The Stranger's Woes (21 page)

He fell silent again and began contemplating a spot at about the level of my chest. Sir Chvaxta Chiyam was clearly not burdened with the knowledge of rules of social behavior. Either that, or he simply wasn’t in the habit of following them. I truly envied his nonchalance.

Melamori turned down a narrow, overgrown pathway. Then we had to squeeze our way through some thorny underbrush. As a finale, we crashed unceremoniously into an empty amobiler, which had probably belonged to our victims. The flimsy, lightweight construction fell over on its side, but, praise be the Magicians, we were unhurt. There were a few scratches on the front of the amobiler and on one of my cheeks. I hadn’t lost the opportunity to raze my face on the edge of the open window.

“I’m sorry, Max,” Melamori said, confused and flustered. “I should have braked in time, but—”

“But it’s not always possible,” I said, and managed to smile. “Don’t worry. Such is life.”

The forester crawled out of the amobiler and began walking through the clearing.

“No lairs here,” he said, and sat down on the grass.

“If they’re not here, they’re sure to be somewhere else,” Melamori said.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, anxious to press on with the pursuit.

“Juffin suggested I try to stand on the second trace,” I said. “Maybe I’ll send the second guy to meet his maker, too.”

“Who’s Hizmaker?” Melamori said. “Is that a name?”

I smiled. “It’s one of the Dark Magicians. The most powerful one.”

“And you’re personally acquainted with him?” she asked, awed.

“Sort of. But never mind that. Better help me step on the right trace, so I don’t stumble upon Jiffa’s by accident.”

“Jiffa Savanxa?” the forester said, livening up suddenly. “Are you looking for him? I was sure he had died.”

“Of course he died. That’s the problem,” I said.

Sir Chvaxta nodded solemnly, as though everything had now become clear to him. I looked at Melamori.

“So, where is it?”

“Right under my feet. Are you sure you want to try this, Max? You didn’t like this trace at all.”

“Yes, but that’s beside the point when Juffin asked me to do it.”

“What would you do if he asked you to jump off the roof of Rulx Castle?” Melamori said.

“I’d probably try,” I said. “Though I am scared of heights.”

“Me too,” Melamori said. “What a pair of Secret Investigators, Terrors of the Universe, we are! We should be ashamed of ourselves.”

“Would you happen to know where that corpse over there came from?” the forester broke in matter-of-factly.

“What corpse? Where?” Melamori and I jumped up in a mad frenzy.

“That one there.” Chvaxta pointed casually to the overturned amobiler.

“Of course, Max,” Melamori said with relief. “It’s your client. Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” I said. I went closer and found myself staring at the regular facial features of a middle-aged man. “Do you recognize him?”

“No. Ask Sir Juffin. Send him a call. Although what does it matter?”

“What do you mean, ‘What does it matter’? Maybe Juffin knows what Order he’s from and will tell us what to expect from the other one.”

“No one knows what to expect of anyone in critical situations,” Melamori said. “Go ahead and send him a call, though.”

I sent a call to Sir Juffin Hully and described the corpse.

Ah
,
yes
.
Of course! He has light hair
,
doesn’t he? And a large mole on his left eyelid?

I checked and confirmed this.

You have rid the World of Atva Kuraisa
,
retired Junior Magician of the Order of Grilles and Mirrors
.
By the way
,
Melifaro still hasn’t dug up anything about the yellow house
.
So you beat him
.

I never thought it would possible to beat Melifaro at anything
.
Well
,
what do you advise?

Try to deal likewise with the second guy
.

Do you have any idea who he might be?

Not a clue
.
Who knows whom Atva might have taken on as his accomplice? Echo is a big city with lots of tourists
.
First find him
,
then we’ll know
.
By the way
,
did you run into Chvaxta?

Yes
.
He’s some character
.

Yes
,
that he is
.
Well
,
I won’t keep you
.
Over and out
.

It seems that little expression was my lasting contribution to the parlance of the Secret Investigative Force of the Capital of the Unified Kingdom.

“Come here, Max!” Melamori called. “Here’s the sinning trace. Enjoy!”

I went to stand on the spot she indicated.

“Well?” she said.

“Nothing so far. But I’m a slow learner.”

I tried to focus on my own sensations. This time, as before, everything happened very abruptly. I wasn’t feeling anything at all when all of a sudden my legs were carrying me deep into the forest, where the evening gloom was already gathering. My heart was heavy with uneasy forebodings, but I was determined to stifle them, for the time being, at least. I flew like the wind, and Melamori and the forester stayed right at my heels.

