This time the whispers grew to an audible level. The exchange was incoherent but for a few notable words and phrases. Too soon. Mouth shut. You know better. Idiot.

  “No, you’re not,” Felina said loud enough for Royal and Moon to hear. “Go home. I’ll speak to you about it later.”

  “Thanks, love.”

  The owner of the second voice kissed her on the way out of the kitchen. He bounced into the main room, his smile stretched full, and he waved with both hands.

  “Oh, my bloody stars. It’s you in the flesh. And whatever you look like inside.”

  “And you are?”

  Felina dried her hands with a towel.

  “I’m so sorry. This is Mulkey. He’s my idiot Observant. You saw him on the street.”

  “She calls me an idiot every day. I know it’s on account of how she loves me. I want to say this is a true honor. It’s a day the whole city has been waiting for.” He turned to Felina. “See? I told you being Gatekeeper would work out in the long run. And she calls me idiot.”

  Mulkey was a dumpy figure. Middle-aged with an expanded gut, he wore wide-barreled earrings and pulled his brown hair into a ponytail. His goatee reflected a disciplined groomer, but the stain on his shirt above the left collarbone suggested someone else. He scrunched a tender hat in his hands.

  These two are together? No.

  “Nice to meet you,” Moon said.

  “Sure.” Royal hesitated then extended his hand. “Why not?”

  “I’m not really supposed to be here,” Mulkey said.

  “No,” Felina said with emphasis. “I warned you not to cause trouble for the Riders.”

  “What did you expect me to do? Sit on my hands? Good heavens. I told Scythian on Fourth Block and Amelie on Seventh.”

  “You know how fast their networks spread.”

  “Excuse me,” Royal interjected. “What’s up?”

  Felina hit Mulkey in the shoulder; he winced.

  “Obviously,” she said, “we can’t keep the news from the city. All new arrivals have a special day. You’re more than special. I wanted you to have a full night’s peace, maybe a nap. My idiot told the biggest gossipmongers in old town. As soon as it turns light out, the fun begins. Nothing I can do.”

  “They can handle it,” Mulkey said. “They’re the Riders.”

  “I don’t know what it is,” Royal said, “but these Riders are not whispering to us. What you see is what you get.”

  “Holy heavens!” Mulkey pointed to Royal’s scalp. “It’s a wolf. I didn’t recognize it at first. You must be the Destroyer.”

  “How can you tell from a tattoo?”

  Mulkey laughed, as if the explanation was simple.

  “An Observant wouldn’t be caught dead flaunting that thing about. It shows you have toasties bigger than a king crab.”

  “The fuck?”

  “Your balls, man. Your balls. I’ll bet you’ve killed thousands. Rider wouldn’t choose you for the grand finale unless you were the worst of us. We’ll need such a man for Prelude.”

  Felina held her face in her hands. Royal looked at Moon and shrugged.

  “I see why you weren’t on the welcoming committee.”

  “You see that, do you? No bother. So, am I right? Thousands?”

  “Sure. Yeah. Thousands.”

  “Right-o. We have lots of monsters in Bessios, but we need another killer with a long track record. Fresh in the mind, too. The others, they’ve been here too many lifetimes. Lost their touch.”

  Royal followed some of Mulkey’s rambling. He’d overlooked what should’ve been obvious: Bessios was a city dominated by killers. “The fortunate few” Gingerbread spoke of arrived with unfortunate resumes.

  Well, at least I’ll fit right in.

  “I’ve killed people, too,” Moon chimed in.

  “You have?” Mulkey scanned the Hokki with an air of uncertainty. “That’s a bonus. You look like a fella who killed on account of he had to, not because he wanted to.”

  Moon sniffed. “I can do whatever it takes.”

  “Heh. Not as easy as it sounds. Right, Destroyer?”

  “Don’t count out Moon. He’s coming along. But yeah. It ain’t easy. Fuck knows, it got me killed enough times.”

  “Yeah, yeah, it’s …”

  Mulkey looked wobbly all of a sudden. His eyes darted to Felina and then back to Royal.

