Chapter 13: Meeting the Elders

"But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and then denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." - WWII Nazi Leader Hermann Goering


Zere’maya was brought (not too gently) to the main security offices.

She sat down with her two escorts standing behind her.

The woman was smiling -- well too polite.

"Perhaps you'd care to open the conversation?" she asked.

"You caught me phrogging. I’m a phrog -- from another world, possibly another plane as well. I leap from world to world never staying long anywhere inside the body of another off-worlder creature – a Rhree. I was dropped off here to live among you without you knowing I was here to do a task for magic but there's been no activity, no contact, I can't call out and get back home. I wonder if I missed it all.

“Can you all think of a magic-centered disaster, probably some distance South of here happening about two months ago? I'm drawing a blank." said Zere’maya. The woman continued to smile, looking chillier.

"No, there's been no magic disasters that I know of, and your story of being off world is horse feathers. I don't know why you'd make up such a story. I can tell you have some power, but there's a rational explanation for it." said the woman.

Zere’maya reached in her pocket. “Have you ever seen one of these before?" she asked.

"Who hasn't? It's a slide rule." replied one of the guards.

"Look closer. It's completely nonmagical. Flex it. If you break it, it will mend, I think. That's one of the odd effects of this world on my own magic -- items touching me gradually revert to their just-made status."

The woman looked at the writing. "I can't read this, but there are many languages in the world I have never seen." she said.

"Keep on looking." said Zere’maya. "If you wouldn't mind, get a candle." The woman had one of her guards comply. Zere’maya reached into her pocket and got out a pair of chopsticks.

"Watch this." Zere’maya said. She ran the chopstick through the flame, watched it bend, then pulled it, leaving a string between the two ends. The guards had her turn around, took the other chopstick and melted that.

"That's thermoplastic. It's not common here, I imagine. If you singe the slide rule it will bubble and stink to high heaven, it's another kind of plastic." Zere’maya carefully gathered up the remains of the chopsticks, knowing that they would slowly return to new in her pocket.

The woman looked over the slide rule again and sighed. "Look, I know you have a lot of enthusiasm and have put a lot of time into your -- skills. I really, really think you need to stop practicing,” the woman held out her hands in a universally known gesture "and pick up some training classes at the Temple. And don't talk about the "other world, other dimension", O.K.? You'd probably advance fast, maybe we could even skip you ahead a few levels after you've learned the basic, ground rules we all follow, it's for everyone's safety and well being, you know."

Zere’maya did her best to look polite back. This was divine retribution if there ever was some. She had given this same speech to plenty of people before. She listened with respect well past the part about possible price breaks and possibly even credit for activities learned outside of the Temple. She waited until a natural break in the conversation where Zere’maya knew she was supposed to look chastised -- and she had gotten herself pulled into the magic fixing business by screaming back at her attempting helper.

The moment came. The woman and her guards looked expectantly at her.

"I see. Well, if you ever decide to help me, could I at least leave a magical tracer here? I'd like some sort of magic users to at least know where I am. My cell phone batteries went dead a long time ago." Zere’maya laughed at her own joke. Everyone else just stared.

"Actually, I was going to insist on you leaving a tracer with us. We like to know where untrained magic users are, just as your "task givers" do. She spoke the words with dripping condescension. Zere’maya nodded. "I should warn you that even if you don't leave an imprint here we can still jam your abilities completely, and without your imprint the effect is --- cruder. It would be mostly easier ~~~for you~~~ if you sign." These last words were purring with power.

‘You never read up on how to win friends and influence people, I offered freely to do so and you followed up by threatening me,’ thought Zere’maya. She smiled -- showing a few too many of her teeth in her nervousness -- and dug her thumbprint deep into the wax tablet offered. Her thumbprint glowed brilliant green, then faded. Zere’maya knew that they had been able to read more than her simple identity.

Another woman walked in, looking coldly furious.

“We do have news to give you, as it were.” She replied. Zere’maya raised an eyebrow.

“I still don’t believe in such a thing as off-world, but for the sake of community peace we have to give you news that your sister has died.” She said. “We will give you the location of her remains so that your family can give her a proper burial.”

“What makes you think I have a sister?” asked Zere’maya, truly blindsided.

