“I haven’t spoken to her,” said Karen stiffly. “We were lost in the mountains, in Colorado. I spoke to Dad, though, first chance I got.”
Her aunt’s face showed distaste, “That thing is not your father, Karen. I know Gary made it, but it’s a sad substitute at best. Still, why didn’t it call me?”
Probably because you wouldn’t take his call, thought Karen uncharitably. She loved her aunt, but the woman was rather prejudiced when it came to artificial intelligence. She kept that thought to herself, “I don’t know. I only spoke to him yesterday.”
“You didn’t fly wearing those clothes, did you?”
Another question that she knew had no sensible answer, “We didn’t fly, exactly. Well, we did for part of the journey, but we had to avoid commercial airlines.”
Roberta’s brows furrowed suspiciously, “What does that mean?”
“I’m in a lot of trouble.”
The older woman shot a brief but withering glare at Matthew. “Are the police after you?”
“No!” protested Karen. “At least, I don’t think so. I haven’t done anything wrong! But it seems like the military are looking for me.”
Her aunt sat down suddenly, shocked. “Oh my god,” she said quietly. Karen started to say something, thinking she could reassure her somehow, but her aunt waved her hands, “Shush, give me a minute.”
What’s she going to do? asked Matthew silently.
I don’t know.
Finally, Roberta spoke, leveling her gaze at Karen, “Do you think they know you’re here?”
“I don’t think so. They may know we’re in England. A couple of drones spotted us, and a public terminal died after I started using it in Tintagel, but if they know more than that, I doubt it. They actually shot at me in the mountains near home. There were dozens of soldiers there, and they didn’t even warn me first. I was hiking, I met Matthew, and then shortly after that, they started coming after us.”
Her aunt’s eyes flicked to Matt and then back to her, when she spoke again she used Russian, “Is he one of them?”
Karen frowned, taking a second to register what she had been asked. She had studied Russian for several years in college, but it was a surprise to hear it from her aunt. As far as she knew the other woman didn’t know any other languages. She’s using the autotranslator, Karen realized. Unfortunately, the question still didn’t make any sense to her. Slowly she pieced together her response, she hadn’t practiced Russian in a while, “What do you mean, them?”
Roberta’s response took several seconds while she waited for the translator to work, then provide her with a translated reply, “I don’t want to say the name, because he might recognize it. I am referring to the ones that we fought in the demon war.”
Now she understood, and she blurted her answer out in English, “Oh! No, he’s human, but Matthew is from another world.”
Roberta’s visage was worried, but she continued in her badly accented Russian, “What happened before, they were probably after him. If they don’t know you were with him, you might be able to get out of this. You could go to my house and I’ll stay here with him. If I turn him in…”
Matthew watched them curiously. He wasn’t sure what was being discussed since they had switched languages, but he could make a broad guess. When Karen showed signs of being offended it confirmed his theory.
“No,” said Karen firmly. “He did nothing wrong, and if it weren’t for him, I probably would have died in the mountains. They didn’t even talk to us, they just showed up and started shooting.”
Roberta sighed, switching to English she announced, “Alright, Dear. I think this is a mistake, but we don’t have many options, do we? Let’s go to my house. You need some proper clothes. You can explain more about how you got across the Atlantic while we drive.”
“Drive?” asked Karen, puzzled.
The older woman laughed, “An old expression, Dear. We old folks used to actually pilot our own cars. Back then we called it ‘driving’. I’ll just tell Andrew that we’re going out to look at some properties and that I’ll take the day off after that. Follow me and don’t say anything.”
She led them back to the front office and after a brief exchange with her coworker, out the front door. They stood on the street for a minute when a pert appeared, flying in from wherever it had been stored and hovering a foot off the ground in front of them. A side door opened and Matthew could see some sort of cushioned seats inside.
What about Desacus? he asked Karen silently.
With a nod she spoke up, “We left our pert parked a short way from here. Can you take us to pick it up first?” Then she sent a reply to Matthew, Heaven help us if she sees your dragon. She might have a heart attack.
He smiled, Now that I’ve seen this one up close I can make the illusion much more realistic.
“It might be better to just leave it there,” suggested her aunt, “in case they’re tracking it already.”
“That really isn’t an option,” said Karen. “Do you have a garage?”
“What?” asked her aunt, briefly confused, “Oh you mean a car park, sorry Dear, I misunderstood you. I should have known better, no one even uses gas in their vehicles anymore.”
Now it was Karen’s turn to be confused, but her aunt went on, “I have a shed that I store my pert in, but it won’t fit two of them. You’ll have to park yours in the drive.”
She relayed that to Matthew, and he told her not to worry, Desacus will do better outdoors. A building would be too stuffy for him. If necessary I can make him look like a tree or something.
By then they had arrived at the car park, and Matthew got out to follow them. Karen worried needlessly about her aunt noticing any oddities about their disguised dragon as the older woman seemed preoccupied with watching their surroundings nervously. Matthew mounted the dragon and a moment later they were flying northward, heading for the small estate that Roberta called home.
