The Stranger (43 page)
Authors: Max Frei,Polly Gannon
Tags: #Mystery & Detective, #Horror, #Fiction, #Fantasy, #General, #Epic
Maba Kalox, the Grand Magician of the Order of Time Backwards, was known for having peacefully disbanded his Order several years before the onset of the Troubled Times, after which he managed nearly to disappear from sight without ever leaving Echo. This living legend was waiting for us in the sitting room.
The “living legend” was quite ordinary looking. He was a shortish, stocky fellow of indeterminate age with an animated expression. His merry, round eyes were the true embellishments of his face. If he could have been said to resemble any of my companions, it would have had to be Kurush, our wise buriwok.
“Haven’t set eyes on you in ages, Juffin!”
Sir Maba Kalox said this with such unfeigned enthusiasm that it seemed Sir Juffin’s presence filled him with cosmic joy.
“I’m happy to see you,” he said to me, making a low exaggerated bow. “You could have brought your marvel around sooner, Juffin. May I touch him?”
“Go ahead. As far as I know he doesn’t bite. He doesn’t kick. It’s even safe to drop him on the floor.”
“On the floor! That’s a good one.”
Maba Kalox really did probe me with his index finger, then immediately drew back as if he were afraid of getting burned. He winked at me conspiratorially, as if to say, “You and I know this charade is just for Juffin’s sake—so bear with me. Let’s humor the old geezer.” Sir Maba didn’t use Silent Speech, but somehow I knew just what the wink meant. I liked his approach, in spite of the fact that he had called me “marvel” and pinched me like fresh dough.
“Sit down, friends,” Sir Maba Kalox said, gesturing broadly toward the table. “I’ll rustle up some of your best black poison.”
By “black poison” he meant kamra, of course.
“It will probably be some potion of boiled herbs again,” Juffin commented peevishly. He could grow savage when someone took aim at one of his little weaknesses.
“Well, at least it’s not any of that liquid tar of yours. Whoever decided that was fit for drinking at all? No matter how often those misery-mongers muttered spells over it. Don’t pout, Juffin. Just try this. It really is something special.”
Sir Maba Kalox was absolutely right. The steaming, ruby-hued beverage that appeared on the table had a flavor somewhat reminiscent of Elixir of Kaxar, of which I was particularly fond, infused with some kind of celestial flower.
“Well, at long last I get offered something decent in this house,” Juffin said gruffly, beginning to come around.
“I haven’t seen you this tired since the Code was adopted,” our host said, standing up and stretching creakily. “Why worry so much about these murders, Juffin? When the World might really have collapsed you were much calmer about it—and for good reason.”
“First, if I can’t solve a case within an hour, it makes me very irritable, you know that. Second, Max has gotten an idea into his head that I don’t like one bit. At the same time, it would explain everything. If we left the door open between Worlds—well, Maba, you realize it’s nothing to joke about.”
“The door between Worlds is never really closed, Juffin. It’s time you realized that. In any case, I’m at your service, on the condition that you both drink another cup of my concoction. I’m extremely vain, you know.”
“And I was worried that you had left all your human weaknesses far behind,” Juffin said, grinning. Then he turned to me, “Sir Max, don’t sit there looking so stiff and awkward. This may be the only house in Echo where you have no cause to feel shy.”
“I’m not feeling shy. I just always need a little time to—”
“Sniff things out?” Maba Kalox asked. His eyes were the kindest X-rays I had ever been subjected to.
“Something like that. It usually lasts just a short time, and then I realize that I’m already used to things. But sometimes—”
“Sometimes you understand that you’ll never get used to it. You don’t have to, but you try to swallow it anyway,” Maba said, finishing the end of my thought. “Well, I’d say that’s a very sensible approach to things. Sniff it out, Marvel. As for me, I’ve already sniffed you out.”
I nodded and reached for the second cup.
“You can check out whether Max is right or not, can’t you?” asked Juffin, drumming his fingers on the tabletop nervously.
“Of course. But why check it out? You already know he’s right, Juffin. You’re just tired. And not only because of this. But it was your choice—wasting your life on trivial nonsense.”
“Somebody has to do it,” Juffin grumbled.
“And not just anyone, but you in particular. So it’s all well and good. You want me to look into the matter, do you?”
“Of course I do. If a fellow from another World is roaming around Echo, I have to know at the very least whether he ended up here just by chance, or—”
“Why don’t you call a spade a spade, Juffin? What you really want to know is how many other uninvited guests are likely to fall into your warm embrace.”
“Well, you’ve got my number. Of course that’s what I want to know. That’s my job.”
“Fine. If you want a refill, the jug’s on the table. I hope you won’t be bored. I’ll be back shortly.”
With this, Sir Maba, much to my astonishment, crawled under the table. I stared at Juffin, dumbfounded.
“Look under the table and you’ll understand.”
I looked. There was nothing there. What else did I expect?
“The door between Worlds can be anywhere, Max,” Juffin said softly. “Even under the table. What difference does it make? But whoever wants to find it has to hide from the eyes of others. Maba needs only seconds. I’d need a minute or two. How long did you have to wait for that curious contraption that delivered you to my bedroom?”
“About an hour.”
“Not bad for a beginner. It’s just a matter of practice, son. Pour me some more of that potion. I think I’ve found just what the wiseman ordered for a weary man.”