  “Wait. What’s that you say? Killed before? You mean, out there?”

  Royal nodded. “Two universes worth of dying.”

  Mulkey raised both his fists skyward and grabbed Felina as if to kiss her, but she pushed him away.

  “No, Mulkey. Don’t you …”

  “You’re an immortal Destroyer?”

  “I’m immortal. Yeah. Engineered in a lab. Why?”

  “Are there others like you?”

  “Sure. A couple thousand. Maybe more. I don’t keep track.”

  Mulkey put his hands on his head and paced.

  “It’s happened. It’s proof. Don’t you see?”

  “No, Mulkey.” Felina threw the towel toward the kitchen counter but missed short. “It’s a myth, and this is just a coincidence.”

  “What’s the myth?” Royal asked.

  “It’s not myth, Destroyer. Fee, did you tell them the whole story?”

  “The facts, yes. Not this idiot prophecy.”

  “Which is?”

  “I have to sit down,” Mulkey said before plopping on the couch. “Many of us believe – no, most of us believe – the Riders chose to journey across the Continuum until they found proof the immortal lifestyle reigns superior.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I heard.”

  “No, no. The proof is the actual return of immortals. The first to rise since the Creators themselves. The immortals here will join one day with the immortals out there to form the future. Now, the immortals have risen, and the Riders have ended their journey.”

  Royal took stock of the room, particularly Felina, who shook her head as if to apologize for her “idiot.” Yet the timing did seem more than a little coincidental. The first Bouchet immortals were less than thirty years old. In the grand scheme, they were babies.

  “I think I missed a few things,” Moon said.

  “I’ll get you there soon enough, Moon. So, Mulkey, what does this theory of yours say about what’s gonna happen next?”

  “Oh. Well. We got no clue about that bit. Sort of leaving it up to Rider, you see.”

  “But what’s the long-range goal? Prelude? The Final Verdict?”

  “Oh, that part’s easy. The mortals will be gone.”

  “Gone? From where?”

  He shrugged. “Everywhere. They’ll die off. We’ll have it all to ourselves.”

  “It being …?”

  The color in the room changed. Royal turned to the long panel windows, where darkness transitioned to a brief shade of orange and then full daylight in seconds.

  “Well, look at that,” Mulkey chuckled with a nervous touch. “Morning. Came a little faster than I hoped.”

  “Back to this mortals business. Why will they die off?”

  “Because we’ll kill them, is how. That’s the Final Verdict.”

  “All the mortals. All planets. All universes.”

  “In a nutshell.”

  “And why would we do this?”

  “A reason as old as time. Because we can.”

  “And Rider chose me because I’m a killing machine, and that’s who he needs to lead this grand army of psycho immortals?”

  “I wouldn’t put it that way myself, but if it works …”

  Felina popped Mulkey upside the head.

  “Please, Royal. Don’t listen to this fool. There must be a thousand theories in the city about what happens next. Nobody knows. We’re not going to kill all those innocent people.”

  Mulkey moved his lips to “yes, we are.”

  “I have to get changed,” she said. “Riders, you’ll be fine. Just hang out here, and we’ll decide what to say to the crowd.”

  She ran out of the main room toward the back stairs from which they entered the transition house.

  “What crowd?” Royal asked.

  Mulkey grimaced. “Yeah. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

  “Fuck me,” Moon said. “Royal.”

  The Hokki stared out the panel window. Royal sensed what he might see, but the reality exceeded all expectation.

  People crowded every square foot of the street outside the house. The packed sea of humans extended up the cobblestone lane a hundred meters, where the street made a sharp bend.

  Every man and woman stared up at the new arrivals.

  No one said a word.

  17

  F ELINA RETURNED MOMENTS LATER, this time wearing a full-length red dress in heavy fabric. She added lipstick and brushed out her white hair. Royal thought the new look added ten years. He suspected that was the point: She wanted to appear before her fellow citizens as a dignified woman. She was the Gatekeeper, after all. Felina wasn’t called upon often. Mulkey, on the other hand, showed no interest in dressing up for the occasion.

