The Traveler fr-1 Read online

  Thorn had warned her about the awkward relationship between Harlequins and Travelers. Just because Harlequins risked their lives to defend Travelers didn’t mean the two groups liked each other. People who crossed over into different realms usually became more spiritual. But Harlequins would always remain earthbound, tainted by the death and violence of the Fourth Realm.

  When Maya was fourteen years old, she traveled through Eastern Europe with Mother Blessing. The moment the Irish Harlequin gave a command, both citizens and drones jumped to obey her. Yes, madam. Of course, madam. We hope there aren’t any problems. Mother Blessing had stepped over some kind of line, and people sensed it immediately. Maya realized that she still wasn’t strong enough to have that kind of power.

  Gabriel went to the knapsack and took out the sword-still in its black lacquer scabbard. He presented it to Maya with two hands.

  She felt the sword’s perfect balance and knew immediately that it was a special weapon. The ray-skin hilt was wrapped in thread with a fitting of dark green jade.

  “My father passed this on to your father when you were a child.”

  “I don’t remember that,” Gabriel said. “It was always around when I was growing up.”

  Holding the scabbard on her knee, Maya drew the sword slowly, then held it up and stared down the length of the blade. This was a tachi-style sword, a weapon meant to be worn with the edge downward. The shape was perfect, but the real beauty was shown in the hamon, the border between the tempered edge of the blade and the untempered metal of the rest of the sword. The bright areas of the steel, called the nie, contrasted with a soft pearl-white haze. It reminded Maya of patches of ground among a light spring snow.

  “Why is this sword so important?” Gabriel asked.

  “It was used by Sparrow, a Japanese Harlequin. He was the only Harlequin left in Japan: the last survivor of a noble tradition. Sparrow was known for his courage and resourcefulness. Then he allowed a weakness in his life.”

  “What was that?”

  “He fell in love with a young college student. Yakuza working for the Tabula found out and kidnapped this woman. When Sparrow tried to rescue her, he was killed.”

  “Then how did the sword get to America?”

  “My father tracked down the college student. She was pregnant and hiding from the Yakuza. He helped her flee to America and she allowed him to take the sword.”

  “If this particular thing was so important, then why didn’t your father keep it?”

  “It’s a talisman. That means that it’s very old and contains its own power. A talisman can be an amulet or a mirror-or a sword. Travelers can take talismans with them when they cross over to another realm.”

  “So that’s why we ended up owning it.”

  “You can’t own a talisman, Gabriel. Its power exists independently of human greed and desire. We can only use a talisman or pass it on to someone else.” Maya looked again at the edge of the sword. “This particular talisman needs to be cleaned and oiled. If you don’t mind…”

  “Sure. Go ahead.” Gabriel looked embarrassed. “I didn’t spend time polishing it.”

  Maya had brought along supplies to maintain her own sword. Reaching into her suitcase, she picked up a piece of soft hosho paper made from the inner bark of a mulberry tree. Willow had taught her how to treat a weapon with respect. She tilted the sword slightly and began to wipe the dirt and smudge marks off the blade.

  “I’ve got some bad news, Gabriel. A few minutes ago I contacted another Harlequin through the Internet. My friend has a spy inside the Tabula organization and he confirms that they’ve captured your brother.”

  Gabriel leaned forward in his chair. “What can we do?” he asked. “Where are they holding him?”

  “He’s being kept at a guarded research facility near New York City. Even if I knew the location, it would be difficult to free him.”

  “Why can’t we contact the police?”

  “The average policeman might be honest, but that doesn’t help our cause. Our enemies are able to manipulate the Vast Machine-the worldwide system of computers that monitors and controls our society.”

  Gabriel nodded. “My parents called it the Grid.”

  “The Tabula can break into police computers and insert false reports. They’ve probably placed a message into the system that you and I are wanted for murder.”

  “All right, forget about the police. Let’s go to where they’re keeping Michael.”

  “I’m just one person, Gabriel. I’ve hired Hollis to fight, but I don’t know if he’s reliable. My father used to call fighters ‘swords.’ It’s just a different way to count up the people on your side. Right now, I don’t have enough swords to attack a research facility defended by the Tabula.”

  “We’ve got to help my brother.”

  “I don’t think they’ll kill him. The Tabula have a plan that involves something called a quantum computer and the use of a Traveler. They want to train your brother to cross over into other realms. All this is new. I don’t know how they’re going to do it. Travelers are usually taught by someone called a Pathfinder.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Give me a minute and I’ll explain…”

  Maya checked the blade again and saw a few small scratches and pits in the metal. Only a Japanese expert called a togishi could sharpen this weapon. All she could do was cover the blade with oil so that it wouldn’t rust. Picking up a small brown bottle, she poured oil of cloves on some cotton gauze. The sweet smell of cloves filled the room as she gently wiped the blade. For a second, she knew something with complete certainty. This sword was very powerful. It had killed and would kill again.

  “A Pathfinder is a special kind of teacher. Usually it’s a person with spiritual training. Pathfinders aren’t Travelers-they can’t cross over into other realms-but they can help someone who has the gift.”

  “And where do you find them?”

