Marduk

The orange glow on the horizon hinted at the pending dawn.

Soft knocking sounded at the cabin's front door.

Gwynn stood from the table where he'd sat the better part of the night, and opened the door.

Adrastia had abandoned her typical black dress and white Victorian blouse, and traded it for simple robes and a scarf covering her hair.

"Good morning," she said. "I brought a change of clothes for you. That is...if you've decided to come."

Gwynn nodded and extended his arm to take the bundle. They were robes similar to Adrastia's, with the addition of some loose cotton pants and a head scarf.

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked.

"Back to your home world-Midgard I believe those in the know call it. Specifically, we'll be going to the nation of Iraq. With my powers, I could easily have us go unnoticed, but it's less taxing to conceal two people who mostly blend in. Hence the clothes."

Gwynn stepped inside the house behind the door and changed.

"It's actually pretty comfortable," he said.

Adrastia smiled.

"I'm glad. Did you need to say any goodbyes before we go?"

Gwynn shook his head.

"No. We said what needed to be said last night. I think Sophia knows it would be harder for me to go if I had to say goodbye."

Her smile widened.

"I'm glad. Even if things have changed, at least that's still the same-you never could be far from her."

"And yet I still let Cain-"

She rushed forward and pressed her finger against his lips.

"Don't...Don't ever blame yourself for a reality that doesn't exist anymore. Even then, my father didn't fail her. Some things happen, no matter how hard we try to stop them or stay safe from their influence."

She reached out and took his left hand, pulling him forward.

"Leave your dark mood behind for a little while," she said. "I've waited ten millennia to walk hand and hand with my father again. Even if you're not exactly him, you're as close as anything I have."

Gwynn squeezed her hand.

"You sound almost like Pridament."

She stepped up on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"We've both adopted you to fill our loss." She gave him a playful wink. "I hope that's not too much pressure."

Gwynn laughed.

"No, none at all. What would make you think something like that would put pressure on me?"

They descended the slope toward the open fields The long gra.s.s shone gold in the rising sun's rays and swayed lazily in the breeze.

Twenty feet from the foot of the hill, they pa.s.sed through the ward barriers.

"Does folding still make you vomit?" Adrastia asked.

"If I recall," Gwynn said, "there was only the one time. And it was my first-can you blame me?"

Adrastia shrugged.

"I suppose not. It's just, I went to some trouble getting these clothes to make things easier for me. It'll be for nothing if I have to mask a big stain of sick on my thawb."

"It's fine. I can keep it together."

Adrastia reached out her left hand.

It was like the world was an unbroken surface of water her touch caused to ripple.

She stepped into the center of the ripple, the world wrapping itself around her. Her right hand, intertwined with Gwynn's left, pulled him forward. His hand pressing into the ripple felt like being submerged in warm water. But as it drew him further in, everything was inverted-instead of pressure building as he went deeper, the pressure was greatest at the surface. Reality pressed against him, squeezing and pulling him into the smallest s.p.a.ces between time and the physical world. He pushed forward, not just allowing himself to be dragged by Adrastia's grip. He envisioned their journey as Pridament explained it to him-pa.s.sing through a single sheet of paper folded over itself many times. Instead of traveling a long line, two distant points could touch each other. Pressing through the "paper" added pressure and resistance, only to be followed by a momentary relief as they pa.s.sed through the "s.p.a.ce" between the folds.

Free from the fold, Gwynn gulped air into his lungs. The single breath made him feel rejuvenated-like it was re-inflating his squeezed-flat-body. His stomach lurched, but he swallowed it back.

They stood on a sandy sh.o.r.e, a vast expanse of water stretched to the horizon. The light of day had yet to disappear, but the moon a.s.sumed a dominant position in the sky.

"I thought Folding was instantaneous," Gwynn said. "It looks like it took hours."

Adrastia giggled.

"Different time zone, silly. When we arrive in Iraq, it'll be even a few hours earlier than this. Come on."

She motioned toward a patch of beach different from the rest.

The ground was still sand, but the breeze blowing from it warmed his cheeks and lacked the salty tang of the ocean.

They stepped through the Bifrost fragment. Sea water was replaced by a sea of sand. The air was thick and heavy, clinging to Gwynn's skin.

It didn't feel much like a homecoming.

"Where are we?" he asked Adrastia shrugged.

"Somewhere on the western part of Africa." She held out her hand. "One more Fold and we'll be there."

He took her hand and again felt reality press against him.

