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Some beings carry inevitability and authority about themselves like
an atmosphere, and a pull like gravity. He who stepped through the
doorway that midnight ten miles out of Luminous, Texas was like that.
When Pollis arrived everything changed. Sure, there was still mystery in the air, but also the hope of the solving of mysteries. Hector Brown’s powerful friend came in his Desert Walker form, but somewhat diminished for the sake of the house, and perhaps to set at ease, as much as possible, the hearts of those who didn’t know him.
He was about 7 ft tall that night. He wasn’t slight, he was massive in build. Even at that reduced height he seemed like he could weigh nearly five hundred pounds. His hair coat was black, the blackest black anyone could imagine. It almost pulled surrounding colors into itself. His skin, where it showed was brown, like a suntanned Mexican’s skin. A nice warm brown. His eyes were brown also, not red, or amber, or green or any of that business. His face was manlike, but much larger than any man’s face. He looked impassive during most of the time when they conversed that night, but when he smiled it was the sweetest, most gentle smile anyone could remember seeing. His laugh, when he laughed, was like weather, deep and soft, and rolled like thunder.
Hector and Pollis spoke a few words with each other out in the other room before entering the kitchen. Hearing the conversation filled Bertie with a desire to be anywhere else but sitting at Mike Flores’ kitchen table, getting ready to meet Dr. Brown’s terrifying friend, who had in fact, been her rescuer. She knew that he was her rescuer and yet, she didn’t want to face him.
Russell also, didn’t know what he was about to face, but face him he would. The sheriff liked to face facts squarely.
Howard, in his boy form, looked a bit apprehensive, like he had been caught skipping class and he wasn’t sure if the authority figure he was about to face was friend or foe.
The first to enter the kitchen and speak to the group around the table was Hector Brown. Tonight he seemed severe, even mythic, with his black eyes deeply set and alert behind his gold rimmed spectacles. He glanced at Bertie, and then Russell, wondering how they would handle the meeting.
“Mrs. Mulvaney, Officer Ohlmstead, this is my friend Pollis,” he said quietly as Pollis entered the room on soft heavy feet.
“Please, Pollis, take a seat,” he added, indicating a larger chair with arms at the head of the big old heavy wooden table. Pollis did so, just barely fitting his bulk into the chair. It creaked, but held.
“Greetings and blessings,” he said, but in a language unknown to Bertie or Russell.
“You have questions,” he said in strangely accented English.
Bertie looked at him, gulped and nodded, hoping that she could speak when the time to speak came. Russell just stared, but didn’t speak yet.
“Shall I tell you what I know, Lady?” Pollis said to Bertie, giving her time.
She nodded again.
“The first thing you must know is that though he was a good and faithful man, your man’s services were subverted and used by the forces of death on this planet. Death used him, and others like him, who had joined military service honestly. At some point he refused them. They destroyed him and sent his lifeless form home to be buried,” Pollis said, and it must be said that he regretted the saying.
Bertie sat weeping silently into her folded hands in her lap. Her long tangled dark hair hung down as she wept.
“These creatures, the servants of death, have a machine called a Dog, for it is a sniffer and a finder. Lady, as a matter of closing off potential information leaks, they wanted you. You were meant to vanish without a trace. This is their method.
“So, this Dog came to you and called you and you answered, as anyone likely would,” he said.
“But, Sir, I’m nobody! I knew nothing. Brian never said a word to me, for the sake of my safety, I’m sure,” cried Bertie.
“They are very deeply stupid, Lady, in the truest sense of the word. Stupor-ed. They just wanted to put a line under your name as well as Brian’s,” said Pollis. “That’s all.”
“Also, how did I come to be walking through the desert where you found me? I don’t understand how the Dog and the desert are related. Are they related?” she asked.
“Yes,” said the Walker, and he laughed a little wolfishly.
“So this Dog picks up Bertie somehow,” said Russell. “By zapping her somehow? Then what?”
“Well, death was to be the end result, naturally. But I’m not sure if the sniffer was meant to bring her to headquarters in Venezuela, or do something with her here. But the Dog made a blunder,” said Pollis. He laughed again.
Russell thought he’d hate to have this creature laughing like that at his expense. It wasn’t a cheery laugh. It was a feral warrior’s cold deep laugh.
“What mistake did the Dog make, Sir?” said Russell.
“Ah. Well. This will take some telling, Officer,” said Pollis.
“No doubt you’ve seen what human people call the Luminous Lights? Yes, of course. They aren’t just pretty mysterious meaningless lights, Sir. They are the visible manifestation of a place, a crossing place. Hector here called it our village, and yes, it is that, our dwelling as such. But it is also a change place. You might say a portal, if you wanted to use that limited word, in English.
