“The mist is thinning.”
I had been too intent upon my own thoughts to notice that until he spoke. But now I could see the circle of vision was, indeed, wider. And moments later we came to a road. This was not merely a turf-grown cut such as that which had led into the place of mounds, but had a pavement of blocks fitted well together. And some of those blocks had the same pale glow as the stones my companion had used to form his strange bridge. Others were red or yellow or even black. And though they were scattered here and there, with no discernible pattern, yet it was possible to advance along stepping on only one kind if you took time and watched carefully.
“Wait.” Kosgro’s arm rose as a barrier before me. “This is one of their travel places.”
“A road, as I see – ”
“More than a road. It does not run to any one place but many. Oh, I cannot explain it, for I do not understand its workings. But I have seen it used. And it works this way- each color of block serves one destination. If you are not careful when you step, it will either not work at all or take you where you do not want to go, for the Dark Ones use it also. Since you seek special persons, choose the glowing blocks. Step only from one to another of those, and with each step hold in your mind the face of the one you would see. Concentrate upon that with all your strength – it will then lead you to him.”
“But there are two children – Oomark and Bartare.”
He shrugged. “It would seem that you must choose.”
Choose? Bartare was with the mysterious Lady who had brought her – and us – here. And since she had come willingly, perhaps she was as safe as anyone might be in this place of many dangers. But Oomark had run off into the unknown. And thinking of the hunt, those I had seen in the place of mounds, I thought I had no choice after all – it must be Oomark, and I told him so.
“As you wish. The glowing stones then, and think of him as you saw him last.”
I was surprised, for he spoke as if he had no interest in where I went. Did this mean we parted company here? I asked, and he made a noise that might have been a harsh laugh.
“Leave you? Not while you carry that which is life for me. But one place is as good as another it we can keep out of the reach of the Dark Ones. I still have thin hopes that something more will come of our meeting. However, since yours is the seeking, you must take the lead here. Only hold my hand, for I have no mind picture to aid me and must depend upon yours.”
For a moment I was inclined to refuse, to be free of Jorth Kosgro. My old suspicion stirred. But finally I held out a hand, and he took it in firm grip.
If any one had witnessed our advance on the road, he would have seen an odd sight. In order to step only on the glowing blocks, I wove a very zigzag way, sometimes forward, sometimes, of a necessity, back. I tried to shut from my mind all but Oomark as I had seen him last, running from me because I held the branch.
My back and forth path brought us away from the point where we had first stepped on the pavement. Now I could see, as the mist retreated, that the road ended abruptly only a short distance from where I paused to study the remaining blocks. So far we had gained nothing, and I was ready to abandon this and demand Kosgro strike away – overland. Think of the boy!” It might be he read my thoughts and was urging me back to strict concentration.
Obediently I again held Oomark’s face in mind and took the last three steps on the pavement, towing Kosgro. Then, I seemed to be running, and yet under me the ground also moved forward, so I needed my own speed to keep on my feet. There was a whirring on either side, a blurr as if our speed befogged the country through which we were passing.
Then I fell, or rather the sensation was that of being tossed from a moving way, so that I struck a hard surface with some force and lay gasping a moment or two before I sat up to see where we were. I heard a groan and looked around.
Kosgro lay a little away, his hands pressed to that bandage about his chest as if he were in pain. Then he struggled up so we sat side by side, able to see where that odd method of travel had deposited us.
There was a wide stretch of green sloping gently down from our landing place. The meadow was the same rich green, but there were none of the darker rings marked on it. Rather, there were pale flowers, white and cream, and bushes heavy with those golden berries Oomark relished. Around each of these were gathered flying and hopping things.
Not far away moved larger creatures, either eating from the wealth of berries or lying in the grass. Oomark? No. Was that Oomark – or that – or that?
I could see little difference in them from this distance. They all walked on cloven hoofs and were hairy and horned, like the boy. There were only some very slight variations in size when two moved together. I could not tell one from the other. If I called – would Oomark come?
Three seemed to be playing a game, tossing from one to another a ball-shaped object. Another nursed a small animal, petting and smoothing its fur. None wore any scraps of clothing such as Oomark still had about him. But remembering how easily he had discarded the boots and his upper tunics, I could not count on his not having thrown away the rest of his other-world garments.
“Can you tell him?” Kosgro wanted to know.
“No. I can call – ”
“No!” He was emphatic. “It would be wise not to attract any more attention than you must.”
“They-they aren’t Dark Ones?”
“No, they are of the Folk – lesser beings. But they are full of mischief and would do nothing to help you. Just the opposite. You had better try to locate your boy quietly.”
“But they all look alike! Except some seem a little taller than others. It is like expecting me to select a single grain of sand out of a stretch of gravel.” I had been counting. There were ten of them, and I could not distinguish differences.
“It poses a problem certainly,” Kosgro agreed. “Is there anything to which he was greatly attached, which you could speak of now to attract his attention? If you know of such, we can move closer. You can then mention it and wait for response. The others will seek to hide him, but your speech might bring some betraying response.”
“Bartare? I could speak of her – ”
Kosgro shook his head. “She is deep in the affairs of this world by your account. They could know of her. And they could counterfeit a response to baffle us.”
“You seem to know a lot about them.”
“I do. When I first came here, it was they who stole my food when I was trapped in a bog hole. They ran out of reach, tearing open my bag and scattering what it held. When I managed to get loose, I trailed them, until I learned that anger draws the Dark Ones, too. And I discovered I must control my emotions for a shield. These beings change from one moment to the next, never holding to any course of action for long. I believe they are all children who have been recruited from other worlds over the centuries – ”
“Centuries! But they could not live so – ”
His head turned so he faced me fully. “Save for the killing the Dark Ones do now and then, there is no death here.”
There arc races in the galaxy whose life span is infinitely greater than that of my species – the Zacathans, for example. But even they know death in the end. A place with no natural form of death had never been found, though such does exist in the legends and myths of many peoples.
“Do you know what will interest Oomark – a name, something of the sort?” He pulled me back to the matter at hand.
I thought-his mother’s name? His father’s? I could not be sure. That of some friend on Dylan? Then it came to me – Griffy, over whom he had been so shaken.