walked. How did the Arkenome come?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows,\u201d a woman said. \u201cOne day he was here, talking to people, in the news, saying things that made sense to some people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter where you were,\u201d an older man said, \u201che always seemed to represent your group, your religion, your party, or whatever. Different views got more different. People grew apart. By the time some of us realized that LeShaw was whipping up every<\/i> group, playing no favorites, firing everybody up against everybody else, it was too late. Civil wars are always terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then he was gone,\u201d another man said. \u201cAnd those of us who were left realized that we had all been doing his work for him \u2014 collecting his metal, putting down his opposition, and there was nothing left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we blamed each other,\u201d the older man said, \u201cand fought again. We all did. Only the youngest children escaped the hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre there other groups like this?\u201d Jeanette asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d a woman in her twenties said. She had a baby in her lap, and a four-year-old by her side. \u201cScattered here and there. We know where we are. We leave each other alone. Or help out if we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you stay in the city?\u201d Tondorre asked. \u201cYou could grow more in the country, couldn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people do,\u201d a younger man said. \u201cBut it\u2019s hard to find shelter. The crazies are more dangerous out there. You met a bunch of them, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, up the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll cripples and children,\u201d the young man went on. \u201cThey\u2019re harmless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said you killed someone named Lemmy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did,\u201d a woman said. \u201cHe came into our building at night to steal food. When we tried to chase him away, he attacked Noris with a piece of pipe, broke her arm. We couldn\u2019t subdue him, he wouldn\u2019t give up. Big kid, about fourteen. Really wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know about the Arkenome?\u201d a man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been fighting his predecessors. I\u2019ve killed a few.\u201d A lot of good it had done.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he from another planet?\u201d an older boy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother world, yes, but not a planet orbiting your star.\u201d How much these people had lost\u2026. \u201cYou know about other planets?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll lose it all eventually,\u201d an older woman said. \u201cThe books are all gone, most of them. We destroyed them ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

So much lost, so much suffering, the death, the struggle, the desolation. Her sense of failure almost overwhelmed her. Her hand on the table shook, her hand in her lap clenched into a fist. Tondorre put a hand on her shoulder, distressed at her distress. The people looked on, surprised, concerned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should have been here,\u201d she said, her voice low and harsh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not your fault,\u201d Tondorre said, firmly but gently.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe if I\u2019d come sooner.\u201d The horror was a physical thing. She raised one hand to her forehead, to cover her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t your choice,\u201d Tondorre said. He put his other hand on her other shoulder, and held them both, and made himself be calm so he could pass it on to her.<\/p>\n

She shouldn\u2019t feel guilty. Tondorre was right. She knew that, but still \u2026<\/p>\n