  “They won’t care one sot about me,” he told Royal and Moon. “You’re the brightest stars. Wait till you see the look in their eyes.”

  Moon asked if he was underdressed in t-shirt and shorts. Mulkey stuck out his tongue.

  “Keep as you are. The Observant don’t need to outshine his Destroyer.” Mulkey pointed to the gold chains Royal wore. “All eyes will go to the man with the shine, as if the wolf weren’t enough.”

  Moon’s shoulders sagged, his disappointment obvious.

  “I thought both Riders were important.”

  “Oh, sure. We need both. But the man to lead Prelude will have to be a fearsome warrior who likes the taste of blood.”

  Royal drew on his cigar.

  “Hear that, Moon? Fearsome warrior.” He winked. “Gotta have experience under your belt to win that title.” He patted Moon on the shoulder. “Stick with me, killer. I’ll get you there.”

  Felina interrupted, but not without taking a deep breath.

  “It’s time,” she said. “Now, we’ll be going out on the second-level terrace. You two don’t have to say anything. Most arrivals are nervous. They don’t know their place or how to relate to Bessians.”

  “That’s what you call yourselves?” Moon said. “Bessians?”

  “Not formally. The only thing we have in common is geography. You’ll understand when you tour the city. As I was saying, silence is usually the best hello. Give them a chance to look you over.”

  Royal played with his gold chains.

  “What if somebody asks a question?”

  “They’re not supposed to. This tradition started when the population was less than a hundred. They know what it’s like to stand on that terrace. I remember one Observant a few lifetimes ago. He was a politician and tried to give a speech.” She laughed. “It was ugly.”

  “Good thing I don’t give speeches.”

  “No,” Moon said. “You toss out words like live grenades.”

  “You know me well. I’ll keep my lips locked out there.”

  Moon pulled on his pipe.

  “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  “OK,” Felina said. “Let’s do this, please. Follow me.”

  A door at the far end of the main room led to narrow stone stairs which emptied onto a terrace suitable for a party of four, but no more. Felina stood between Moon and Royal. At the far right, Mulkey whispered to Royal.

  “Best turnout in history.”

  Royal felt something odd in his gut, a strange presence he’d known once before. It happened when he was five and arrived on Hokkaido to meet his adoptive family. He remembered little of those early years, which suited him. Royal knew the word for this feeling.

  Butterflies.

  Thousands of eyes laid upon him, their curiosity immediate. How many judged him the instant he appeared? Royal remembered an old trick from his school days. The teacher told students to look above their audience when standing in front of class. It helped skirt their nervousness. Royal found a landmark at the far end of the body-packed cobblestone street: A neon marquee on a building’s façade splashed a red and green message in a foreign language.

  The trick failed when he saw fingers pointing and heard the word wolf from those standing directly below the terrace. The crowd mumbled before Felina introduced the arrivals.

  “As Gatekeeper of Bessios, it is my honor to welcome our latest arrivals,” she said. “To my left is Moon. To my right is Royal. The Riders chose to join with them to watch a new intersection in their universes.” She paused as the murmurs rose in many languages. “For the first time, the Riders did not leave these hosts. They stand with us as well.”

  Gasps and cheers blended with a rising tide of applause.

  Royal saw old eyes and young, men and women tall and short, and dozens of ethnicities. Their clothing appeared borrowed from all ages of human history; it ranged from the ornaments of the wealthiest to the humble cloth of the poor. The contradictions in dress verified Felina’s words that Bessians only had geography in common. These people played key roles in history’s grand narrative; most, he assumed, by destroying rather than creating. A sizable fraction – Royal estimated a third – were ravaged by age but none in spirit. Their eyes carried the same spark as the youngest.

  Felina continued.

  “Today marks a new direction for Bessios. As Gatekeeper, I ask you to show Moon and Royal the same respect and patience as all who came before them. They will need time to adapt. The Riders will reveal their plans for Prelude in due course.”

  She whispered to the arrivals:

  “Stand here for a moment. Allow them to study you. It’s tradition. They’ll leave when we do.”