“You have a twin, obviously. A healthier, better favored twin, but still she is your near double. We caught who we thought was a rag head tapping into the magics of this world and of course we had to make an example of her.” She said.

“A ~~~~~~~ rag head?” asked Zere’maya.

“Someone no one decent would know of. You dress rather like one, though on closer inspection it’s obvious that you are from some other group. People of no account. Criminal element.” She said

“They buy and sell children, they steal.” said one of the women. “They marry off their children, live easy while their little ones earn their living.”

“Illiterate, stupid, dirty people, they don’t read or write, despise education. So we have to make it very clear that they must not come near us, and never contaminate the Source of Magic.” Said another.

Zere’maya could feel the color draining from her face. “So. How was my sister judged?” she asked quietly.

“She fought us, so we fought back, of course, since she raised a hand to us.” The warrior gave a dismissive wave. “And of course the mistaken identity.”

“So – you killed her.” said Zere’maya. “You’re sure she was dead?”

“Absolutely certain. The magical attack would have done the job, of course. But since we had to communicate with people who run from learning, who have to be shown what is wrong very plainly.” The woman took a deep breath. “We dropped the body near their camp. We pulled out her tongue to show them that they must not use incantations. We cut off her hands so that they would know that they must not cast any spells. We broke her legs at the ankles so that they would know not to step anywhere near where we might want to walk. No one could have survived the magics we used, and of course if anyone did, no one could live through what we did to her body. I’m sorry about the misuse of the corpse, we thought she was from a group of known deviants who would understand nothing less.”

She was walked rather quickly out of the building, where her horse was groomed and waiting for her.

Most places, Gypsy magic was completely imperceptible to any other magical system, reading as nothing at all, thought Zere’maya. That was one of the reasons why as a young woman on Earth her rough mix of random elements read from books, her powerful emotions, and her own natural mix of power sources had been such a disaster -- Gypsy magic can 'see' other forms but not in reverse. Zere’maya walked out of the Temple compound chanting to herself silently "Serves me right, serves me right, serves me right."

The girl at the temple gates walked up to Zere’maya as if they were old friends. "My brother, Tomas you know, he needs a job, and the word is that you want to buy men's clothing. He's good. He's really good. He'll help you if you give us a fair pay for the afternoon. I'm tired of selling fruit. Let's go Shopping!" The last word was said with an exited, high-pitched yelp, as if leaving that particular stretch of stone sidewalk was the best idea she could have possibly had. Zere’maya grinned and looked at the two.

"I know then that you know that I'm too green to have the slightest idea how to get good prices, too. And, you know I'm a magic user. What I need to know from you is if you really, really like that dress you're wearing."

The brother burst out laughing. My little girl looked ashamed. “You’re a good cold reader. I bet you knew that. You know I hate to change my clothes. I like my things. I was actually hoping maybe we'd go to lunch and Tomas would handle the money situation."

The three of them talked for a bit on how they could walk together in a way where Zere’maya could be in constant contact with the little girl's dress without standing out. After some discussing Tomas swung his little sister Maia up onto Zere’mayas horse and Zere’maya walked along with one hand on the horses' whithers -- with a fold of Maia's dress in between.

By the time they reached the first men's clothing store Maia's dress fit her perfectly, and was as thick and substantial as it had been when first made. Maia declared the afternoon paid for the both of them, very pleased. Tomas frowned.

"Don't worry, Tomas, we'll find a fair method to pay you, not necessarily money. I imagine that this dress made new would be a good half of the deal, Maia's payment, and yes, I know about hungry young bellies, too." Zere’maya smiled. The company of children, particularly well-behaved children, was one of the rare pleasures of this world -- she would extend and savor that, Gypsy child or Aleliean.

"O.K.,” said Zere’maya, "I'm looking to dress a man some years older than you, just about the right age to be married, and in a way that looks dressy but not silly. He's shorter than you, but not by much. He's got tight, fat ringlet curls and glorious brown eyes, and always looks like he's apologizing for something. "

She held out the amulet. "I have to use less money than what is stored on this device, I don't want to drain myself out for the sake of a fancy outfit." Zere’maya described what she had cashed in. The brother and sister looked at each other and shrugged. Fancy cooking items weren't their item of specialty.