They arrived in a crowded city street. Someone b.u.mped into Gwynn's shoulder. He a.s.sumed they swore at him from their tone, but he didn't understand their words.

"Come on," Adrastia said.

"This is Iraq?"

She nodded.

"It's not what I... expected," he said. "I didn't think it would look so..."

"Modern?" she suggested.

"Yes. All we heard about were bombs and wars. After all that, it's hard to imagine it could still be a modern, thriving, city."

"Well, things have improved for the region a bit since the cataclysm. Unlike other parts of the world where the Ageless Ones have a.s.sumed totalitarian control, this area has seen increased freedoms. They have the benefit of an Ageless One who is too powerful to be opposed, but too uninterested in their day to day affairs to a.s.sume total control. He loves his people. And now that he can operate in the open, he's put an end to much of this region's strife."

Gwynn looked to the faces of the people around them-smiles, moving at a relaxed pace. These weren't a people who feared where the next attack could come from. Was it possible someone with their power could make the world better?

"Is that who we're here to meet?" Gwynn asked.

"Yes. He's an old...friend, I guess you could say. Though I haven't seen him in a while."

They spent another five minutes easing their way through the crowds along the main street. Then, Adrastia pulled on his sleeve, guiding them down an alleyway.

Halfway down, a single wooden door was set in the wall. A dim lamp, hanging at an angle, partially illuminated a sign that looked like it had been painted a hundred years ago. A series of markings, some which Gwynn a.s.sumed were Sanskrit, others that appeared to be other Asiatic letters, were scrolled in an arc above the words "Book Store."

Adrastia pushed the door open-sounding the metallic ring of a bell.

Decades of old dust swirled beneath the orange glow of half-dead incandescent bulbs hanging loose from the ceiling. Shelves lined the outer walls and a series of tables created an obstacle course in all the s.p.a.ces in between. Nearly every surface, shelf, even better parts of the floor, were stacked with books-age and dust obscured most of the covers.

An oasis of plants ringed a counter in the center of the room. Behind the counter, a man moved along each plant, drizzling a light stream of water from a bronzed watering can. He stole a brief glance at the arrivals and turned his attention back to the plants.

"You are free to look around," he said, the slightest lilt of an accent in his voice, "but I will be closing shortly."

Adrastia pulled the veil and scarf from her head.

"And how do you expect anyone to find something in this chaos?"

The can crashed to the ground with a splashing Ding!

He stared at her open-mouthed, his now empty hand trembling.

"Tiamat."

Adrastia gave a slow shake of her head.

"No, no. You killed that name long ago," she said, not unkindly. "I've used many names since then, but I've settled on Adrastia."

The man shifted his gaze from Adrastia to Gwynn. His eyes widened. Book covers and pages rattled in a mysterious wind whipping through the store. The air snapped with an audible Crack as the Veil tore and a mace appeared in the man's hand.

Adrastia threw herself, arms spread wide, between Gwynn and the man.

"Hold, Marduk," she said. "Look closer-he is not Kingu."

Gwynn remained motionless, his arms tight against his sides. Gwynn's skin burned beneath the man's, Marduk's, intensive stare.

The pages quieted-the air returning to stillness. Marduk's hand emptied, his mace melting away into the Veil.

"But..." He stepped out from behind the counter, moving closer. "He looks...he sounds..."

Sounds? Gwynn thought. I didn't say anything.

Marduk's lips curled into a smile.

"I see-Kingu's shadow. Or, I hope, the case is Kingu is the shadow of this man."

Adrastia nodded.

"Marduk, this is Gwynn. I have brought him here in the hopes you may help him."

Marduk's brow raised in puzzlement.

"Help him? If he is Kingu's opposite, his abilities should be equal, if not superior, to my own."

"Kingu?" Gwynn asked, finally feeling safe enough to speak.

"He means Cain," Adrastia said. She turned her attention back to Marduk. "He does not have the years of experience Kingu has. He's also been injured." She motioned with her hand toward Gwynn's amputated arm. "The Veil gives him only the barest amount of energy-only enough to heal small wounds. There is no way he can stand against Kingu in his current state."

"Then why not train him yourself?"

Adrastia and Gwynn exchanged glances.

"It is a...complicated situation," Adrastia said. "But I know you have the ability to help him."

"And why should I?"

Adrastia wet her lips.

"Do you recall the last thing I said to you-about when I would next see you?"

Marduk's eyes dulled, his focus turning inward.

After a moment, he nodded.

"You said the next time I saw you would be when the world was coming to an end."