Reunification (3 page)

The merchant looked over his shoulder,
like he wanted to leave right away. “Well, I really don't have the
time—”

“
Please,” I said,
putting my hands together like a priest of the Old Gods. “I want to
know if you know why my sister would meet with the
Mayor.”

“
No idea,” said the
merchant as he placed his now-empty cup down on the table 'tween
us. “I've never actually spoken with the Mayor, but if you want to
meet him for yourself … well, actually, I doubt you will be able
to, seeing as the Mayor only ever meets with people of higher
social standing than a Knight of Se-Dela.”

“
The Knights of Se-Dela
are …” I shook my head. “Mind not my protests. I will figure out my
next move on my own. Thank ye for your aid.”

The merchant nodded as he picked up his
bag and slung it over his shoulder in one smooth motion. “No
problem. If you need anything else, just come on down to Mackar's
Miscellaneous Stand of Treasures and Antiques. It's located just
south of the Xeeon Parliamentary Building, near the Central Office
Park. Can't miss it.”

I looked at him with disbelief. “Do ye try
to fool me into buying your wares with your petty advertising?”

“
I didn't say you had to
buy
anything there,” said the merchant in a false innocent
voice. “I just wanted to let you know where my business is located,
so that if you need me, you can find me. Do you Delanians just not
advertise or market
your
businesses or
something?”

“
Never quite so
awkwardly or abruptly,” I responded. “How brutish.”

“
You say 'brutish,' I
say 'taking advantage of every opportunity that comes my way,'”
said the merchant. Then he frowned. “Wait. Those two aren't exactly
the same. Oh well. You get the idea.”

“
As certainly as the sun
rises and sets every day, I do,” said I. “Perhaps we will meet
again someday, if I ever require need of your services once
more.”

“
Looking forward to it,”
said the merchant. Then he produced a card from his pocket and
slapped it down on the table. “There. That's my business card, just
in case you need to contact me again.”

Then he turned around and left. I watched
him go until he disappeared into the crowd of bustling Xeeonians.
Then I picked up the card and looked it over briefly. It was a tiny
little thing, very poorly made, and it was written in Modern
Xeeonish, which looked like little more than gibberish to I. That
meant I could not use it to contact the merchant again even if I
wanted to, unless I first found someone who could read and
translate it for me.

Nonetheless, I pocketed the card anyway,
even though no thought of ever meeting him again currently dwelt in
my mind. Whilst he had given me much good and useful information
about my sister, I did not like having to pay him fifty delanes. At
the very least, I doubted I would return to him for quite some
time.

Yet what did it matter, whether I did or
didn't meet him again? I had more important things to think about,
such as why Kiriah was meeting with the Mayor here at this Cafe
every few months, and what mine sister was doing here in Xeeon at
all.

Because prior to her disappearance, Kiriah
had never shown any interest in visiting Xeeo at all. Always she
had told me that she wanted to stay in Dela for her whole life in
order to serve the Old Gods, a dangerous, yet brave, undertaking,
considering how little tolerance the current government showed
towards worshipers of the Old Gods.

Now, however, I knew not whether my sister
even worshiped the Old Gods anymore. I leaned back in my chair,
scratching my chin, as mine eyes surveyed the busy streets of
Xeeon, though in truth, I wasn't looking at the passersby at all. I
was looking at mine memories, thinking about the mysteriousness of
this situation and trying to decide my next move.

'Twas an easy decision to make: To solve
this mystery, I would need to speak with the Mayor. Though if the
merchant's words were correct, the Mayor would ignore any requests
on my part to meet him, which may be for the best, because a
feeling of illness came over me whenever I thought about this Mayor
Xacron-Ah. There was something about the man that I did not like,
though I did not know what.

Mine next move, then, was to speak with
the owner of the Crossways Cafe. Though I loathed to talk to the
proprietor of such a disreputable establishment, I knew it was the
only way I could get the information I needed on the Cafe's
patrons. After all, I reasoned, the Cafe's owner likely knew the
face and name of every man, woman, and child that visited his
establishment and would hopefully be willing to share that
information with one of his customers.

Standing up, I left my half-empty cup
where it was and made my way into the Cafe itself. The door opened
before I could even lay one hand on it, surprising me and causing
me to step back, suspecting some kind of evil afoot, before I
remembered that Xeeonite doors opened on their own due to some kind
of technology, not due to the wicked or nefarious enchantments of a
decadent wizard.

Nonetheless, I walked through quickly, not
wishing to get caught between the doors, which closed behind me as
soon as the heel of my left foot passed beyond the threshold. I
spared not a glance over my shoulder at the closing doors as I
looked around at the interior of the dingy cafe.

Oh! How terrible this place was. The
ceiling was low enough that 'twas like walking into the home of a
dwarf, rather than a restaurant for humans. The old floor creaked
under mine feet and was stained with a kind of liquid I could not
identify, but which I strongly suspected to be dried blood. Of
course, it could have been nothing more than spilled beer, but
either way, it was nothing less than a total and complete example
of the unprofessionalism of the cafe's owner.

The dinginess of the place was in sharp
contrast to the rest of Xeeon, which, whilst not as beautiful or
majestic as Se-Dela, was nonetheless a clean city. The tables were
scattered about randomly, like die blocks, while the chairs were
made of some kind of old plastic, for they were as cracked as the
earth during a drought. One of them was even missing a leg, which
had been replaced with a tall bucket placed upside down 'neath
it.

The stink of the place assaulted my nose.
Did remind me of their 'genuine' South Delanian tea, which made me
wonder if that was their most popular drink. If so, then that told
me all I needed to know about the tastes of the general Xeeonian
public.

Leaning against the counter was the
waitress from before. Her face might have been beautiful if she had
not been frowning in boredom and picking at some kind of ugly scab
on her skin, while she clicked through a holographic projection
rising from her hand like the water from a geyser.