Soon, everything seemed to come to a standstill. I didn’t know how to proceed. I took an uncertain step forward and froze in place, unable to budge or even to breathe. Melamori was clever enough to realize what was happening to me, and again she kicked me behind the knees, as she had done that morning. My heels tore away from the ground, and I collapsed in the grass, heaving a sigh of relief. I was alive.

“I should have seen that coming,” Melamori said. “It was completely predictable.”

“Predictable? What was?”

“Jiffa just picked up and carried the one whose trace you were following. The fellow must have been in pretty bad shape. And that’s when you stumbled right onto Jiffa’s trace. But they forgot one thing: I
can
follow Jiffa’s trace. And if that wasn’t enough, I’m starting to get mad.”

“Really? Way to go,” I said and got up off the grass, rubbing the backs of my knees. It was already the second time that day they had suffered a blow like that.

“It gets dark early in the forest at this time of year,” the forester said with studied indifference, the way people remark about the weather in polite society. “Night will be falling soon. If that’s important to you, you should hurry.”

“It’s not important, but we still have to hurry,” Melamori said. “But where is that sinning trace?”

She stared sullenly at the path, stepped on it, then pressed forward at a quick pace. The forester and I followed right behind. I could hardly believe my eyes. Only this morning it had been painful to see how Melamori suffered from standing on the dead Jiffa’s trace. Now, not only did she stoically endure it, she seemed to glow with an inner radiance that stemmed from both anger and joy.

“Are you already able to cope with him so easily?” I said.

“I don’t know. But when I’m good and mad, it always seems to help. I think perhaps he’s just grown weaker, Max. Much weaker. Send Juffin a call, all right? He should know.”

“Is there anything he shouldn’t know?”

I sent a call to our boss and told him the news.

Good job!

Sir Juffin loves praising his flock.

I think I can guess why it has become so easy for Melamori to follow Jiffa’s trace
, Juffin continued.
Do you know when he was killed?

About thirty years ago?

No
,
I mean the time of day
.
He was killed about an hour after sundown—just the time it is now
.
Try to capture him as soon as possible
.
Toward morning his powers will increase again
.

Ah
,
I see
. Now it all made sense.
But is time always so significant for them?

Yes, it is
.
Every living corpse grows weaker at the hour of his death
,
then gradually gathers strength until the sun travels half the sky
.
I wouldn’t want you to have to catch him at dawn
,
as you tried to do this morning
.
So hurry it up
.

If only it really depended on me
.

Who else could it depend on? It depends on you alone
.

“We’re almost there.” Melamori clutched at my looxi. “Here’s the lair. But I can’t call him like I did this morning. I don’t know why, but it’s not working.”

We’re here
, I told Juffin.
I mean
,
we’re at the lair but not inside
.

Don’t worry
,
you won’t get lost with Chvaxta
.
Keep an eye on him
,
though
.
He’s a very reliable fellow
,
though not much of a warrior
.

As if I am
.
Okay
,
over and out
.

Over
.
Have a nice trip
.

I shook my head. A nice trip, is it now? Some of Juffin’s quotes should be recorded in a notebook for posterity.

“Well, what did he say?” Melamori said anxiously. She crouched down next to an enormous boulder overgrown with moss. Sir Chvaxta Chiyam peered into a crevice behind the rock with an expert eye.

“He says we’re lucky. Jiffa’s weak as a baby now, so this is the moment to go after him. He’ll perk up again toward morning.”

“Let’s hurry.” Melamori turned to the forester. “Do you know this entrance?”

“Of course. I know them all.”

“Come on,” I said. “Melamori, you go first, and I’ll follow. And you, Sir Chvaxta, follow right behind me so that I don’t get lost.”

“How could you possibly get lost?” Melamori said.

“Well, I’m not at all sure I can find my way in the dark. So I’m not the best companion at a moment like this.”

“Give me a break!”

And Melamori crawled down into the passage leading to the lair, with me close on her heels. The noisy breathing of our silent guide behind me assured me that he hadn’t given way to a sudden urge to go home and drink a mug of kamra.

Crawling on all fours through an underground passageway stimulates the imagination. I felt as if Melamori and I were entering the Underworld. In search of a dead person, no less. “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!” My sentiments exactly.

I couldn’t help turning around and stealing a glance at our guide. His round eyes glittered in the darkness like two red flashlights. His face looked far older and more formidable than it did by daylight. I even shuddered: this man didn’t resemble Virgil at all.

“You’re Charon, Sir Chvaxta. The spitting image!” I said.