  “Easy enough,” Royal said.

  Too easy, as the arrivals found out a few seconds later. Royal wasn’t surprised by what happened.

  “There’s more to the story!”

  Mulkey stepped forward, bracing his hands against the balustrade. He glanced at Royal and winced, as if to apologize in advance.

  “The Destroyer was born immortal!”

  Felina tried to chastise Mulkey, but her words disappeared beneath the roar that filled the narrow street. Fists rose toward the sky, and men and women jumped around like children. The celebration was far from unanimous. Royal thought half the crowd stood in silence, looking to their fellow Bessians with indignance or confusion.

  “Don’t talk to them,” Felina said, pulling Royal close. “You’ll never be done with it.”

  She raised both her hands and pleaded for calm, which was slow to come. When the giddy audience fell into a mild mix of laughter and wild murmurs, she said:

  “My Observant speaks of a prophecy, not facts.” Boos arose, while other citizens asked for quiet. “It is true the Destroyer was engineered to be an immortal. Until we hear from the Rider within, we do not know whether Royal was chosen for this reason.”

  “Shut your mouth, Felina!”

  The voice came from among those crowded closest to the terrace. A stocky man with a jungle of black hair and goatee pointed at Felina.

  “You are Gatekeeper. Your job is done,” he said. “We must hear from Destroyer. What Rider wants, he can tell us.”

  She looked past Royal and eyed Mulkey with slitted eyes.

  “See what trouble you caused. Idiot.”

  “C’mon, Fee. They’ll know the truth soon enough.”

  Royal studied the crowd. Some appeared as rabid as the man up front, others equally fearful or suspicious. If he told them the truth, that he hadn’t heard word one from Rider, he’d piss them off for different reasons. As first impressions go, maybe smart money should hold off a bit. He leaned over to Felina and mumbled.

  “So, just to be straight. I’m gonna live with these people the rest of my life?”

  “Yes.”

  “And there’s no damn telling how long that’s gonna be?”

  “Right.”

  “How long do these people hold a grudge?”

  “Depends. Some don’t give it up for three or four lifetimes.”

  “Yeah, no. That ain’t helpful. Tell you what. I know what to do.”

  “Please, Royal. You don’t have to …”

  He waved her off and turned to Mulkey.

  “Not another word. I got this.”

  Mulkey stretched a triumphant smile. No matter what happened next, he had outfoxed his Destroyer.

  “People of Bessios,” Royal shouted, hands above his head. “I’m the man you’ve been waiting for.” After the roar died, he finished. “This is gonna be great. Give me some time, and we’ll talk. OK?”

  He added an extra fist pump and watched the crowd erupt into its most raucous. He motioned for Moon to do the same. The Hokki imitated Royal but with less rah-rah.

  Felina turned around and grabbed the pair by their shirts. Both took her meaning and followed the Gatekeeper inside. Mulkey brought up the rear, grumbling as he scaled the stairs.

  Inside the transition house, Felina paced with hands to her hips. When she looked up, her eyes pierced Mulkey like darts.

  “My final Introduction, and you had to open your mouth. Do you know what this meant to me? I have no role now, and you ruined my last big moment.”

  Mulkey started to apologize but managed two words before she laid him out with a disciplined left hook.

  “Go home, Mulkey. I don’t want to see your face.”

  Royal mumbled to Moon, with whom he stood abreast.

  “Didn’t see that coming.”

  “She’s tougher than she looks.”

  Mulkey rolled over, grabbing his right cheek. He pushed himself up with a moan.

  “I’m sorry, Fee. I can’t help myself sometimes.”

  “You’ve been saying that for ten lifetimes, and you never change.”

  At the doorway, Mulkey offered the threesome a playful grin.

  “It’s going to work out for the best.” He focused on Felina. “You’ll love me again by morning, Fee. You know it.”

  “Out. Now.”

  After the Observant left the threesome behind, Royal puffed on his cigar and thought of the best way to sound sympathetic.

  “You did great, Felina. Made a real impression, I thought. Except maybe for that one asshole toward the end.”