  “My friend has given me the location of a Pathfinder living in Arizona. This person will find out if you have the power.”

  “What I really want to do is fix my motorcycle and get out of here.”

  “That would be foolish. Without my protection, the Tabula would eventually find you.”

  “I don’t need anybody’s protection, Maya. I’ve stayed off the Grid for most of my life.”

  “But now they’re looking for you with all their resources and power. You don’t understand what they can do.”

  Gabriel looked angry. “I saw what happened to my father. The Harlequins didn’t save us. Nobody did.”

  “I think you should come with me.”

  “Why? What’s the point?”

  Still holding the sword, she spoke slowly, remembering what Thorn had taught her. “Some people believe that the natural tendency of mankind is to be intolerant, hateful, and cruel. The powerful want to hold on to their position and they will destroy anyone who challenges them.”

  “That seems pretty clear,” Gabriel said.

  “The urge to control others is very strong, but the desire for freedom and the ability to show compassion will always survive. Darkness is everywhere, but Light still appears.”

  “And you believe this is because of the Travelers?”

  “They appear in every generation. The Travelers leave this world and then return to help others. They inspire humanity, give us new ideas, and lead us forward-”

  “Maybe my father was one of these people, but that doesn’t mean that Michael and I have the same ability. I’m not going to Arizona to meet this teacher. I want to find Michael and help him escape.”

  Gabriel glanced at the doorway as if he’d already decided to leave. Maya tried to find the calmness she felt when fighting. She had to say the right thing or he would run away.

  “Perhaps you’ll find your brother in another realm.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I can’t promise anything. If you’re both Travelers, it could happen. The Tabula are going to tea
ch Michael how to cross over.”

  Gabriel looked her straight in the eyes. For a moment, she was startled by his courage and strength. Then he lowered his head and, once again, became an ordinary young man wearing jeans and a faded T-shirt.

  “Maybe you’re lying to me,” he said quietly.

  “You’ll just have to take that risk.”

  “If we go to Arizona, are you sure we’re going to find this Pathfinder?”

  Maya nodded. “He lives near a town called San Lucas.”

  “I’ll go there and meet this person. Then I’ll decide what I’m going to do.”

  He stood up quickly and left the room. Maya remained on the couch with the jade sword. The blade was oiled perfectly and the steel flashed as she swung the sword through the air. Put it away, she told herself. Hide its power in the darkness.

  * * *

  VOICES CAME FROM the kitchen. Stepping softly so that the wooden floor wouldn’t creak, Maya entered the dining room and peered through a crack in the door. Hollis and Vicki had returned. They were preparing lunch while they gossiped about their church. Apparently two old women had argued about who could bake the best wedding cake, and the congregation had taken sides.

  “So when my cousin picked Miss Anne to bake her cake, Miss Grace came to the reception and pretended to get sick eating it.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. But I am surprised she didn’t slip a dead cockroach into the cake batter.”

  They both laughed at the same time. Hollis smiled at Vicki, and then looked away quickly. Maya made the floor creak to let them know she was in the next room, waited a few seconds, and entered the kitchen. “I talked to Gabriel. He’ll put the new tire on and we’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

  “Where are you going?” Hollis asked.

  “Away from Los Angeles. That’s all you need to know.”

  “Okay. That’s your choice.” Hollis shrugged his shoulders. “Can you give me any information at all?”

  Maya sat down at the kitchen table. “It’s a security risk to use checks or make bank account transfers. The Tabula have gotten very skillful at monitoring things like that. In a few days, you’ll get a magazine or a catalog in an envelope with a German postmark. Hundred-dollar bills will be hidden in the pages. It might take two or three deliveries, but we’ll pay you $5,000.”

  “That’s too much money,” Hollis said. “It was a thousand dollars a day and I’ve only been helping you for two days.”

  Maya wondered if Hollis would have said the same thing without Vicki watching him. If you liked another person, that made you foolish and vulnerable. Hollis wanted to look noble in front of this young woman.

  “You helped me find Gabriel. I’m paying you for your services.”

  “And that’s it?”

  “Yes. The contract is canceled.”

  “Come on, Maya. The Tabula aren’t going to give up. They’ll keep looking for you and Gabriel. If you really want to confuse them, you should give out some false information. Make it look like you’re still in Los Angeles.”

  “And how would you do that?”

  “I’ve got a few ideas.” Hollis glanced at Vicki. Yes, she was watching him. “You Harlequins are paying me $5,000. So I’ll give you three more days of work.”

  27

  The next morning, Vicki woke early and made coffee and biscuits for everyone. After eating, they went outside and Hollis inspected Maya’s van. He poured a quart of oil into the crankcase and switched the van’s license plates with those of a broken-down car owned by a neighbor. Then he rummaged through his closets and came up with supplies: plastic water bottles and extra clothes for Gabriel, a long cardboard box to hide the shotgun, and a road map that would guide them to southern Arizona.

  Maya proposed that they carry the motorcycle in the back of the van-at least until they got out of California-but Gabriel rejected the idea. “You’re overreacting,” he told her. “Right now, there are more than a hundred thousand vehicles traveling on the Los Angeles freeways. I don’t see how the Tabula could find me.”