"Well, if you were given enough to buy the clothes, you will probably come out all right. If we are careful, we can get lunch, too." said Tomas. Zere’maya laughed. "We will get lunch, too, and apparently right away, just to be sure!"

The children looked up at her excitedly. Zere’maya looked at the boy's clothing, and with a little bit of encouragement got him to ride the horse while they walked off for food, so that Zere’maya could do the same for him. Tomas was very clear that he didn't ask for this, and this wasn't pay, but since Zere’maya was all in new and now so was Maia, she wanted the same for the older brother, too. Zere’maya didn't say so, but as a rule teenage boys could stand just a bit more familiarity with soap and water and Tomas was no exception.

By the time they got to the market Tomas' clothes were fresh, and his attitude was resigned rather than thankful. Some facts of life do not change from world to world, plane to plane, thought Zere’maya cheerfully. We eat, we make love, we make waste, and before they discover girls young boys are bear cubs.

Zere’maya was still fairly well fed from yesterday's ox roast, but had a lot of fun helping to pick out the food for the children. Fair food, mostly. They were eager to explain to her that Temple food was very, and for that matter, excessively healthy. However their fathers (and that included anyone who came to the Temple, including women) could feed them whatever they wanted to eat. Tomas had looked after Maia for as long as he could remember. There weren't too many children of the women of the Temple, but those that were there got to do pretty much what they wanted to once they were old enough.

Father for a day, thought Zere’maya, bemused. Maia was happy to share with Zere’maya that she didn't want to work in the Temple when she grew up, she wanted to own a tavern and have people in it play music and serve food that wasn't sacred, involving a good deal of the favorites of youth, sugar, fat and salt. Maia would really love McDonalds, thought Zere’maya.

Soon enough even those empty pits were filled and they went off shopping. Zere’maya prolonged the trip as long as possible but soon had enough clothing for Karl, an elaborate gilded butterfly that really moved for Maia's mother, and assorted boy playthings for Tomas -- he didn't want anything really useful in Zere’maya's estimation, though she made some suggestions as Tomas rolled his eyes and Maia giggled.

She walked them back to the Temple. There was a beautifully dressed woman outside trying to look nonchalant. Maia ran up and gave her the butterfly. Zere’maya was glad to see that she was the friendly cashier.

"They are well fed and took very good care of me. They were wonderful hosts,” said Zere’maya. The woman thanked her and took her children back inside the Temple.

Regretfully, Zere’maya turned her horse towards the camp.

Karl had not had such a happy day. He had been wearing the farmer's sons worst clothes and been cleaning chimneys -- nor could Zere’maya bring Karl back a bath in a box. He scowled, and looked sad.

"I had a hangover most of the day and you were far away from me." he complained.

"I brought home clothes for you, and had a wonderful time, thank you very much," said Zere’maya in return. "There still is some credit left on your token, Apriliya."

Apriliya waved it off. "You must be a good bargainer, and that's surely nothing of mine. It will continue to work for a range yet, and when you go out of range the credit will end up back on my account. I hope you use it all. You're of good use on a farm."

Karl continued to sulk.

"Anyway, I'd like to return your clothes. They have had the usual effect by me, so they won't be dirty when you wear them. I'll change back and come back." said Zere’maya.

“Did you find your answers? You were badly battered and bruised when you were found," said Mother Faa. "And completely alone. Is the way we found you normally how you begin a mission?"

Zere’maya shook her head. "No, mother, there isn't any 'normal'. I'm joining a story in progress and the transition can be very rough. It's part of the process to enter the story at the point or near the point of crisis, so I've been injured any number of times. It's like they say -- to live a life without danger is as empty as living a life without love. However the people at the temple are given to some of the most disgusting exaggerations of their violence to scare visitors."

“They threatened you? That’s unusual. Though, not for us. The locals rather would prefer we lived like them and don’t understand why anyone would choose to live differently.” said Mother Faa.

“Actually, that’s pretty normal for human beings, to assume their way is the best way, and any other way is sign that the other people need to learn to think right.“ said Zere’maya.

*********

Zere’maya opened up the door to her vardo. Karl was in there, asleep, but snapped to waking, then reached for a cloth and offered it to Zere’maya. She unwrapped it, gently.

Inside was a huge section of honeycomb.