The people were quiet. There was some movement, some whispers.<\/p>\n

Tondorre, still holding her shoulders, focused himself completely on her, helping her push aside her black thoughts, helping her find some calm and acceptance. She fought his help for a moment, then stopped resisting it. The dark emotions didn\u2019t go away, but their affect on her was diminished. She would have to deal with them later. She welcomed his help at last, felt herself getting stronger again, and he let her go.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou accept us without much question,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d A man answered. \u201cAfter what we\u2019ve been through? None of it makes any sense. The demagogue, the wars, the theft of almost all our metal \u2026 Even though we helped his people collect it, how did he get it away? It was a science fiction nightmare, but worse than anything Kippering or Stovey ever wrote. The most pessimistic dystopians never came up with anything as bad as that. Aliens and meteors and things far away in time and space, but never an Arkenome who could so completely turn everybody against everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of time to think about it,\u201d a woman who had spoken before said. \u201cWe\u2019ve stopped asking questions, for the most part. There aren\u2019t any answers. We\u2019ll never regain what we\u2019ve lost. The resources are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeanette felt a touch on her arm and looked down. A child next to her was offering her a piece of soft cloth. She took it and wiped her face. \u201cI\u2019m surprised you didn\u2019t kill me at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should we?\u201d the older man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cA stranger from another world? The last one didn\u2019t do you any favors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are not the same,\u201d Stevo, who had first spoken to her, said. \u201cLeShaw was smiling, happy, talkative, friendly, always the good friend. If you had come on like that, trying to sell us a solution to all our problems, like a used car salesman, you wouldn\u2019t have lived more than a few minutes. But you\u2019re not like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeanette put the cloth down on the table and sat back in her chair. She kept her eyes lowered. She couldn\u2019t look at these people. It wasn\u2019t true, but she still felt as though she had let them down. \u201cI wish there was something I could do to help.\u201d She had been given their appearance, wasn\u2019t she supposed to help them?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there is,\u201d the woman with the children said. \u201cBut if you\u2019re looking for the Arkenome, you\u2019re too late. What will you do now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I never do.\u201d Tondorre put a hand on her shoulder again. \u201cI just go somewhere and do what I can. This is the first time I\u2019ve ever seen what could happen if I don\u2019t stop his destruction. So soon afterward at least.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been nine years,\u201d the man who had spoken of science fiction said. \u201cHow could you possibly catch up with him, even if you can<\/i> walk through dimensions?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTime isn\u2019t the same in all worlds. A day here might be a year somewhere else, or a second in another place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is why,\u201d Tondorre said, \u201cyou cannot hold yourself responsible for what happened here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two teenage boys came in, carrying a dead dog, a dead cat or something like it, several rats, and a couple birds. One of the adults took them aside immediately, and spoke to them intensely in near whispers. They kept staring at Jeanette. She looked back at them, strong, warrior types, but not wild. This world would not descend into complete savagery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping,\u201d Jeanette said to the people in general, \u201cthat you could tell me something about this LeShaw, so I could track him down and stop him from doing this to anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t a lot to say,\u201d the older man said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen him, heard him speak, even believed him for a while. But he looked just like us, as you do. Sounded just like us. We had no clue where he came from, and couldn\u2019t guess where he went.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid he stay in one place?\u201d Jeanette asked. \u201cOr did he move around?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, he traveled,\u201d a man said. \u201cHe was always talking to people \u2014 crowds, presidents, church leaders, the media. No one ever saw him on an airplane, though, or on a train.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sounds like him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike teleportation, I guess,\u201d the science fiction reader said, \u201cbut nobody ever saw him do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid he have a special companion? Someone who may have kept in the background, perhaps, or was especially scary?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that I ever heard,\u201d a man said. \u201cOh, he had a retinue, but I don\u2019t think any of them were special the way he was, or you and Mr. Tandari are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s reassuring,\u201d Tondorre said. \u201c\u2014 isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means,\u201d Jeanette said, \u201cthat he doesn\u2019t have someone like Shiloret to help him, which is good. But he can travel by himself, which is not good. Where was he when he left?\u201d she asked. \u201cI mean, in what part of the world?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last anybody saw him,\u201d a younger man said, \u201cas far as we know, was right here in Cheldano.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why I\u2019m here instead of somewhere else.\u201d She felt a thrill, like just before opening a door to a stranger when the power is out. \u201cAnd where was that, toward the park, or past the crazies?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, ah, at the Dorevor Building, at the other end of the street. That\u2019s where we get together with other groups like ours from time to time. Leave messages.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly,\u201d Tondorre said. \u201cThat was the way we were going when the children attacked us. They took us to where the cripples live. They told us about you so we came here, but we were going in the right direction the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to go there?\u201d one of the teenagers said. He was about eighteen, so he would have lived through most of the wars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cThe clue I need to find LeShaw is there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight,\u201d the other boy said. He was a year younger. \u201cWe can take you there. The kids won\u2019t bother us. Is that all right?\u201d he asked his elders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is,\u201d the older woman said, \u201cbut be careful coming back. The crazies,\u201d she explained to Jeanette, \u201cget riled up if too many people come by. They\u2019re not as helpless as they look.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the kids hit whatever they throw at,\u201d the older boy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey threw a rock at me,\u201d Tondorre said. \u201cDigatho caught it and threw it back at them. They didn\u2019t like our swords either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the going there,\u201d Jeanette said, \u201cit\u2019s the coming back. We won\u2019t be coming with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight,\u201d Tondorre said, \u201cyou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

The two teenagers were quite taken with Jeanette, who was not only small and feminine and cute, but was also obviously a hardened warrior. They were respectful of Tondorre, despite his being smaller and slighter than they, and who needed a stick to help walk. They asked questions about their adventures, and answered questions about their lives, and how they had survived and adjusted.<\/p>\n

They came to the place where the crazies lived. No sounds came from the rubble, but Jeanette knew they were being watched. She spoke, just a bit more loudly than normal, and said, \u201cThese are my friends. They\u2019ll be coming back without me. Leave them alone. I wouldn\u2019t let them hurt you. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

A small voice called back from somewhere off in the broken brick and concrete, \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Jeanette said, and they went on.<\/p>\n

The Dorevor Building was another half hour past the crazies. It had taken less damage than the surrounding buildings, and the first two floors were nearly intact. Cleared paths approached it from right and left, and from around in back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy doesn\u2019t anybody live here?\u201d Jeanette asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t grow anything,\u201d Derin, the older boy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always somebody here, though,\u201d Rafe, the younger boy said. \u201cEach of the communities sends someone every couple days. It\u2019s how we get news to each other. We\u2019ll just stick around until tomorrow. Falisa will be relieved then.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were no doors. If they had been metal, they had been taken away with all the rest. Sowing the fields with salt. But the small lobby was easily protected, and beyond that was a larger foyer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A dozen men and women were sitting around a small fire in the middle, in chairs brought in from other places. It was the first fire Jeanette had seen, and was the only source of light. This was ceremonial, not functional. Wood must not be easy to find, and if you could use it for shelter or tools, you wouldn\u2019t want to burn it. With so little wood for cooking, these people would have to eat a lot of their meat raw, or at least very rare. They had few or no knives, maybe they cut things with broken glass. There was plenty of that.\u00a0 <\/span>A table to one side held the food that each of the representatives had brought. There were crystal carafes of water. Jeanette wondered where the toilet facilities were.<\/p>\n