The residential area the house was located in was just as foreign to Matt’s eyes as the city had been. A series of interconnected roads were lined with large houses, or at least he thought they were large, Karen assured him they were quite modest single-family homes common in the area. Roberta’s house was a little larger than most in the area, and it had a small private yard both in front and behind the house. Grass covered the ground, and it was trimmed short, which was curious to him. In Lothion, only the very wealthy kept grass lawns, mainly due to the effort of maintaining it. Even in Castle Cameron the only lawn was in a small garden within one of the castle yards.
Here though, every house in the neighborhood had a trimmed lawn, no matter how small. He sent a thought to Karen as he followed behind them on Desacus, Is your aunt one of the nobility?
She seemed surprised, No, why?
Every house in the area has a lawn, is this a wealthy district?
Karen laughed, No. Everyone keeps a lawn.
Who maintains them? Do they all keep servants?
She began to understand his confusion, No, machines maintain the lawn. These days, robo-mowers handle the majority of it, but my aunt probably has an android to handle more complex tasks as well.
Like the one in her office? he asked.
No, that was a real person using an android body, though whether Andrew is an uploaded person or just an organic using telepresence, I don’t know. If she has an android housekeeper, it would probably be operated by an AI, she explained.
Matthew couldn’t help but shake his head, this world just got more confusing the more he learned.
Karen and her aunt landed near a small outbuilding beside the main house. It had a wide door in the front that opened of its own accord to admit the pert. As per their plan Matthew ‘parked’ Desacus in the drive outside.
How long am I going to have to crouch here? asked Desacus. The dragon was hunkered down with his wings folded and his tail tightly wrapped around his body to keep any part of himself from extending beyond the boundary of Matthew’s illusory
pert.
I’m not certain, admitted Matthew. Just then Roberta and Karen emerged from the garage. The older woman led them toward the front door of the house.
As they walked Karen made a suggestion, “Why don’t you send your pert to a public lot? There’s no need to keep it here.”
He thought he understood most of what she said, so he gestured at his illusory vehicle, “Go.” Mentally he added, Find a place in the trees. I’ll change your illusion when I get a chance, so you’ll be able to move around more freely.
Roberta glanced at him oddly before entering the house. As soon as she had gone inside the dragon’s wings extended, violating his camouflage for a moment as he took off. Matt enlarged the illusion to hide them again and waited until the dragon had landed a short distance away, out of sight of the house. He was in a small cluster of trees, so Matthew altered the illusion to match.
Try not to move too much if there’s anyone around, he cautioned the dragon. People might panic if they saw several trees wandering around.
It might be advisable for you to allow me to eat any that get too close, offered the dragon, his thoughts tinged with humor.
Nice try, Matthew replied, then went into the house.
As soon as the door closed behind him Roberta turned to Karen, “I thought you said he didn’t have implants?”
She was caught off guard, “Uh, he doesn’t.”
“And yet he signaled for his pert to auto-park itself?” pressed Roberta, “And what was that ridiculous hand gesture?”
“Well…,” began Karen, struggling to think of a decent lie. It had never been her strong suit.
“It’s time to be honest with me, Karen,” insisted her aunt. “You’re in serious trouble, and that man…,” she pointed at Matthew, “…is a demon, isn’t he?”
Chapter 18
Matthew watched their faces as Karen stared intently at her aunt, trying to figure out how to respond. The moment stretched out, and he spoke before either of them could say anything else, “I’m here looking for my father. I did not mean to cause her problems.”
Roberta’s eyes focused on him, “How long have you been here?”
“Less than a week.”
“Your English is too good,” Roberta responded, glancing briefly at her niece. “No one learns a new language that quickly. How long have you been preparing for this, studying us?” There was a heavy undercurrent of suspicion in her voice.
Karen spoke up, “It isn’t like that…”
Roberta held up her hand to forestall her defense, “Let him answer for himself.”
Matthew considered the question seriously. In truth, his facility with her language was more than coincidental. His perfect memory was certainly a factor, but there was more to it than that. The more English he learned, the more he had come to realize it was probably a precursor to Barion, his own tongue. The grammar was similar, and many of the words were strangely accented variations of words in Barion. That knowledge had only served to confirm his theory that their world was a close relative of the way his own world had been thousands of years previously, before the She’Har had come.
Meeting Roberta’s gaze squarely, he answered, “I haven’t studied your world at all. I think your language is an ancestor of mine.”
Karen’s aunt narrowed her eyes, “Are you claiming to be a time traveler?”
He tried to think of a way to phrase his explanation, but his English was not up to the task yet. Frustrated he reached out, thinking to touch Roberta’s shoulder. It would be much easier to communicate with her mind to mind. As he raised his hand a low growl caused him to pause, a dog had entered the front hall, and it was now staring him down with bared teeth.
The dog was large and covered with a mix of greyish black fur and lighter grey patches. Long lean legs ended in large paws, and its ears were long. It appeared to be some sort of hound, though not of any breed Matt was familiar with.
