Calliope, page 6
part #2 of Divinity Series
The two men exchanged glances again. Lucius raised his eyebrows. Mason realized how foolish he’d been. These men were not here to harm him, but to test his will.
Khayman motioned a woman to the table and ordered a fresh round. This was better than home, he thought, better than the clubs he’d been to. He even liked the smell of the place.
“Mason is virtually ready to commit,” Khayman said.
Gallus smiled. “Mason doesn’t know what he’s up against,” he said.
“He has given up his world,” Khayman said, and turned to Mason. “What can you bring us?”
“That depends on what the problem is,” Mason said. “Look,” he wanted their attention. He had to say something. “I’m still kind of bewildered by all this if you want to know. Yesterday, I was out fishing and had—what can only be considered—a very unusual day. I’ve been hearing voices. I’m going through a divorce, and I’m drinking more now than I have in my whole life. I’m not the healthiest person in the world, and I think I’m starting to feel it. I think I’m subconsciously trying to kill myself.
“I’ve dreamed about this place, this planet, us sitting here. I’ve imagined it in stories I tell, but the only explanation I have is that I’m dreaming. Khayman tells me it isn’t so, and after everything that’s happened, I’m starting to believe him. I don’t know what I’m doing here. But there’s something about it . . . something recognizable. If I have to stay on my own planet, then so be it. I can cope with that. I was just wondering what I have to learn.”
Silence followed. Even the other patrons in the tavern lowered their voices.
“Very well,” Gallus said, looking Mason in the eye. His black orbs were diabolical, a glimmer of red from the candle on the table. He continued, “Malon has fashioned beasts and predators, the like of which no one’s ever seen. A bastard fiend, the Black God. He has thrown his shadow over Calliope. Marauders and demons come in the night. They destroy towns, villages, entire cities.” Gallus smiled when he said this and raised an eyebrow. “They’re all the same. This land—the entire region from Ammertain to Mandripore—may be stomped out by these fiends until there’s nothing left. Towns, villages wiped clean.” He nodded. “The carnage will spread wide.”
Mason couldn’t believe it! What he heard was no different than the tales he’d penned.
“You’re serious,” he said.
“Reconsidering?” Gallus said. “Perhaps you’re world doesn’t look so bad after all.”
Lucius chuckled. Khayman looked at Mason. “The burning will go on for years,” Khayman told him. “The bloodshed will last only weeks, maybe months. It’s not a booming continent like yours, Mason. And the marauders have insatiable appetites.”
“How do you plan to stop them?”
“That is nothing to be taken lightly,” Gallus said. “Some have to fight single-handedly. We need warriors. All the men we can put behind a sword. Men willing to fight for the land. Women and children are here, too. Men fend for their families. Darkness has shadowed us for years. Only now, the slaughters begin to grow. Luckily, at least for now, we still have resources.”
Mason took a long drink of the grog. He was in no condition to fight demons and marauders, no matter what Gallus said.
“Think of it this way,” the dark man told him. “In its own right, the choice to help might be romantic to you.”
Mason studied Gallus. “I’ve already made up my mind,” he said. “Planet Earth gets along fine without me. This is the world I’ve always believed in. It only makes sense. How’s that for a quick decision?”
Khayman smiled. So did Lucius and Gallus. They all looked at one another.
“We have abducted you then,” said Khayman. “Just remember, Mason. You will go back. For now, you have to.”
“But aren’t you running out of time?” Mason asked.
“We can fend them off for a while,” Khayman said. “You have a cycle to complete back in your world. It’s part of the process. And we aren’t the only ones fighting against them. But we are, all of us, looking for the same thing.”
Mason looked around him, puzzled. “Which is?”
“A miracle,” Gallus said.
“Funny,” Mason said. “Me, too. I’ve been looking for a miracle for a long time now.”
~
At that moment, the door to the tavern opened, and another large warrior stepped inside. All heads turned.
“A friend of yours, I believe,” Khayman said, leaning toward Mason.
