This Broken Wondrous World (4 page)

“We do not mind. The rock is our home. It is the human's loss that we are not here to help them any longer.”

“So what are you doing out of the mountain now?”

“Looking for you.”

“For me? How did you know I would be here? I didn't even know I'd be here until a few hours ago.”

“I know many things, son of Adam. Which is why I have come to assure you that when the need is most dire, I will be there to help you.”

“Uh, thanks. So . . . why do I need help?”

“You don't yet. But the time will come soon. Secrets cannot stay hidden forever. And once the truth is revealed, war will swiftly follow.”

“War? Who's going to be fighting?”

“That will depend.”

“On what?”

“On you.”

“So you can see the future or something?” The three Fates lived at The Show. They could see the future, so I didn't see why other monsters couldn't do the same thing.

“I can see the truth of things,” said the dwarf. “The secrets begin to crumble. Starting now.”

I heard footsteps behind me.

“Eh . . . Boy?” came Henri's voice, a little higher pitched than usual. “Am I going crazy, or are you talking to a little magical man?”

The dwarf squinted his bright blue eyes as he looked at Henri.

“You are not mad, Henri Frankenstein. Not yet.”

Then the dwarf drew his gray coat up over himself so that he looked like part of the stone. A moment later, there was nothing but rock.

Henri's eyes went even wider as they flickered back and forth between the now-empty rock and me.

“Did he just . . . what the hell . . . I—”

“Uh, yeah,” I said. “Why don't you sit down. I might as well just tell you everything.”

I TALKED FOR
a long time. The sun was starting to sink behind the mountains by the time I was done. And the whole time, he listened quietly as I explained that all the stories he'd ever heard about monsters and mythical creatures were at least partly true. Things that defied what humans understood about science did exist. Although I was quick to point out that the stories were almost never completely accurate.

“A world of monsters.” He shook his head and turned to look out at the lake, now red with the setting sun.

“So . . . I know that's a lot to take in.”

He laughed, but his usual short burst sounded strained. I couldn't tell if he was handling it well. I still couldn't quite believe I'd just dumped it all on him like this. It felt really good, actually. But then I immediately felt guilty about that. I'd just turned his world upside down. Granted, the dwarf hadn't left me a whole lot of choice. But still, I was pretty sure this was not going to go well.

“I fucking knew it,” he said quietly, almost to himself.

“You . . . knew that monsters are real?”

“Well, no, not that part,” he said. Then he turned to me
suddenly. He had a huge grin stretched across his face and his brown eyes seemed to sparkle with glee. “But I knew that there was more out there. More than these dull people around us would or could admit. I knew the world was still full of impossible things!” He hopped up off the rock he'd been sitting on, came over, and grabbed my shoulders. “Werewolves, trolls, ogres, sirens! I have so many questions for you, cousin!” Then his grin turned into a smirk. “But the first and most important one is, who are these two English ladies you talk about so much? Sophie and Claire?”

“Oh, uh. They're my . . . girlfriends.”

“Girlfriends! You have two?”

“Well, sort of. I mean, it's complicated.”

“I should hope so!”

“Their names are Sophie Jekyll and Claire Hyde.”

“Any relation to . . . ?”

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were their grandfathers. And like their mother and their grandfather, they switch back and forth. I guess you could say they're kind of a package deal.”

“I like this world of yours more and more!” He nudged me in the ribs with his elbow. “So do you get to pick which one you hook up with?”

“Uh, no. That's kind of an issue with them, actually. They try to stick to a strict monthly schedule. Otherwise, they get really competitive about who has more time out.”

“Out?”

“Well, the way Sophie described it to me once is that even when one of them is there, the other is still conscious inside somewhere, seeing what she sees, hearing what she hears, feeling what she feels, but not in the
way
she feels it.”

“So, when you make love to one of them, the other is right there with you?”

“Uh . . .” I said, feeling really uncomfortable. “Yeah.”

“That must be a little . . . weird, no?”

“You have no idea.”

“Okay.” He waved his hands, like he was clearing the air. “So tell me—and this is important—are there any nymphs?”

“Oh, yeah, loads. But I'm not sure—”

“And are the stories at least right about their beauty?”

“I guess, but—”

“Then I must meet them!”

“Look, you're not even supposed to know any of this.”

“It wasn't your fault. That dwarf gave you away.”

“Yeah, but—”

“And I'll take full responsibility. You won't be blamed for anything.”

“Henri, that's the problem. We have to worry about more than just my parents. There is a vampire who has dedicated his life to the secrecy of monsters. He is convinced that our survival depends on it. If he thinks you are any kind of threat, he won't hesitate to kill you.”

He stared at me for a moment in silence. I let it sink in.

“So . . . I should be worried for my life?”

“I hope not. Vi and I will do everything we can to protect you, of course. But—”

“Who is Vi?”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“She's . . . uh . . . it's really complicated. . . .”

“Don't tell me you have
three
girlfriends!”

