“Are you a client?” asked the android, watching Matthew with an odd expression. The young man was staring about him in wonder at the
room.
Karen started to explain that it was her aunt but at the last second she decided it might be better not to do so. “Possibly, I had some questions for her about a property.”
Andrew seemed suspicious, and his eyes kept returning to Karen’s makeshift wool shirt, “Perhaps if you could tel me which property it is
you’re interested in…”
A woman’s voice came from the halway behind him, “Andrew, is someone here?” A moment later the owner of said voice looked around the
edge of the doorway from her office. Twinkling blue eyes looked at them from a round face, “Oh goodness, we do have visitors!”
Andrew turned toward her, “I was just asking about their business.”
“No need, send them in!” ordered the woman.
A moment later Matthew found himself seated in what was possibly the strangest chair he had ever encountered. It had a metal frame that
seemed to be al of one piece, supporting the cushioned seat and bending into a rounded rectangle to act as legs. It was upholstered with a strange fabric, and the seat seemed as though it was molded to conform to his posterior. It was so soft he felt immediately uncomfortable.
Roberta and Karen had just finished a long, and to Matthew, overly emotional reunion hug. Karen’s aunt had visible tears in her eyes when she sat down across from them. “I can’t believe you’re here!” she exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tel me you were coming, and what on earth are you wearing?”
“It’s a long story,” began Karen, “but I think it might be best to tel you everything this evening. I didn’t realy know I was coming until yesterday. I’m in a bit of trouble.”
“Even yesterday, you could have caled, or sent me a message,” chided her aunt before changing topics suddenly. “Oh! Where are my
manners? You haven’t introduced me to your friend!” She gave Matthew an apologetic look.
Karen started to explain that Matthew didn’t speak their language, but he was already rising from his seat.
Leaning across the desk Matt extended his hand, “A pleasure to meet you. My name is Matthew Ileniel.”
“Roberta Plant,” responded Roberta with a smile that was entirely genuine. “Is that armor? Are you a historical enthusiast?”
Her aunt had always been an extremely sociable woman, and she was certainly not shy about asking questions. Karen’s father had remarked
on it numerous times, but this was Karen’s first time experiencing it as an adult herself.
Matthew got the gist of her first question, but the second stumped him, “Armor, yes.” He glanced at Karen for help.
“He only recently learned English, so he doesn’t understand everything you’re saying, Auntie,” cautioned Karen.
Roberta waved her hands, “Nothing the auto-translator can’t handle I’m sure, though it must be a little awkward for you, my dear.” She
addressed Matthew, “Where are you from?”
That question was simple enough for him, but he stil didn’t know how to answer. He gave Karen a helpless shrug, unsure how she wanted to
handle it.
“He doesn’t have implants, Roberta,” Karen informed her. “He’s like me, and I’ve lost my PM, so I have no idea what language he speaks.”
Roberta frowned, “You know how strange al this sounds, Dear. You show up out of the blue, wearing—is that a poncho? You’ve an odd
young man with you, and you’re not sure where he’s from—does your mother know about this?”
“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. Stil, why didn’t it cal 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 inteligence. 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. Wel, 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.
Finaly, 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 actualy 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 colege, 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 stil 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’l 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 actualy pilot our own cars. Back then we caled it ‘driving’. I’l just tel Andrew that we’re going out to look at some properties and that I’l take the day off after that. Folow 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 realy 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’l 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 folow 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 smal estate that Roberta caled 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 smal 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 smal garden within one of the castle yards.
Here though, every house in the neighborhood had a trimmed lawn, no matter how smal. He sent a thought to Karen as he folowed 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 smal 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 ilusory 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 ilusory vehicle, “Go.” Mentaly 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 ilusion 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 smal cluster of trees, so Matthew altered the ilusion 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?”
“Wel…,” 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 forestal 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 al. 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 hal, 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 normaly very friendly. Maybe we should sit down b
efore we finish this conversation. Would you like some tea?”
She directed them to a comfortable looking room with a large and wel cushioned couch. Matthew was just starting to sink into it when they
heart Roberta yel from the kitchen, “Annie! What did you do?!”
Naturaly 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 tal as a person, and she had managed to pul 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 al 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’l help clean it up.” Mentaly 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’l excuse myself. Where are the privvies ?”
Karen wasn’t sure what he meant, but Roberta took his meaning, “Down the hal, 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 al 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 wal on his left. The basin had a drain in the bottom that led to, what his magesight could tel, 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.