OLD DEBTS

Baroda jumped in front of me. “Who’s there?”

“Show yourself,” Drog added, as he and Goro joined the larger half-blood.

“There’s no cause for concern,” the female voice said as a shadowy figure approached. Her speech was that of a lower class person, a tradesman or a crafter, but without any kind of accent. “I’m not a threat to anyone.”

“That remains to be seen,” my grandfather said. “Too much has happened tonight for me to trust a stranger’s word.”

“Then it’s fortunate I’m not a stranger.” The figure reached the edge of the blue witch-light, and I recognized her voice as coming from the person previously sitting in the theater box. She still wore her blue robe and as she raised her hands to pull the hood back, I realized she had a shiny black Artifact arm extending to the elbow. She exposed a thin Eldarion face as she smiled. “It’s been a long time, Shabaka.”

The Eldarion had once been beautiful in the ethereal manner of her people, with light brown skin and almond eyes. But there had been fire, and a bullet digging a long furrow across the edge of her skull, with other scars leaving their mark as well. Seeing her face, my grandfather began to shake. “Naamah?”

He stumbled backwards and I caught him before he fell, Ambassador Bannon rushing over to take his other side. We lowered him onto a stool as everyone stared, Baroda moving aside to let Naamah pass while Je’kyll took my grandfather’s wrist to measure his pulse. “Sir, are you feeling faint?”

“Shabaka will be fine,” Naamah said as she moved in front of him. The rest of us gave her room as she reached out with her good hand to caress his cheek. “We’ve changed, you and I.”

He grabbed her hand and kept it pressed to his wrinkled face. “I thought I would never see you again.”

Naamah sighed as her expression hardened. “I know. However, there’s a debt you owe which must be paid and I’ve come to see it collected, before the one you made it to decides to collect it instead.”

“Grandfather,” I said as he let go of her hand, “who is this person and what is she talking about?”

My grandfather closed his eyes as he took several deep breaths, and when he opened them again he seemed more himself. “Jonathan, do you remember me telling you about my days with the army of the East India Trading company?”

“Repeatedly,” Baroda said before I could answer.

Drog and Goro both elbowed him in the ribs as I smiled. “Yes sir; at least once, or maybe even twice.”

My grandfather gave me an amused snort before his face grew serious once again. “When I told the story of the suicidal charge I led against the Gupta rebels, there were several elements to it I fear I decided to leave out.” He motioned at the scarred Eldarion. “Naamah has come to remind me that there are some debts which must be paid, no matter what.”

Ambassador Bannon grabbed a stool and sat down beside him. “Shabaka, I have never heard this tale. Can you tell it in brief?”

“In brief then, and the truth this time… at least, as much of it as I dare mention.” My grandfather took another deep breath. “Naamah and I were part of a regiment serving under Colonel Horatio Henderson, who had been charged with subduing a local insurrection of Nepalese rebels. Our company, under Captain John Waters, was assigned to hold a fortified position while the rest of the regiment went after the rebels.” My grandfather sighed. “The Orku scouts warned him that the Gupta's had overwhelming numbers, but the stubborn fool refused to listen.”

“His outsize ego was the only thing he listened to,” Naamah said in a sharp voice. “That much hasn’t changed in the English army.”

“Peace, Old Spear-Tongue.” For some reason that made her smile as he went on. “The colonel marched his men into a slaughter, and when the Gupta’s were finished with them, they came for us.”

“Shabaka listened to our Orku scouts and told the captain we were going to be overwhelmed. The only sensible alternative was retreat.”

My grandfather shook his head. “Captain Waters would have faced a court martial for disobeying orders. Anyway, when it was clear that the company was going to remain where it was, Naamah came to the captain with a proposition: she would summon a creature that could give us victory over the Gupta’s, but we would have to accept whatever terms the creature asked.”

Naamah laughed, her voice bitter as old coffee. “I didn’t summon the one who came to our aid. It came to me in my darkest hour, when I faced the bleakness of my fate at the hands of vengeful humans, and offered me the deal I made to the captain. In return for its help, the captain would have to let Shabaka leave the unit and return with me to the Yucatan, where he would give me a daughter before marrying one of the noble Maya women and make a new life for himself among our people.”

It was Catherwood’s turn to gasp. “An Eldarion-Maya here?”

“Ran-Li is my mother. Before you were born, one of the Guardians came to me in a dream and told me to sail to England, leaving my family behind, and begin a new life there.”

“The Guardians are a myth,” Catherwood said carefully.

Naamah gave him a dark look. “What do you know of us, you and your dear friend, Mr. Stephens? The Guardians have protected the Eldarion-Maya for thousands of years and in return we do what they ask without question. After another dream, I joined the East India Company and kept my end of the bargain I made with the captain, the wounds Shabaka suffering during the insane charge transferred to me as they happened.”

“That is impossible,” Professor Alar snapped. “No Aethyr spell has ever been able to do such a thing. The amount of energy required would be beyond the capabilities of any Eldarion, even one of the legendary mages like Merlyn.”