Above her, to the left of her head, was
one of those bothersome and ungainly squares otherwise known as
telescreens. This screen showed a news robot that looked like a
mockery of a human being, with its finely-pressed suit and red tie,
talking about a parade that was happening in downtown Xeeon at the
moment. I paid little attention to it because I cared not for the
recent news in this accursed city.

Aside from the waitress, there was no one
else in this cafe. 'Twas not even a cashier to take orders, though
I supposed that the large, boxlike machine behind her, with a
device that resembled a touch screen, might have taken peoples'
orders instead.

“
Waitress,” I said. “I
demand to see the owner of this establishment right
away.”

The waitress's eyes flicked up from the
holograph and I caught a hint of annoyance in them, like she was
bothered that a paying customer was asking her anything.

“
Da boss?” she said.
“Mr. Ryun?”

“
If that is the name of
the owner, then yes, I would like to speak with Mr. Ryun,” I said.
“It is of utmost importance that I speak with him right
away.”

The waitress returned her attention to the
holograph. I could not tell what the holograph showed her, but
whatever it was, it could not have been so important that she had
to treat me so rudely and disrespectfully.

“
Sorry, Mr. Ryun doesn't
talk to random people like ya,” said the waitress, though she
hardly sounded apologetic to I. “He gave me strict orders never to
give out his personal number to anyone. Not even to
customers.”

“
But …” I struggled to
think of something to say. “But I have a … a customer service
issue, I believe is the term ye Xeeonites use. It is an issue that
can only be resolved by speaking with the owner.”

“
Didn't you just hear
what I just said?” said the waitress, looking up at me, her blue
eyes shining with annoyance. “Are ya deaf or something?”

“
I can hear as clearly
as the day I was born,” I replied, gesturing at my ears. “It is ye,
I dare say, who does not understand the urgency of my
request.”

“
All I understand is
that I'm not being paid to get Mr. Ryun angry by going against his
orders,” the waitress replied. “Now, why don't ya get out of here?
I know ya hate our drinks anyway. Wouldn't be a loss if ya never
returned.”

“
What disrespect,” I
snapped, pointing at her. “Why, I will make sure to tell all of my
friends and family to never bless this establishment with their
delanes, unless they wish to be treated with disrespect by a
waitress who is less of a waitress and more of a—”

I was interrupted by something I saw on
the telescreen out of the corner of mine eye, like the shadow of a
stalking predator. I looked up at the telescreen, wondering if I
had seen what I thought I had seen, while the waitress lowered her
holograph and said, “What were ya going to call me, mister?”

I paid no attention to her at all,
however, because I was too busy staring up at the screen above to
care about her anger. I could hardly believe what I was seeing, but
mine eyes never deceived me.

The telescreen still displayed that parade
in downtown Xeeon I had noticed when I entered this restaurant
earlier, though I could not be sure how far away it was from here
because all of the text on the screen was gibberish to me, being as
it was written in Xeeonish. For that same reason, I could not read
the signs that might have told me what this parade was about, but
that mattered not. For among the hundreds of faces of individuals
from every species on Xeeo crowding in the street, I saw one that I
recognized with no trouble at all:

It was my sister, Kiriah, wearing a long
brown cloak that did not look Xeeonite in origin, and she was
standing there with everyone else, watching the floats and bands
that paraded down the street in celebration of something I did not
know.

***

Chapter
Two

I
looked at the waitress, urgency
rising within me like lava within a volcano. I pointed at the
telescreen. “Miss waitress, where is that parade taking place?”

The waitress glanced at the telescreen
above and then looked back at me. “Ya mean the Annual Unification
Day Parade? It's in downtown Xeeon.”

“
What's the quickest way
to that parade from this restaurant?” I asked, already prepared to
run.

“
Just go down the main
street, take a right when you get to the Police Center, and keep
going down that alleyway,” said the waitress. “Should take ya there
no problem, though I doubt ya'll get a good spot. Why?”

“
Many thanks, miss
waitress,” I said as I turned and headed for the doors. “Perhaps I
will return someday to give ye a tip for helping me so, assuming I
do indeed find the person there I am searching for. Farewell, and
may the Old Gods be with ye!”

The doors opened just as I approached
them, but that no longer startled me so. Indeed, I was pleased as a
pygmy when I crossed the threshold and headed down the main street,
just as the waitress had suggested, praying to the Old Gods that I
would get to the parade in time to see my sister again for the
first time in six years.

-

Run! I told myself as I fought through the
crowds of Xeeonians traveling along the crowded streets. Run! Do
not let your sister get away! Do not hesitate, nor tremble, nor
allow doubt or fear to fill your muscles with lead or freeze your
bones to the marrow.

How thankful was I for the waitress's
simple directions! Down the main street I ran, heading for the
Police Center, which was distinctive among Xeeon's many buildings,
for it was shaped something like a castle, with turrets and towers
rising up out of the corners. 'Twas even easier to spot, for those
bothersome robots flew from and onto its turrets, perhaps reporting
in or coming to charge their energy from a long day's work.

Though it mattered not to me what they
were or were not doing. Once I spotted the building, I turned right
down an alley, dashing past a couple of youngsters who looked at me
as I ran, like they had never seen a real live Delanian before. My
dress was unusual, but I was in such a hurry that I did not dwell
on their possible opinion of me.

The alleyway I ran down was narrow and
dingy, a stark contrast to the clean street I just left. Ahead, I
could hear the sounds of strange music bellowing, that horrid
electronic mess that sounded to me less like music and more like
broken wires hissing through the air. Under normal circumstances, I
would have been running the other way in order to escape this
terrible music, but knowing that my dearest sister was there,
watching the parade, I kept going.