Mason recognized his cousin. Their eyes locked, and Eric grinned. Fresh blood covered his battle gear.
“A drink, master?”
Mason couldn’t believe it! It was Horace. The small man was a servant to Eric, instead of vice-versa.
“A drink, my decrepit Horace!” Eric boomed. “Make it two!”
Laughter erupted around him. Horace disappeared and returned shortly with a large, foaming tankard.
Horace waited for a gratuity, his palm out, a grin on his face. Instead, Eric spat into the old man’s palm. Laughter issued throughout the tavern. Horace looked at his palm, incredulous, on the verge of tears.
“You’re too slow, old man,” Eric said. “Show me your bastard children and I’ll give them the silver.”
Horace walked away as the laughter grew. Mason couldn’t help but smile.
“How many did you get tonight?” a young boy asked the long, red-haired warrior.
“Maybe a hundred,” Eric said. “Maybe two-hundred.”
“Eric is an exaggerated comfort for some,” Khayman said in Mason’s ear. “He fills their heads with hero worship, tales of obvious exaggeration, but they love him. Some have composed songs about him.”
“They sing songs about you, as well,” Lucius said. “Only not as heroic.”
Khayman rolled his eyes while Lucius laughed. Gallus merely sat and smiled.
“Let’s bring Eric over,” Lucius said.
Eric looked at Mason again and smiled broadly, making his way through various grappling hands. Eric was a celebrity in Calliope, apparently.
“Mason, my boy,” Eric said.
He stood to welcome his cousin. Eric grabbed Mason’s hand and shook it, firm and bold, like a bear claw. The huge warrior seemed to make the floor tremble. He’d gained stature and height in this new world.
“How did you get here?” Mason asked.
“Ah, another story,” Eric said, still smiling. “We’ll save it for another time.”
“Another fictitious story, no doubt,” Lucius said.
Eric laughed. “It makes them feel safe,” he said, in his defense.
“It gives them imagination, is what it does,” Lucius said.
“Imagination might be all they have,” Eric said. He paused, the smile leaving his face, and grew serious. “News is?”
“Hordes coming by the thousands,” Khayman said. “We can’t fend them off forever.”
Eric grabbed a chair and sat at the table. A young woman with dark hair brought a large bowl of stew, half a loaf of bread, a block of cheese, and set them in front of Eric.
“Master,” she said, with a curtsy, and turned to go.
Eric smiled, ripped the bread in half, dunking it in the stew, and began to slurp it down noisily. Laughter and conversation throughout the tavern grew loud once more. Someone fell off a bar stool, and more laughter followed.
“Have you brought the lad up on all the news?” Eric asked.
“All except what you wanted to tell him yourself,” Lucius replied.
Gallus smiled at Mason, a bloody glint in his eye.
Mason took a long drink of the grog.
More drinks came. Khayman gave the same girl who’d brought Eric’s meal a handful of silver coins. She bowed and went away again.
“So, what do you want us to do?” Mason asked.
“Search,” Lucius said. “Wherever you are. The written word, the magic stone. Whatever it may be. Find it fast.”
Eric clapped him on the back.
Mason sighed and took another long drink. For whatever reason (a slight disappointment), the drink had no altering effects.
~
They continued to drink, forgetting—for a time—Malon and his demonic invasion. A tall, brunette woman stepped over and sat on Eric’s lap as he propounded more elaborate tales. Mason thought it funny how Eric ate and now sat with a woman on his lap, and still, he hadn’t bothered to wipe the blood off him. After a while, Gallus and Lucius stood to go, and Mason was overwhelmed to see the two warriors at their full height. Both men had to hunch over from scraping the ceiling.
“We’ll keep an eye out for the rest of the night,” Lucius said. “Be careful going home, lads. We’ll see you soon.”
Gallus nodded at Mason, and they exited the alehouse. No one touched or accosted them on the way out. The patrons seemed to step aside, giving the warriors a clear path.
“What is he?” Mason asked, once Gallus and Lucius exited.