“Did I say I used Aethyr? Had the Nubian spirit of Apedemak merged with Shabaka, as the creature said might happen, I would’ve been spared. It didn’t and I wasn’t, but when Shabaka, the soldiers of the company, and our Orku auxiliaries had overcome the Gupta, Captain Waters refused to let Shabaka go as he’d promised.”

“When he refused, I tried to desert,” my grandfather said in a quiet voice. “However, the captain had been expecting that and kept me locked up until we were on a train heading back to Bombay.” His voice grew bitter. “He left you to die with the badly wounded Orku.”

“He left behind the camp followers as well. They knew we had saved them and in time, nursed all of us back to health. By then you were gone beyond my ability to find you. I returned to the Yucatan looking like this,” her Artifact hand motioning towards her face, “earning the pity of the Eldarion-Maya as I lost their affection.

“I gave them the child I was required to give to our people, a full blood daughter named Kinubal, which means rainbow in our language, and returned to England to wait until I was told the time had come to collect the debt.” Naamah turned towards me. “Jonathan Goldspear, do you love your grandfather?”

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“Of course I do.” My eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Now that you are in danger, the only way your grandfather will pay the debt is if you travel with him to the Yucatan.”

“Travel… but my studies…” I shook my head. “I am supposed to begin university in the spring.”

“If you don’t travel with the expedition, you’ll be Bella’s prisoner within the week. I’ve no idea where she is but I do know she’s plotting as we speak, and that she has humans and other races working for her. By tomorrow she’ll be tracking your every move, which is why you need to leave for the Glasgow docks tonight.”

“How do you know this?” Ambassador Bannon said in a stern voice.

“If I tell you, I’ll be met with your disbelief and more questions. And if I answer them, the one we bargained with will know and grow curious. It sees into your heart, sees your deepest desires, and knows exactly what it takes to get you to agree to its terms.”

“Your fears as well,” my grandfather said. His voice turned grim. “Captain Waters remained behind in the stronghold and did not see the things we did. However, by the time we reached England, he wished with all his heart that he had. The man had a great fear of the dead rising from the grave and within a month of our return, he swore he was seeing them at night. None of the rest of us saw anything, nor did he see the living dead while one of us was with him. Yet, soon after we returned home, he became so obsessed with the idea that he had to be confined in the Bedlam Institute for the Uncontrollably Insane.”

“What happened to him?” I asked.

My grandfather hesitated. “One night he vanished from his cell. Escaped is what the authorities said, though the inmates in the cell with him swore he was taken by a group of dead men in army uniforms. They said the captain was screaming about the corpses of those who had died during the charge coming back for him. No one believed the inmates, of course.” He looked at Naamah. “Let me hazard a guess: if I do not agree, it will come after me next.”

Naamah’s face became sad. “I wish it was otherwise.”

I began calculating travel times in my head. “If we left for Mexico soon and everything goes smoothly, I could make it back in time to begin school.”

“You could,” Naamah said. “However, consider this. You were supposed to have been born a half-blood, Maya-English human; a Mestizo, we call them. You would’ve learned exactly what you are, and what you can do to control your fate. If you come to the Yucatan, no one will force you into staying, or becoming something you don’t want to be. Yet there are those who will strive to make you one of the people.

“Then again, there are others who will never forgive you for being born with the birthmark you carry and will actively dislike you for being what you are. You will get to know us and in doing so, understand yourself better and the life you’ve missed out on. You may decide you want to stay after all.”

“He can’t stay,” Myste said, jumping to her feet. “He promised to attend my coming-of-age party in three years.”

“She’s right, I did. I also plan to attend university, go into business like my father and grandfather have done, and have a family. Not a terribly exciting life, but that is the life I want to have.”

“Which is now in jeopardy because of what Bella did,” Naamah said. “Jonathan, I have five tickets for the last train leaving for Glasgow within the hour. If you, your three half-blood Orku, and Catherwood, travel to the docks tonight, Catherwood can sneak you aboard the ship and have the captain keep anyone else from leaving, in case Bella has a spy planted aboard.”

“Naamah,” Catherwood said, “John chose everyone on the expedition. I do not think-”

“Humor me. Half-blood Orku are the most suspicious people on the planet, so if there’s a spy and he tries something, they will prevent it. In the morning, Shabaka will announce that he’s going on the expedition to honor a vow he made to me and in return, I will take his grandson back to Londinium, keeping him safe on the train trip.”

I scratched my head. “So… exactly how am I going to be in two places at once?”

“Piece of cake,” a voice said out the shadowed darkness. I whirled as an exact copy of me, wearing my favorite suit that I knew was hanging in my wardrobe back at my parent’s home in Londinium, stepped into the light. “So,” the voice becoming sinister like the villain in a Penny Dreadful, “we meet again, Mr. King.”