" Apriliya let me take it, to help you feel better. I'm so sorry I growled at you earlier, and I want you to know that I love the clothes, and I --- " he hurrumphed deep in his throat.

"I've been thinking about you. And I have so little. I can't properly buy you, even if I knew who to buy you from. I don't really own any of this," he swung his hands around, "It's all Mother Faa's really. But I do have myself, I'm a free man.

“And that's the last thing in the world I want to be. Zere’maya, please take me as your man, I want to marry you. I love you and I don't know what we were doing, or should have been doing, but I want to make it right ---" said Karl. Zere’maya put a small, square hand over his mouth.

"The one important thing in the world is to be needed by another. Karl, you need me." said Zere’maya.

"More than anything." said Karl.

"Then that is what is meant to be. I agree to marry you, Karl, in the gypsy way, where you must swear before God, and before all the people that you will leave me the instant you ever cease to love me." said Zere’maya. Karl threw his arms around her and laughed.

“The temple wasn’t so bad, except that they are horrible bullies. There they were, not knowing that I was standing in front of them, bragging to me of my own murder! No one could have survived what they said they did to me. They must rule by fear as well as by bureaucracy.”

“What did they say that they did to you?” asked Karl, suddenly serious.

“Oh, basically made a “no, don’t do this” poster out of my dead body.” Said Zere’maya.

“That is usual for what they do when they find gypsies, and find a crime and put the two together.” Said Karl. “We find them by our camps, mutilated.”

“They do mutilate people.” Said Zere’maya. “How?”

“Liars they pull out the tongue, prowlers they break their ankles, thieves they cut off their hands, people who listen in to private conversations get a stick shoved in their ears, people who spy are found with their eyes gouged out. There are other punishments, gruesome and crude.”

“Gross, sentient beings do the sickest things with their intelligence.” Said Zere’maya. “I wonder why they spared me.”

“You have healing magic, maybe they did not spare you.” Said Karl.

“Ordinary woman here, capable of death. One hand cut off without medical aid would be a lethal injury left alone. Two hands, two broken ankles and my tongue? Not possible, I could not have lived through that. That’s not even counting in the effects of any bad Juju beforehand, and I’m mostly magic. It would be easier to kill me that way than to kill me by damaging my body.”

Karl ran his hands though her hair. “Zere’maya – in any of your past experiences did you ever have an accident to your neck?” He asked.

“Not anything drastic. I think I got a few stitches here and there, and everything was mended by professional healers in a hospital. I’m still a woman, still very vain. Even at my age.”

“We have to go see Mother Faa right away. And I need you to prepare yourself to be very upset.” Karl was grim, serious. “And I think you need to prepare yourself to tell us exactly how your magic works.”

Waiting for Mother Faa to wake, and to send her husband out in the middle of the night, Zere’maya began her explanation.

“Karl, I think you know. I feel really foolish telling you – all magic is technology the viewer doesn’t understand. Juggling looks impossible but it’s skill, training, exposure to other people who can do it, and someone to watch who can’t do it to be impressed.

“I got pulled out of my world because I was able to do some acts that no one had ever demonstrated for me – part talent, part opportunity, and a whole lot of practice. It’s that when I go out to heal the magic – someone without training is doing something dangerous, someone with training steps in and either prevents them from being a danger to themselves and others, or offers them a safe place to practice their art. I was pissed off enough to be motivated to put a lot of work into what I did know and a few abilities came naturally. It’s as natural to me as what you are is to you – we just haven’t yet figured out how your abilities work. We will. I hope. Someday.” Zere’maya struggled for words. It had been a long day and she really wanted to get to sleep.

“We’re going to need some details, I think. I’ll let Mother Faa take the matter. It’s certainly more than I can handle.” Said Karl grimly.

“I don’t know what more I can tell you. Some experiences are hard to communicate and still are real. The first time I went into a lesbian private party. Knowing everyone had the same desires I did, knew what I knew. It was exhilarating, but it wouldn’t have been if people who got crushes on girls were common. It’s almost as much of a thrill to be on an all-human world. They’re rare.” Said Zere’maya.

“Zere’maya, you are the most erotic, beautiful, and interesting person I have ever met, and under almost any other situation the prospect of you hitting on, kissing, or doing more with other woman or women would be very appealing, but would you please straighten yourself before Mother Faa comes and gets us?” said Karl, exasperated.

