A.L. Jambor (3 page)

Since I knew I wouldn’t go back, I took one last look in the computer hut. There were some pens and pads of paper there. I also found an Ethernet cord. I have no idea why I took it. Maybe because it was still sealed in a plastic bag.

December 17

It’s a week until Christmas Eve and I can’t wait. I’m going over to the tower today.

December 20

Geezer was happy to see me. I told him about Christmas and showed him the gifts. He got quiet. He really liked the Ethernet cord.

The food was wonderful. Despite not knowing what Christmas was, Geezer was able to conjure up a feast. We sat at the table for an hour eating our hearts out.

The tower has a winding staircase. At the top is Geezer’s loft. That’s where he keeps his books. It has a small window overlooking the front garden. Under the window is a tall desk and stool. The room is round. The walls are lined with shelves and the shelves are filled with books.

Underneath the loft is a little room. It has a fireplace and a small divan, which is like a sofa with no back. I sat on it and Geezer sat next to me. It’s pushed up against the wall so we could sit back. It was very peaceful.

“I’m thinking of going through the portal,” I said.

“I thought you would,” he said.

“What’s it like?”

“It’s painless. You go to a cave. The mouth of the cave opens by the river. If you look across it, you see an open field surrounded by woods.”

“Then it’s just like ours. And Esher is nearby?”

“There is a big house nearby. The town is several kilometers away.”

“What happened to Esher?”

“It was small,” he said. “The people abandoned it. The land failed to produce. A knight was given a title and the land following his service to the king.”

“And that’s it? The town just disappeared?”

I thought for a minute.

“Could I walk to the town, the one you mentioned?” I asked.

“You could ask the people in the house to take you there.”

What I wanted him to say was stay here…
don’t go
.

“I could,” I said.

He got up and walked to the window that looked out on the front yard. I wondered what he was thinking.

“Then you must prepare,” he said. “I’ll teach you what I know about Earth.”

We got up and climbed the stairs to the loft. He conjured a stool for me to sit on, and together we read about Earth and what life was like at the beginning of the twentieth century in England. He also told me he was over a thousand years old. Oddly, I wasn’t surprised. I’d seen his magic.

When I left the tower to walk home, I’d forgotten my cloak. It appeared from the sky and covered my shoulders. Even though it was dark, I wasn’t afraid. I knew Geezer had his eye on me.

December 21

When I woke up this morning, the cave was transformed. A small window was carved into the rock. It was filled with glass. I didn’t think people had glass in the tenth century. Geezer has glass, though.

The tapestry was still there, but the entrance of the cave was sealed against the cold. The seal, too, is made of glass.

The walls are glowing. The light they give off is soft, like natural daylight. There is a new mattress on my cot. I can feel shapes under the cloth. I have to ask Geezer what they are.

December 22

When I got off the cot I looked toward the back of the cave. The hole was gone and replaced by a doorway. I couldn’t resist walking through it to see where it led. It led to a tunnel. The walls of the tunnel glowed, too.

The floor was warm and smooth on my feet as I walked through the tunnel. It was long. A slight breeze passed through it like the blower of an air conditioner making my hair fly. My hair has grown long. I’ve been sitting on it. I have to ask Geezer if he has something I can cut it with.

There was a light at the end of the tunnel. I knew what it was - the pool in the cave behind Geezer’s house. He’d made a way for me to get to the pool without going through the woods.

He’s created a sort of bathroom for me. I told him how much I missed having a toilet. He was familiar with them. He’d seen them on his visits to Earth. The first time he saw the public toilet, he didn’t know what to make of it so he sat in one of the stalls and listened. Eventually he understood.

He is over a thousand years old and had lived in Rome, but these toilets were different. He studied the design and made notes in his book. He made the toilet from a solid piece of marble.

A dress and towel were on the big rock. I would have a Christmas bath!

When I finished washing, I dried off with the towel and put on the clean dress before heading to Geezer’s back door. As I put my hand up to knock, the door opened, and I saw Geezer standing by the stove preparing one of his ubiquitous teas. He smiled when he saw me.