“Mr. Lion?” The illusion of me laughed and I gave it a rueful grin. “I had no idea you could inhabit anything except the lion.”

“Nah, I can take any form an Eldarion pulls together. I’ve got dibs on you, see, so when Naamah began the spell, the other spirits made way so I could inhabit the form. But I need to warn you about what you’re doing,” it said as its hands, smooth as glass, grasped my shoulders. It put its head close to mine. “Where you’re going, Mr. King, I won’t follow. It’s dangerous for you, but even more so for me.”

“I thought Aethyr spirits could not be killed.”

“We can’t, not the way you bags of flesh can. But there’s spirits there that are different than us. It’s like swimming on the surface of a lake with sharks the size of an ancient Megalodon, or even larger, swimming below. If they decide they don’t like you, they’ll pull you down and you’ll never get back to the surface again. I’m right fond of you, Mr. King, but I won’t risk it.”

Unease swept over me as I shook my head. “I will not ask you to. Can you do a fair imitation of me, so they will not suspect?”

Mr. Lion gave me a derisive snort as it let me go. “Are you jesting? I’ve been around you so long, I could fool your own mother.”

“Then it’s settled,” Naamah said. “In the rear door to the laboratory you will find more simple clothing, a wide brimmed hat, and a cloak which will help disguise your features. Stay out of the light of the gas lamps until you reach the station. Meanwhile, your illusion will periodically look out the window, so whoever is watching won’t grow suspicious.”

She looked at Professor Alar. “I promised to tell you the answer to your riddle, and the easiest way to do so is by using a sample of blood from a full human, mixed with the sample of Jonathan’s blood and the cultist’s mixture. Once Alar sees the results through his eye-scope and describes how the cells have changed, I’ll tell you exactly what it means.”

“Sir,” I said to my grandfather, “you will tell me what she says, right?”

He patted my shoulder. “Of course. Now, get a move on and when we are finished here, I will make sure John is ready to leave as well. We will see you aboard ship.” I gave him a quick hug, which he returned, said my goodbyes to the others, and then began walking towards the rear of the laboratory. My illusion strode over to the window and looked out.

As Catherwood and my three friends moved to follow, Myste hurried after me as well. “Wait, I want to give you something.” I stopped and turned around as she pulled out a slender gold chain with a locket, and gave it to me. “It’s my coming-of-age portrait mum had commissioned. Open it up.”

When I opened the locket, a delicately painted picture of Myste, not the child she was now, but as the young woman she would become in several years, smiled back at me. “This is beautiful,” I said as I looked into her bright blue eyes. “But I fear I have nothing to give you in return.”

“Bring me back something from the Yucatan.” She lightly gnawed her lip a moment, as if afraid to say something. “At the beginning of my coming-of-age party, I get to choose who gets to spend the first night with me. Well, legally anyway.” I nodded and she blurted out, “I want it to be you.”

I stared at her in astonishment. Had she been fully human, such a liaison would have been out of the question, eighteen being the English legal age of consent. But Eldarions had their own rules concerning their half-blood children. “Myste, I… Of course, I would love nothing less than to be your beau that night.” A shadow of fear swept through me. “But we do not know what this mixture, whatever it is, has done to me.”

To my surprise, Myste nodded in a matter of fact way. “I thought about that. So, I’m going to have Uncle Alar test my blood with yours and the mixture, to see what happens. I know Eldarions can’t be changed into monsters like humans can, so maybe I’m protected.”

I smiled. “You truly are astonishing. Every half-blood Eldarion girl I have ever met has been, well, a bit on the flighty side.”

“I get that way sometimes.”

“So your mother tells me. But then all at once you are logical as a scientist.”

She gnawed her lip again. “Is that bad?”

“On the contrary. I find I rather like it.” Myste grinned, then quickly stood on her tip-toes to kiss me on the lips.

My friends grinned themselves at my look of surprise as she said, “Promise me you’ll be careful, but more important, promise me you’ll come back and not stay there.”

“I promise.” Raising the locket to my face, I touched it to my lips. “There, sealed with a kiss.”

Myste returned a solemn nod as Drog motioned with his hand. “C’mon, boss; we got a train to catch.” Turning around, we walked towards the opposite end of the darkened laboratory, where a light colored canvas bag could barely be seen on a workbench. I took the clothes out, my friends making another wall for me as I changed, and finding the rear door leading outside, we went through it and vanished into the night.

Aethyr spirits and Terramagica ones are as different as wine is from grape juice. Terramagica spirits never develop a personality, though they can be trained to mimic one, and their literal mindedness is the reason an automaton must be given detailed instructions covering different situations. Otherwise, the results are often disastrous.

Another difference is that while Terramagica spirits must be commanded by a person possessing a strong affinity for Terramagica, Aethyr spirits are invited to inhabit the illusions Eldarion mages construct using Aethyr energy. Most Aethyr spirits are quite friendly and develop relationships with the people they interact with.

Yet there are Aethyr spirits out there no sane person would ever want to interact with at all…