“Annie, it’s ok,” said Roberta, putting her hand on the dog’s head and rubbing softly. Looking back at Matthew she apologized, “Sorry. Annie probably sensed the tension, she’s normally very friendly. Maybe we should sit down before we finish this conversation. Would you like some tea?”
She directed them to a comfortable looking room with a large and well cushioned couch. Matthew was just starting to sink into it when they heart Roberta yell from the kitchen, “Annie! What did you do?!”
Naturally they both ran to see and were greeted with the sight of a kitchen in chaos. Karen’s aunt was shaking a finger at a very guilty looking hound. The floor was covered in what appeared to be some sort of soup, a large pot lay overturned on the floor beneath the kitchen table.
Roberta had set a timer that morning to start the pot simmering before she got home, and apparently Annie had decided she was a fan of bean soup. Standing on her hind legs Annie was nearly as tall as a person, and she had managed to pull the pot down. It was a wonder the dog hadn’t been burned.
The accident had obviously happened an hour or two previously, for the food on the floor was cold. Not all of it had gone to waste, though, for some parts of the floor had been licked clean. Matthew fought to restrain a smile at the scene.
He looked at Karen, Want me to help?
She felt his power begin to move, stirring at the food on the floor. “No!” she blurted out suddenly, earning a strange stare from her aunt. “Go sit down. I’ll help clean it up.” Mentally she added, You’ll frighten her if you do something like that. Wait until you’ve explained everything.
He accepted that quickly enough, but there was something else pressing for his attention, “Since you don’t need me I’ll excuse myself. Where are the privvies?”
Karen wasn’t sure what he meant, but Roberta took his meaning, “Down the hall, first door on your right.”
He nodded and turned in that direction. He hadn’t known the proper word to use in English, but apparently it was the same as in Barion. Over the past week they had spent all their time outdoors, so handling personal needs had been straightforward, if not always comfortable. He expected that the ‘first door on the right’ would be an exit leading him toward an outbuilding, but his magesight contradicted that for him before he had even opened the door.
It was a closet of some sort, or perhaps a washroom. The floor was composed of polished tile, and there was a white basin extending from the wall on his left. The basin had a drain in the bottom that led to, what his magesight could tell, was a pipe. There was an apparatus on top that had levers of some sort on either side, both of which were supplied by water. He wasn’t certain how to operate them, though.
On the right, a low bowl with a large white rectangular box above and behind it caught his attention. He could sense the water within, though it was covered by a lid of some sort. Opening it, he saw an inviting pool of fresh water. “Maybe that’s for washing up,” he told himself.
He still wasn’t certain where he was supposed to handle his more serious business, so he continued to explore. A partially transparent door across from him opened into a small cubicle with a drain in the floor. The wall had another set of levers and a spigot of some sort was set high up. With his magesight he could sense the pipes that fed water to it.
After considering it for a moment he wondered if it was meant for elimination. The setup made it possible, but the drain had a strange grate built over it that would probably block his solid waste from exiting easily.
“None of this makes sense,” he admitted. Most likely they had misunderstood his needs. It was ridiculous to think anyone would defecate in their own home to begin with. Glancing back at the wall mounted basin he decided it was probably only meant for liquid wastes, since it was mounted at waist height. He would have to explain himself better when he returned.
For now, he could at least take care of one of his problems. Unfastening his trousers, he relieved himself in the basin. Afterward, he glanced back at the wash bowl full of water. Sniffing at himself, he decided it might be wise t
o take the opportunity to wash up a bit.
He removed his shirt, bent over, and started to use a hand to lift water up to his armpits but he knew that what he really needed was a washcloth. A large towel hung from a rack on one wall but he figured that was probably for drying. Then he noticed the roll of white tissue beside the wash bowl.
Unrolling some of it he marveled at its fineness and soft texture. When he had a good handful, it pulled away easily, and he dipped it into the water to wet it before using it to scrub at his underarms. Unfortunately, it began to disintegrate as soon as he started rubbing, leaving bits of wet tissue stuck to his skin.
He sensed Karen approach the door, and of course, with her newly developing magesight she could see the broad outlines of what he was doing within.
“Matt?” she said through the door.
“Yes?”
“What are you doing?”
“Washing up,” he told her as he reached into the washbasin once more.
Able to see his action she recoiled, “Stop! Don’t do that!”
“What?” he said, pausing.
“Oh my god. Open the door.”
His shirt was off, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t seen, so he complied. “This room is very strange,” he told her.
Karen pointed at his ‘washbasin’. “First, that’s a toilet.” The look on his face told her that he didn’t understand so she expanded on the remark mentally, That’s where people shit. The stuff in your hand is meant to be used for wiping your ass afterward.
He stepped back from the toilet suddenly, and then almost as an afterthought he dropped the wet tissue to the floor where it formed an amorphous blob. “Oh!” He started to wipe his hands on his trousers but she stopped him.
“No. Wait! The sink…,” she pointed at the place he had just used as a urinal. “This is the soap,” she demonstrated the liquid soap dispenser, washing her hands as an example. “Then you use the towel.” Giving him a thorough examination, she added, But I think you should probably just take a shower at this point.