Derin and Rafe made quick introductions. The representatives of the communities of Cheldano were cautious and curious, but accepted the explanations without skepticism. They had all lived through the long war, and had seen things that made the mere presence of strangers in outlandish dress little cause for concern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI understand,\u201d Jeanette said, \u201cthat the last time anybody saw LeShaw, he was in this building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d one of the men said. \u201cI was here. He came in with his retinue, all smiling and sympathetic. The upper floors hadn\u2019t collapsed yet, and we still had oil lamps. He hadn\u2019t come here to see anybody here, I think he was just curious because the building was still standing. We hadn\u2019t quite figured out yet that he was the cause of all the death and destruction, but we were no longer completely under his spell. Except for his lackeys, of course. We found some of them later, wandering around, half crazy. Some of them are still alive somewhere. He just looked at us, and smiled in that winning way of his, and said, \u2018Well, very interesting.\u2019 Then he left. That was all. Nothing profound. He just left. The war ran down after that. No weapons. No food. And people were too busy dying of starvation and disease to fight any more. Are you going to kill him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can find him,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cWhere did he go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. He just walked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may not matter. He was here and, even after all this time, he may have left a trace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t explain it. Where was he standing when he said, \u2018very interesting?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

A sick thrill run up her spine, echoed in Tondorre behind her. LeShaw had succeeded as an Arkenome, when all the others she had met had failed, even Empa Tethicho in the long run. There must have been others who had succeeded too, of course. Had his existence overlapped Empa Tethicho\u2019s? It didn\u2019t matter. \u201cTandari,\u201d she said. \u201cStay by me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stood on her left and put his arm around her, his hand on her shoulder.<\/p>\n

She opened up her awareness, not to the whole of the greater reality, but to the details of the fabric of this one. It took a moment to figure out how to do that, but once she did, she knew at once that her enemy had been here, just a foot or so to the right and behind her. This was really why she was here. She focused on that trace, like the faintest lattice extending all over this world, and saw that there were two places \u2014 not actually directions \u2014 where it went out to the greater reality. This was something new. The more faded part of it, as it were, was where he had come here. The stronger part was where he had left.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tondorre had a connection with her, in that special way her other companions had, and he was standing beside her, with his hand on her shoulder, a physical connection. He was able to perceive, through her, LeShaw\u2019s trace in the same way she did. He had been with her long enough that he wasn\u2019t as surprised as he might have been. What mild surprise he felt quickly became excitement and determination, which she was now feeling, almost as strongly as he. She saw, through distracted eyes, the people looking at her.<\/p>\n

The trace which LeShaw had left behind was faint, but every time she had gone into the greater reality, she had become more sensitive to it\u2019s texture, and thus to even subtle disturbances to that texture. Even her own. She did not have to go outside to follow his trace. She felt it, going along streets now filled with rubble, to a place, a small park perhaps, or a traffic circle, or a city square, or something. And then the trace changed direction, as it were. LeShaw had rotated into another dimension. He was so far ahead of her it made her sick.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not going to get away,\u201d Tondorre said softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo he\u2019s not. We can follow him before I get a call. And we will get him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The people were watching her intently, knowing that they were going to witness something strange. She smiled at them and said, \u201cYou will live. Your world is irrevocably changed, but you will live and grow. I\u2019ve seen it before. Eventually, this time will be just a myth that no one will believe. And that is as it should be.\u201d She looked at Derin and Rafe. \u201cThank your people for me.\u201d They nodded but said nothing. \u201cAre you ready?\u201d she asked Tondorre.<\/p>\n

He squeezed her shoulder. \u201cI am. I guess. I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo am I.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Slowly, so that the people could see her do it, she turned away from this world, into the greater reality, found the thread of LeShaw\u2019s passage, and followed it.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

If you want more, you can get it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part Nine: The Hunter \u2022\u00a0 \u2022 1\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0 \u2022 Chapter Sixty One: A World in Ruins She lay beside him in the night, half entwined with him. They had pushed the beds together firmly, so that there was no chance of slipping into the crack between them. She was happier than she could remember everContinue reading →<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-553","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-thumb"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=553"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":676,"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/553\/revisions\/676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}