“No, no, it's not like that. It's just . . .” It was getting dark and I didn't know how much longer this conversation would take.
“Maybe I should just show you.”

WE WERE QUIET
for a little while as Henri steered us back across the lake toward the twinkling lights of Villa Diodati. We were most of the way home when we heard a loud splash about twenty feet behind us.

Henri glanced back, scanning the black water for a moment. Then he slowly turned to me.

“The mermaid is real, isn't she?”

“I don't know for sure,” I said. “But yeah, probably.”

He shook his head. “Everywhere I look has been altered. It is as if I am seeing a new world all around me. A world I always hoped existed, but feared could not.”

“So . . . you're not scared about there being monsters in the world?”

“I suppose I am. But that is not the most important thing.”

“No?”

“Listen, when I was a boy, I always daydreamed of magical places and creatures. This world seemed too narrow, too confining for my vision. But as you get older, you learn to give up those childish dreams. As painful as it is, you learn to accept that life just is not as cool as you imagine it to be. But then my father told me about you and your parents. It was like . . .” He opened his hand like a little explosion. “Hope. For foolish dreams. And now that hope has been realized.”

“You know you can't tell your parents,” I said.

“That's okay. I like being the only one who knows.”

We were quiet again as Henri brought us up to the dock and
tied off the boat. During the walk back, he kept looking around at everything, like he expected magic creatures to be hiding in bushes or under rocks. I actually started to feel a little excited about it, too. It was silly, of course. I'd grown up around monsters and magic. But Henri's sense of wonder was infectious. And it felt nice. Like I was part of something special, not terrible.

“So where are we going now?” asked Henri once we got back to the house.

“To my room. I want you to meet Vi.”

“Meet?”

“You'll see.” I wiggled my eyebrows mysteriously.

I'd made a point of mentioning Vi because I'd set it up so that she could “see” and “hear” things inside the house. I wanted to give her a little heads-up that she was about to meet Henri. She seemed oddly preoccupied with him for some reason, and I had a feeling she'd be nervous.

When we walked into my room, a female computerized voice said, “Hello, Boy. How was your mountain hike?”

I smiled. She was showing off the new text-to-speech software we'd been working on.

“Good,” I said. “Weird. We met a dwarf.”

“Swiss dwarves?” she asked. “Sometimes called
Bergmännlein
? I can't quite figure out the difference between those and kobolds. I suspect they may be the same thing.”

“Whatever he was, he blew our cover,” I said. “So Henri knows everything.”

“Henri Frankenstein, I have heard so many wonderful things about you,” she said. “It is so good to finally meet.”

“Eh, hi?” he said, looking around the room. Then he spotted the laptop sitting open on the desk. “Are we Skyping with
someone?”

“Nope.” I pointed to the laptop. “That's Vi.”

“The computer?”

“She's based on the laptop right now because she needs the CPU for processing, and her range is somewhat restricted. But she's a fully independent virtual intelligence. Eventually, she'll be able to connect with any digital platform in the world.” I turned to the laptop and winked at her. “When she's ready.”

“You winked!” she said. “That's a facial cue that implies a shared knowledge between us.”

“Or?” I asked.

“Facetious flirtation.”

“She's using the camera in the laptop to try to read our facial expressions,” I told Henri. “It's still pretty new.”

“It's an extremely nuanced communication layer,” said Vi. “Sometimes it seems that a millimeter of skin displacement can be the difference between happiness and anger.”

Henri just stood there and stared at the laptop, his mouth open.

“Are you testing me?” she asked. “I'm not sure I'm reading this one correctly. Shock? Horror?”

“Amazement.” He turned to me. “This is . . .” He turned back to the laptop. “You are . . . the most amazing thing in the world.”

“Do you really mean that, Henri?” asked Vi. “I . . . still have trouble parsing figurative language sometimes.”

“Of course I mean it!” he said. “In the whole world, there is nothing else like you! You are singular! Unique! A brand-new life-form!”

“Henri . . . I . . . thank you,” she said.

“Vi is the reason I'm studying biology,” I said. “I'm going to
build her a body. Not from dead body parts like Victor did. New. From scratch.”

“Interesting.” His eyes narrowed in thought. “You are talking about cellular engineering. It is going to take a long time.”

“Yeah,” I admitted.

He pursed his lips for a moment, then turned back to the laptop.

“Vi?” he said.

“Yes, Henri?”

“Would you be interested in another way to interact in three-dimensional space while you are waiting?”

“Of course!” she said.

“What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“Well, learning to recognize facial expressions is only part of visual communication. She should also learn how to
do
them.”

“Good point,” I said.

“And why stop at the facial? Our whole bodies have a language of expression!”

“True . . .” I said.

“But don't you see, Boy? This is why
I
am
here! I can design her a three-dimensional avatar! Combined with your speech and facial recognition software, she could have a truly seamless interaction with the real world! Art and technology in complete, functional union!”