“Breakfast is ready,” he said.

I’ve grown used to finding things prepared for me. I don’t know how he knows when I’ll arrive, but I don’t care anymore. It’s nice to have a warm meal made just for me.

“Thank you,” I said.

I sat at the table and watched him waving his hands in the air. Pots, cups, and plates floated to the table. I’d been witnessing magic for weeks now but it still charmed me. He sat and we began to eat, but I could see he had something on his mind.

“I love my cave,” I said.

“Does it suit you?” he asked.

“It is perfect.”

“I’m glad.”

Our conversations were like this. Geezer didn’t waste words. Even when he shared his experiences on Earth he gave me facts. There was something solid about him that made me feel safe.

“I’m going north,” he said.

“When?”

“In February. It’s a feast in honor of the new chieftain.”

“And you’re invited?”

“He’s an old friend.”

“Really?”

I wanted to know how he knew this man. I wanted details, how they met, when, but Geezer was silent.

“Geezer, how do you know him?” I asked.

“I found him when he was a boy. He stayed with me for a time. I thought he would be an apprentice but he wasn’t interested in magic.”

“Why not? What boy isn’t interested in magic?”

“He wanted to be king.”

“And he didn’t think magic would come in handy?”

Geezer smiled.

“He wanted to rule. He thought he could do a better job than the one we had.”

“How old was he?”

“When?”

“When he left you to be king?”

“He was fifteen.”

“And he thought he could be king?”

“He had men who followed him. They believed in him.”

“At fifteen!”

“Some are born with followers.”

I thought that was a strange thing to say. Did it mean the boy had charisma? Was he super intelligent and able to understand human beings to the point where he could control them?

“What’s his name?” I asked.

“Mace.”

“How old is he now?”

Geezer sipped his tea. Was he trying to remember how old Mace was, or avoiding the question?

“He’s in his twenties now.”

“Then he’s not old.”

“No, he’s not old.”

“So it wasn’t long ago that he left you. And he’s king now?”

“No, not yet. He deposed the king’s cousin in the north.”

“But won’t that piss off the king?”

“I’m not sure what that means.”

“Won’t that make him mad?” I asked.

“The king has been unable to stop Mace.”

“That’s not what I asked you.”

Geezer looked over at me. I felt my cheeks grow hot.

“The king is weak. His cousin held the land in the north. Without that land, the king will have to fight, but his armies are small. His soldiers have abandoned him.”

“I wonder if they were the soldiers who attacked my camp?”

“Perhaps.”

“I hate answers like that.”

“Margaret, I don’t know who attacked your camp. It could have been the king’s soldiers. It could have been a band of ruffians and thieves. Did you see the men?”

No, I didn’t. It was all over by the time I returned.

“No,” I said. “Why did his soldiers abandon him?”

“His megalomania drove them away. Men seek strong leaders.”

“What does that word mean - mega…”

“It means he thought he was God. He wouldn’t listen to his advisors, insisting on having his own way. He drained the treasury’s coffers. He…”

“He what?”

“He made his donkey a minister.”

I couldn’t help myself. I laughed out loud. Geezer didn’t.

“So now your friend, this Mace, is he going to London to take the throne?”

Again, Geezer was silent.

“Geezer.”

“Have you ever lived through a war?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“It’s hard. The people will suffer.”

“So why are you going to his celebration?”

“I want to ask him to reconsider. I’m trying to find a way to avoid a war.”

“But Mace doesn’t sound like he’ll give up easily.”

“I’m hoping the king will step down. But it seems unlikely.”

“And you’re hoping you can talk Mace into leaving London alone.”

“It’s the only choice I have,” he said.

“From what you’ve said, it doesn’t seem like he’ll listen.”

I felt bad for Geezer. He was a peaceful man.

“What’s the king’s name?” I asked.

Geezer stood.

“Come,” he said.