“I’d like to get the recipe for this out of him,” I murmured dreamily.
“The recipe? It doesn’t exist. I know how Maba makes his concoctions—he just throws in everything that comes to hand.”
“Sinning Magicians, Juffin! That’s beyond me.”
“Me, too, for the time being. And I’ve been around on this earth a bit longer than you have, if you care to remember. I haven’t wasted my time, either. The problem is that everything happens gradually, Max.”
“My problem is that everything happens too suddenly.”
“In that case, you’re lucky. Try to get used to it.”
Somewhere in the far corner of the sitting room a door slammed. Sir Maba Kalox came back to the table, as cheerful and animated as ever.
“Thank you, Juffin. It was a pleasure to examine the Door you opened, and to see the curious place that lies beyond it. I must say, it was grand!”
“I’m glad you liked it. But the more Max tells me about the place, the less I like it.”
“I’m not saying it appeals to me. It was simply very interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anything like it. Are you glad you stole away from there, Max?”
“I can’t imagine my life working out any other way. When I first arrived here I felt like I had landed in clover! I felt that someone was rubbing the part of my brain that makes me purr.”
Sir Maba Kalox nodded, settled himself more comfortably in his armchair, and thoughtfully drew out a plate with small rolls from under the table. He tasted them, nodded his approval, and placed his souvenir on the table.
“They’re edible, and very tasty. But, I won’t stall, I’ll tell you everything that happened while I was there. In the first place, Max, you were right. One of your countrymen really is at large in Echo. By the way, Juffin, it’s the first time I’ve come across someone of his age and sex who has such a highly developed faculty of intuition.”
“Same here,” my boss said.
I blushed with pleasure.
“I congratulate you both. Eat up, don’t be afraid. I don’t know where they came from, but nevertheless . . .”
“Poisoner,” Juffin mumbled, stuffing a roll into his mouth. “Chow down, Max. If we die, we’re going out together.”
The rolls were excellent. The flavor seemed familiar to me, though I couldn’t quite place it.
“I don’t know how you managed,” Sir Maba Kalox continued. “But you, my boys, came up with the craziest mode of transportation between Worlds I’ve ever seen.”
“What do you mean ‘we’? Juffin thought it up. I just obediently followed instructions,” I protested. I certainly didn’t want to be burdened by someone else’s laurels. I didn’t even know where to put my own.
“Judge for yourself, Max,” Juffin replied. “How could I have invented that ‘streetcar’ when to this day I don’t know what it is? Someday it will get through to you that we did it together. But for now, you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
“Just resign yourself to not knowing what you’re doing for the next few hundred years,” Maba Kalox added. “It’s only frightening at first. After that it gets interesting. Now then, let’s get back to my impressions. I found myself in the dark and lonely street where the Door between Worlds opened for you, Max. There was some lunatic wandering around who was obsessed with murder. Nothing so unusual in that, and anyway, I love madmen. However primitive they may be, they always have access to marvels. As for this fellow, it was obvious to me right away that he was tripping over the marvelous with both feet. Some kind of eccentric buggy, clearly man-made, drove up and stopped right in front of him. I’ve never seen anything more ungainly in my life. A means of transportation should be able to drive anywhere, and not be confined to a little path! All the more since no path is infinite.”
“That ‘little path’ is called ‘tracks,’” I interposed, just to set the record straight.
“Thank you, Max. That, of course, changes everything. When I realized how this strange buggy was made and what it was for, I split my sides laughing. But for the madman, the arrival of the streetcar was also a surprise. You see, he was aware that on that street there was no little path like the one I have already mentioned. Yes, yes, Max, I remember. ‘Tracks.’ Consequently, the poor fellow was sure that this contraption couldn’t be there at all. Sinning Magicians, how little it takes for some people to lose their minds!”
“Tell me, Maba,” Juffin said, frowning. “How great is the probability that other people will come across this streetcar?”
“The chances are almost nil. The appearance of this anomaly of nature is in some way connected with the phases of the moon there, as well as the positions of the other planets. The necessary conditions of alignment are fairly rare. Also, it’s a deserted street. And, more important, this passage between worlds was created especially for him”—a nod in my direction—“so normal people not only cannot use the thing, they don’t even see it. Only an experienced person or a lunatic, whose own personality has disintegrated due to the onset of madness, is able to pass through the Door to Beyond. You may rest assured, Juffin, such auspicious conditions occur very seldom, unless we’re talking about a few of their Magicians who manage to pass through. But that’s possible at any time, under any circumstances.”
“All the more since there are no Magicians there,” I added.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” said Sir Maba Kalox. “Are you personally acquainted with all the inhabitants of your world?”
“Of course not, but—”
“Just what I thought. Just because you haven’t met any of them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Be optimistic, we Magicians are everywhere.”
“So you’re saying there won’t be any invasion from those parts,” Juffin said, visibly relieved.
“Of course not. Oh, and one more interesting detail. This ‘streetcar’ had a coachman. I wish I had had more time to study this strange creature. I’ll pursue the matter at my leisure, to be sure.”
“A zealous-looking fat fellow with a thin mustache,” I said slowly, my lips growing numb with horror at the memory. “As monstrous a mug as earth can produce—was that him?”
“Yes indeed it was. Who else? The first being you ever created, Max. You might be a little bit more charitable. I’ve never seen the likes of him.”
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