“The Dog’s mistake was to blunder into our village, our change place. In short, it crossed into our airspace and blew apart and its captive fell out! I must say that I was very surprised to see her and as I watched her begin to walk, I realized that she was alive, but asleep in a sense. I saw that this would never do, so I talked with her a little. I might have used a little of my, um, charm to reassure her a bit, and I brought her here to Dr. Brown, a trustworthy human. That’s about it,” he said finally.
“By the way, Howard, you did well, to find her here! You’re a very good cat! I believe you shall be a cat from now on! I bless you,” said Pollis.
Before anyone could blink, Howard resumed his cat form. He looked happy about it too. He climbed up on Bertie’s lap and began to purr like a very good cat, the best, most faithful cat ever.
“Pollis, Sir,” said Bertie, “Will they send another Dog for me?”
“They will believe that you are dead. Their Dog stopped responding to signals. Something must have happened to it and you. It’s over, Lady. Your life is your own,” he said. He smiled angelically.
“Does that explain?” said Pollis.
“I bless you all,” he said in the Old Language again, as a farewell. He wanted to get going before morning.
“Yes, Pollis. I’m so sleepy, but I owe you my life and my peace,” Bertie said.
The light was beginning to come up in the sky. Morning was coming soon. Pollis and Hector left the kitchen and the big door opened and shut again. Hector Brown came back alone. He was yawning, looking like it had been a long night.
“Russell, can we go home now,” said Bertie, with Howard held firmly in her arms, nearly asleep.
“Yes, let’s go,” he said.
“Dr. Brown, there is no way to thank you enough, so take it as given, and I hope you can get a good nap in today!” said Russell. “We shall go on back to Apache John. It’s not that far.”
“Doctor,” said Bertie, “if you are ever around there, please stop in for a coffee or whatever you like!”
The Luminous Lights were just fading a little as the sun prepared to rise when they went out to the big Ford SUV, with Howard, the very good cat, and piled in for the drive to Apache John.
Before Bertie dropped off to sleep like a tired child on any long drive, Russell said, “Bertie, I’ve been meaning to say something to you for a long time. Day followed on day and I never quite got up the nerve, but now I think I must.”
“I thought we might both get old and gray before you got around to it Russell. It’s surely time,” she said before she drifted off to sleep.
Russell just kept driving. It was a beautiful morning. The best ever!
When Pollis arrived everything changed. Sure, there was still mystery in the air, but also the hope of the solving of mysteries. Hector Brown’s powerful friend came in his Desert Walker form, but somewhat diminished for the sake of the house, and perhaps to set at ease, as much as possible, the hearts of those who didn’t know him.
He was about 7 ft tall that night. He wasn’t slight, he was massive in build. Even at that reduced height he seemed like he could weigh nearly five hundred pounds. His hair coat was black, the blackest black anyone could imagine. It almost pulled surrounding colors into itself. His skin, where it showed was brown, like a suntanned Mexican’s skin. A nice warm brown. His eyes were brown also, not red, or amber, or green or any of that business. His face was manlike, but much larger than any man’s face. He looked impassive during most of the time when they conversed that night, but when he smiled it was the sweetest, most gentle smile anyone could remember seeing. His laugh, when he laughed, was like weather, deep and soft, and rolled like thunder.
Hector and Pollis spoke a few words with each other out in the other room before entering the kitchen. Hearing the conversation filled Bertie with a desire to be anywhere else but sitting at Mike Flores’ kitchen table, getting ready to meet Dr. Brown’s terrifying friend, who had in fact, been her rescuer. She knew that he was her rescuer and yet, she didn’t want to face him.
Russell also, didn’t know what he was about to face, but face him he would. The sheriff liked to face facts squarely.
Howard, in his boy form, looked a bit apprehensive, like he had been caught skipping class and he wasn’t sure if the authority figure he was about to face was friend or foe.
The first to enter the kitchen and speak to the group around the table was Hector Brown. Tonight he seemed severe, even mythic, with his black eyes deeply set and alert behind his gold rimmed spectacles. He glanced at Bertie, and then Russell, wondering how they would handle the meeting.
“Mrs. Mulvaney, Officer Ohlmstead, this is my friend Pollis,” he said quietly as Pollis entered the room on soft heavy feet.
“Please, Pollis, take a seat,” he added, indicating a larger chair with arms at the head of the big old heavy wooden table. Pollis did so, just barely fitting his bulk into the chair. It creaked, but held.
“Greetings and blessings,” he said, but in a language unknown to Bertie or Russell.
“You have questions,” he said in strangely accented English.