“Gallus is very old,” Khayman said. “No one knows his age. Some think he is familiar with many worlds.”
Mason raised his eyebrows.
“I’m going to retire as well,” the black-haired man said.
Mason finished his tankard.
“There’s no going back now,” the thin, green-skinned man said. “You’ll have to remain a part of your world for a time, but you have made the commitment to Calliope. This will all seem like a dream when you wake up. One day, you’ll be here permanently. If you don’t kill yourself between now and then.” Khayman looked at Eric. “You boys have fun. I’m off to bed.”
Mason stood and grabbed Khayman’s green hand. “Thank you,” he said. “I hope I can help.”
“So do we,” Khayman said. “Goodnight, gentleman.” He walked over and threw a handful of coins on the bar. The bartender, a large rotund man, nodded at Khayman and pocketed the silver.
“I’m not prepared for this,” Mason said.
Eric wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, finishing his meal. The big man chuckled. “You still don’t see?” he said. “Welcome home, cousin. It will be good to see you here permanently one day. But it’s up to you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Mason said, looking into his empty mug. “What can I do to get another one of these?”
“Let’s get one for the road,” Eric suggested. “And I’ll tell you everything I can.”
They stood up, went to the bar, and grabbed two more tankards. Together, they walked outside and into the cold and misty fog.
~
Mason rubbed his arms, and Eric took off his cloak, handing it to Mason, who wrapped it around his shoulders.
“I could get used to this,” Mason said, referring to the cloak.
“I thought you’d enjoy it.”
They walked for a while, not saying anything. The fog moved in. Another large vulture-like creature sat on a branch to their right.
“You want to hear the whole story?” Eric said, raising his eyebrows.
Mason nodded.
“Very well then.” The man took a deep breath.
They continued to walk farther into the dense woods of tortured, gnarled trees. Cries from strange animals were audible in the distance.
“It started before this,” Eric said. “Before the trip we took to Black Canyon. I didn’t just have a hunch we were going to catch big fish that day. I had a different hunch. For some reason, I couldn’t get Black Canyon out of my mind, and I’d been thinking about it for a long time. It became an obsession. I knew I had to get to Black Canyon, and I knew I had to take you with me, whether it was for fishing, or just to get away. That’s why I called that day. It was just a feeling I had, Cuz. That’s all.”
Mason nodded.
“I don’t have kids, either,” Eric continued. “That’s fortunate. And I do love Laura, despite our not being married. It’s just . . . not as important as this. You know what I mean? We have similar situations, which is why it isn’t easy to say goodbye to it.”
“I can understand that,” Mason said, nodding.
“I can’t live a normal life, not the way Laura wants. I’ve been living a normal life for a long time now. How does a man, Mason . . . how can a man turn his back on this world after he has seen it? How can a man care about the world he has come from after all that? How can Earth be remotely important? This isn’t the opportunity to question what is right or wrong. This isn’t even a decision. The decision has been made already. We’ve come back here, Mason, because this is where we’re from. This is where we belong. Somehow, we just got lost along the way, found ourselves in the wrong time and place. That’s why everyone’s saying, ‘Welcome home,’ because no other place exists for us. Elk Ridge is part of the past. I can’t explain it. It’s just the way it is.”
Eric studied Mason a moment longer. “You can see now how mismatched you and Geneveeve are. You saw it before, but now . . . she couldn’t survive here, you see? She’d even burn it down if she could. It goes against everything she believes in, everything even Laura believes in. Geneveeve and Laura may very well be marauders themselves. They may—as horrible as it sounds—be Malon. Do you see what I’m saying?”
“Jesus,” Mason said, eyes wide. He took a drink from the tankard. “Too well.”
“We’re easily detached from the world. Calliope makes us feel free again. This is the one we belong to. This is how the world was really created, from here, all around us.” Eric motioned through the trees, the fog covering the surrounding area.