“I want to talk about sex.” Said Zere’maya.

“Why?” bellowed Karl

“It keeps me from thinking about death.” said Zere’maya. Karl groaned. “There’s been too much death today. I didn’t like seeing you on fire in the campfire. I didn’t like hearing about that macabre bragging. It was like hanging pirates up at port to scare people, ‘oh, we’re so strict and scary’. I like life better. I like the idea of getting close to people.”

“I give up.” Said Karl.

Zere’maya fiddled with her skirt. “Karl?” she asked.

“What?” he answered.

“You didn’t used to say I was pretty.” Said Zere’maya.

“I didn’t now. I said – you are beautiful.” said Karl

“Well, you didn’t used to say that either.” replied Zere’maya.

“You didn’t used to look beautiful to me.” countered Karl.

“What changed?” asked Zere’maya.

Karl sighed. “If I could make ~you~ live with ~you~ for as long as I have you wouldn’t need to ask.” they shared a long, lingering smile.

Karl thought about Zash. Zere’maya thought about Jaqueline and their daughter. Thankfully Mother Faa came out.

“I expected to see you breaking out in scales.” she said. ”It seems not. Show me your great disaster.”

Karl pulled back Zere’maya’s hair, exposing the nape of her neck. For some reason Zere’maya felt driven to close her eyes, not see Karl and Mother Faa’s reaction.

“Your little woman is a great lot of trouble for us.” she said, far too calmly. “Take her home. I’ll begin the inquiries. Good thing old women don’t need much sleep.”

“What was that? Am I your little woman now?” asked Zere’maya.

“She knows I was going to ask you, and she knows that you can’t hurt me.” said Karl, walking her back to their vardo.

“I’m getting awfully tired of being directed around like this. I’m not used to it.” grumbled Zere’maya.

“We’re all going to have to get used to things we didn’t have to put up with. Listen. In our world books of great power are often bound in human skin.”

“Ugh. Disgusting practice. If you do that, though, you can use the power of the person whose skin you used – without their will, of course. No intelligence either, but much of their skin will remember.”

“Right, like a magnet split off still magnetized.” said Karl

“More like an antenna still capable of picking up a signal, that’s why ancient tribes kept the souvenirs, it wasn’t the piece of the dead one –“ intercut Zere’maya

“…but the connection to the living beings she or he was connected to.” completed Karl.

“Exactly.” replied Zere’maya. Realization passed over her face.

“Oh, those poor, poor bastards.” she said. ”There is no fix for this. There really isn’t. Even if I die, even if I go home – shit. Oh, damn. You have no idea how many of the rules I’ve broken, how many “don’t do that” things I’ve done now.” She ran her hand over the back of her neck.

“I never had any urge to look there, but I can feel it. They took a piece of me, like a bookmark. And why do they do this?” she asked Karl.

“The nape of the neck is an erotic zone. And the hair pattern there is unique to every person.” said Karl.

“I wish I had that erotic zone, I might have noticed I was – no wonder I’ve got a constant magical drain, but they aren’t going to like the effect – crap.” said Zere’maya.

“Can you explain it to me at all?” asked Karl.

“It’s holographic, like a magnet is. If I take a part of someone’s body and graft it to another, there is the risk of holographic exposure – neural networks like the magnets in the iron. The magic works the same way – only it’s ongoing – there are hundreds of millions of life forms, people and not people, and they are all in connection to me. Even to bits of me. That’s very, very bad.” said Zere’maya.

“So your body is always connected to this place, as long as the skin is here.” said Karl.

“Worse. My daughter’s connected too.” said Zere’maya grimly. ”Far away from your iron you can feel the magnetic pull. Far outside of the body the energy of the heart can be clearly measured. This is no different, same thing, only instead of atoms, instead of cells – the magicians are the connections, all lined up through space and time. That’s why I was pulled here, pulled to come, pulled to make the magic right again.”

“So you and your predecessor, the one you know they killed -- “ said Karl.

“Yeah – Damn! Two alien magic power sources, and I can imagine they have some of their own people in storage too – Shit!”
“Like you say, ‘It’s only magic if you don’t know how it works.’” said Karl.