We went up the stairs to the tower loft. I sat on my stool. He went to the wall and pulled an enormous book from one of the shelves. He put it on the desk and when he opened it, it covered the entire surface of the desk. At the top of the first page was the word “Pryll.”

“Pryll,” I said. I looked into his eyes. “You know about Pryll?”

“Your men came here a long time ago,” he said. “Their transportation failed and they were stranded here.”

He pointed to the first line on the page. The name William Bartlett was at the top of a list of six names.

“William lived here for forty years. He died at an old age.”

“When did this happen?”

“A little over a hundred years ago.”

“So Pryll was sending out transports a hundred years ago?”

I felt anger rising in my throat. The grand and glorious rulers of Pryll had the ability to transport people away from Pryll a hundred years ago. I could have been left on Earth to be raised by my own mother instead of being kidnapped to a dying planet to fulfill some poor barren woman’s dream.

“William founded London.”

He put his finger on the second name.

“Lawrence Bartlett ruled after his father died. He fell from his horse in the battle of Rhys and broke his neck. Fortunately, he had produced an heir, Richard.”

“So who is King now? Which Bartlett?”

“Justin. Justin the Mad Man many call him. The monarchy has reigned for over a hundred years. Even while his men desert him, he maintains loyal followers.”

I was still fuming.

“I’d like to stick a knife in his heart myself.”

“Why? It’s not his fault your rulers didn’t tell you about Tresteria.”

“Oh, damn you for being so objective.”

I jumped off the stool and ran to the stairs. I was going to make a big show of stomping down to the first floor, but I hesitated.

“What else is in that book?” I asked without looking at him.

“The history of Sunge and Earth.”

I looked at him. “You mean it’s all there?”

“Most of it, yes.”

“And who wrote it?”

“I did.”

Geezer said he had met William and learned about Pryll. Over time, he met other men, from Sunge, who told him their stories. When he found the portal and traveled to Earth, he went to libraries and read all he could about that planet.

“They were all alike. Their histories, their geography were identical.”

“What do you mean their histories?” I asked.

“The wars they suffered were the same wars. The circumstances leading up to them were the same. The famines occurred at the same time in each of their histories. And the degeneration of each began late in the nineteenth century. Earth is just beginning to show signs of deterioration. The signs are subtle, but they’re there.”

“And it will happen here.”

He nodded.

“I’m trying to change our history. If I can stop Mace, perhaps I can end the monarchy, and from there who knows…”

“I’ve been reading your books on English history. These people love their kings.”

“That’s because they’ve never been without one.”

He slid off his stool and came to me. He put his hands on my shoulders.

“Do you think your husband was the only one who wanted to change the course of this planet? For over a hundred years, I’ve studied and searched for answers. Margaret, it can be different.”

His hands felt big on my shoulders. They felt heavy. Or maybe I was just tired. Suddenly I knew he would never win.

“You can’t change anything,” I said.

“Yes, I can.”

“No, Geezer, you can’t. Twice men have had the chance to change things. Twice they’ve failed. And Earth is number three.”

“That’s because they didn’t know about each other. Pryll and Sunge found each other when it was too late. But we still have a chance with Earth…”

“But men don’t change. They won’t change. Mace will be king.”

He let his hands slip off my shoulders.

“I have to try,” he said.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“I would like that,” he said.

“How will we get there?”

“We’ll ride horses.”

“Then you’ll have to teach me to ride.”

When I got home, I fell onto my new mattress. Geezer said it’s filled with down feathers from a goose.

February 2, 916

I wasn’t used to the cold. The wind burned my cheeks and even wearing the fur-lined cloak Geezer made me, I was still freezing. The ride north took two days. We traveled fast but still had to stop to rest the horses and let them warm. The small inns on the road were rustic beyond anything I’d ever seen, but the food was hot. We slept together in one room - Geezer on the floor.

The north wasn’t what I’d expected. I thought all towns were like our little town of Esher, which, with the exception of the fortress, was built with mud and wood. This town, the town Mace had conquered, was stone and brick.