For Mason, it was frightful and electrifying at the same time. His life was going to change. His life as a writer had never seemed more unnecessary, more unimportant. The house, the computer, the backyard, and the stars—non-existent. This stirred his blood; it was something to live for. Wasn’t it worth it, to be sober for Calliope’s sake? The thought, as foolish, as extreme as it was, seemed just that. It was right. On Earth, he felt dead already.
“So,” Mason said. “How did you get here? What happened? Why do you look so different?”
Eric laughed. “I remembered this place since I’d been a boy. I saw it all the time, especially when I was alone, when no one else was around, when it was always unusually quiet. I would pretend. You know how you are as a kid . . . what I could imagine was so real. It never seemed like my imagination then. I saw myself as a warrior, not slaying dragons, but beasts.” He paused. “Demons,” he finished. Eric laughed at the memory.
“Sometimes,” he said. “It is real. Those things people tell you when you’re young . . . the delusions you’re spending too much time in, things you need to get out of your head. Remember how you’re parents told you they were dangerous? Living in a fantasy all the time? Daydreaming never accomplished anything? But that’s not the way it is. You were right. When you were a kid, because it seemed so unreal, it was more real than ever. Parents lose it. They’re the ones who are wrong. Those are the rules, Cuz. That’s why you’ve always been unaware. Why you write the stories you do about other worlds all the time. You’re staying in touch with it in some way because you know how important it is. You’ve always had it. Just like I have.”
Mason nodded while Eric continued:
“I think I made the pledge long ago. This is actually who I am. I’ve never been anyone else. That’s the delusion.”
Mason took another drink. They walked deeper into the dark under the trees, and he thought about what Eric had said. It was exactly how he felt. It explained everything. He’d always thought it, but no one had ever explained it to him before.
“How about you?” Eric asked.
Mason took a deep breath, another drink from the mug, emptying it, and set it on the ground. He stared ahead into the dark and fog, collecting his thoughts.
“I think it’s like detachment,” he said. “The desperation I’ve felt lately. I can hear it sometimes in my own voice. Something reached out like it wanted me to find it, some miracle. I brought it to life somehow by trying to will it into existence. Maybe I’m just not cut out for Earth. I don’t have the capacity. I thought I did. I even thought Geneveeve and I could have kids, but how stupid is that? I could make it work, but I also couldn’t . . . not without being miserable. You know why I drink so much, Eric? Because it’s fun. I have some of the best goddamn times when I’m drinking by myself. It’s really quite pathetic. But that’s how I get by. I love the way it tastes. That’s how I live.
“But now . . . now I don’t know what to think. I know I’ve made my mind up, though. I’ll go back to good ole planet Earth and do whatever I can to make sure I come back here in one piece.”
Mason paused. “You know,” he said. “The funny thing is I’ve never met people I would be willing to die for. Not like this. I’ve never met anyone who made me feel the way Khayman and the others make me feel, and I just met them. How is that? With Geneveeve, it was a roller coaster of emotion. Here, it’s simply the good and the bad, no choice in the matter.”
Eric nodded. “Come on,” he said. “I want to show you something.”
They moved deeper into the trees, the darkness of the woods for a while without saying a word. Eric finally stopped in front of him.
The fog had cleared. They’d been climbing for a while through the forest, and now Mason saw why. They were on top of a hill overlooking a wide expanse of land visible through the fog. Mason thought it funny how he’d labored heavily up the climb. The drink had somehow rejuvenated him, given him strength.
No stars were visible, but towns and villages lay burning in a vast wasteland of fire and smoke below them, the last embers still red in the dusky light. The smell of burning flesh and wood hung heavily in the air.
“Listen,” Eric said, quietly.
Mason cocked his ear. He held his breath, listening as Eric was doing. At first, he thought it was the sound of thunder. But it wasn’t. The rumble had a deeper intonation. Miles away, the laughter of Malon’s hordes resounded over the countryside.
Demons, Mason thought.
“My God,” he said, quietly. His blood turned to ice. “How can they sleep at night? How can they celebrate with so much madness going on?”