  “A human isn’t doing the searching, Gabriel. The Tabula can access the surveillance cameras that are attached to the freeway signs. Right now, a computer scanning program is processing images, looking for your motorcycle’s license plate.”

  After five minutes of arguing, Hollis found some nylon cord in his garage and attached Gabriel’s knapsack to the back of the motorcycle. It appeared to be a casual, improvised way to carry the knapsack, but it also concealed the license plate. Gabriel nodded and kick-started the bike as Maya climbed into the van. She rolled down the side window and nodded to Vicki and Hollis.

  By now, Vicki was used to Harlequin manners. Maya found it difficult to say “thank you” or “goodbye.” Perhaps her behavior was just rudeness or pride, but Vicki had decided that there was another reason. Harlequins had accepted a powerful obligation: to defend Travelers with their lives. To acknowledge a friendship with anyone outside their world would be an additional burden. That’s why they preferred mercenaries who could be used and thrown away.

  “From now on, you should be very careful,” Maya told Hollis. “The Tabula have developed a tracking system for electronic transactions. They’re also experimenting with splicers-genetically altered animals that can be used to kill people. Your best strategy is to be disciplined but unpredictable. Tabula computers find it difficult to calculate an equation involving randomness.”

  “You just send the money,” Hollis said. “Don’t worry about me.”

  Hollis pushed open the driveway gate. Gabriel went out first, and Maya followed him. The van and the motorcycle cruised slowly down the street, turned the corner, and then they were gone.

  “What do you think?” Vicki asked. “Will they be safe?”

  Hollis shrugged his shoulders. “Gabriel has been living a very independent life. I don’t know if he’s going to accept orders from a Harlequin.”

  “So what do you think of Maya?”

  “On the fighting circuit down in Brazil, you walk out to the middle of the ring at the beginning of a match and the referee makes the introduction and you stare at your opponent’s eyes. Some people think the fight is already over at that point. One man is just pretending to be brave while the winner is looking through the obstacle to the other side.”

  “And Maya is like that?”

  “She accepts the possibility of death and it doesn’t seem to frighten her. That’s a big advantage for a warrior.”

  ***

  VICKI HELPED HOLLIS wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Hollis asked if she wanted to go with him to his school and take the beginning capoeira class at five o’clock, but Vicki said no, thank you very much. It was time to go home.

  They didn’t talk in the car. Hollis kept glancing at her, but she didn’t look back. When Vicki had taken a shower that morning, she had given in to her curiosity and searched the bathroom like a detective. In the bottom drawer of the sink cabinet, she found a clean nightgown, a can of hair spray, sanitary napkins, and five new toothbrushes. She didn’t expect Hollis to be celibate, but the five toothbrushes, each in a plastic case, suggested an endless series of women pulling off their clothes and lying down on his bed. In the morning Hollis would make coffee, drive the woman home, throw away the used toothbrush, and start again.

  When they reached her street in Baldwin Hills, Vicki told Hollis to park at the corner. She didn’t want her mother to see them in the car and come running out of the house. Josetta would assume the worst about Hollis-that her daughter’s rebellion had been caused by a secret relationship with this man.

  She turned to Hollis. “How are you going to convince the Tabula that Gabriel is still in Los Angeles?”

  “I don’t have an exact plan, but I’ll come up with something. Before Gabriel left, I recorded his voice with my tape recorder. If they hear him talking on a local phone call, they’ll assume he’s still in the city.”

  “And when that’s over, what will you do ne
xt?”

  “Take the money and fix up my school. We need an air-conditioning system and the landlord won’t buy one.”

  She must have shown her disappointment because Hollis looked annoyed. “Come on, Vicki. Don’t act like a church girl. For the last twenty-four hours you haven’t been that way at all.”

  “And what way is that?”

  “Always making judgments. Quoting Isaac Jones every chance you get.”

  “Yes. I forgot. You don’t believe in anything.”

  “I believe in seeing things clearly. And it seems obvious to me that the Tabula have all the money and the power. There’s a good chance they’re going to find Gabriel and Maya. She’s a Harlequin so she won’t surrender…” Hollis shook his head. “I predict she’ll be dead in a couple of weeks.”

  “And you’re not going to do anything about it?”

  “I’m not an idealist. I left the church a long time ago. Like I said, I’ll finish this job. But I’m not going to fight for a lost cause.”

  Vicki took her hand off the door handle and faced him. “What is your training for, Hollis? To make money? Is that all? Shouldn’t you be fighting for something that helps others? The Tabula want to capture and control anyone who could be a Traveler. They want the rest of us to act like little robots, obeying the faces we see on television, hating and fearing people we’ve never met.”

  Hollis shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. But that doesn’t change anything.”

  “And if a great battle takes place, which side will you be on?”

  She grabbed the door handle again, getting ready to go, but Hollis reached out and touched her left hand. With just a little tug, he pulled her toward him, then leaned over and kissed her on the lips. It felt as if light was flowing through both of them, only to be united for a moment. Vicki pulled away and opened the door.

  “Do you like me?” he asked. “Admit that you like me.”