Bertie looked at him, gulped and nodded, hoping that she could speak when the time to speak came. Russell just stared, but didn’t speak yet.
“Shall I tell you what I know, Lady?” Pollis said to Bertie, giving her time.
She nodded again.
“The first thing you must know is that though he was a good and faithful man, your man’s services were subverted and used by the forces of death on this planet. Death used him, and others like him, who had joined military service honestly. At some point he refused them. They destroyed him and sent his lifeless form home to be buried,” Pollis said, and it must be said that he regretted the saying.
Bertie sat weeping silently into her folded hands in her lap. Her long tangled dark hair hung down as she wept.
“These creatures, the servants of death, have a machine called a Dog, for it is a sniffer and a finder. Lady, as a matter of closing off potential information leaks, they wanted you. You were meant to vanish without a trace. This is their method.
“So, this Dog came to you and called you and you answered, as anyone likely would,” he said.
“But, Sir, I’m nobody! I knew nothing. Brian never said a word to me, for the sake of my safety, I’m sure,” cried Bertie.
“They are very deeply stupid, Lady, in the truest sense of the word. Stupor-ed. They just wanted to put a line under your name as well as Brian’s,” said Pollis. “That’s all.”
“Also, how did I come to be walking through the desert where you found me? I don’t understand how the Dog and the desert are related. Are they related?” she asked.
“Yes,” said the Walker, and he laughed a little wolfishly.
“So this Dog picks up Bertie somehow,” said Russell. “By zapping her somehow? Then what?”
“Well, death was to be the end result, naturally. But I’m not sure if the sniffer was meant to bring her to headquarters in Venezuela, or do something with her here. But the Dog made a blunder,” said Pollis. He laughed again.
Russell thought he’d hate to have this creature laughing like that at his expense. It wasn’t a cheery laugh. It was a feral warrior’s cold deep laugh.
“What mistake did the Dog make, Sir?” said Russell.
“Ah. Well. This will take some telling, Officer,” said Pollis.
“No doubt you’ve seen what human people call the Luminous Lights? Yes, of course. They aren’t just pretty mysterious meaningless lights, Sir. They are the visible manifestation of a place, a crossing place. Hector here called it our village, and yes, it is that, our dwelling as such. But it is also a change place. You might say a portal, if you wanted to use that limited word, in English.
“The Dog’s mistake was to blunder into our village, our change place. In short, it crossed into our airspace and blew apart and its captive fell out! I must say that I was very surprised to see her and as I watched her begin to walk, I realized that she was alive, but asleep in a sense. I saw that this would never do, so I talked with her a little. I might have used a little of my, um, charm to reassure her a bit, and I brought her here to Dr. Brown, a trustworthy human. That’s about it,” he said finally.
“By the way, Howard, you did well, to find her here! You’re a very good cat! I believe you shall be a cat from now on! I bless you,” said Pollis.
Before anyone could blink, Howard resumed his cat form. He looked happy about it too. He climbed up on Bertie’s lap and began to purr like a very good cat, the best, most faithful cat ever.
“Pollis, Sir,” said Bertie, “Will they send another Dog for me?”
“They will believe that you are dead. Their Dog stopped responding to signals. Something must have happened to it and you. It’s over, Lady. Your life is your own,” he said. He smiled angelically.
“Does that explain?” said Pollis.
“I bless you all,” he said in the Old Language again, as a farewell. He wanted to get going before morning.
“Yes, Pollis. I’m so sleepy, but I owe you my life and my peace,” Bertie said.
The light was beginning to come up in the sky. Morning was coming soon. Pollis and Hector left the kitchen and the big door opened and shut again. Hector Brown came back alone. He was yawning, looking like it had been a long night.
“Russell, can we go home now,” said Bertie, with Howard held firmly in her arms, nearly asleep.
“Yes, let’s go,” he said.
“Dr. Brown, there is no way to thank you enough, so take it as given, and I hope you can get a good nap in today!” said Russell. “We shall go on back to Apache John. It’s not that far.”
“Doctor,” said Bertie, “if you are ever around there, please stop in for a coffee or whatever you like!”
The Luminous Lights were just fading a little as the sun prepared to rise when they went out to the big Ford SUV, with Howard, the very good cat, and piled in for the drive to Apache John.
Before Bertie dropped off to sleep like a tired child on any long drive, Russell said, “Bertie, I’ve been meaning to say something to you for a long time. Day followed on day and I never quite got up the nerve, but now I think I must.”
“I thought we might both get old and gray before you got around to it Russell. It’s surely time,” she said before she drifted off to sleep.
Russell just kept driving. It was a beautiful morning. The best ever!
Das Ende
🌞
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