— 12 -
James couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Kilani offered little information about the place she was taking him to and even less about anything else. They had run the entire way from the clearing, through the tunnel, and into the jungle behind Harbor Town. The pair stepped out of the jungle into an old, generic coastal town. Two large buildings on pilings stood sentry over the long wharf that stretched between the shore and the end of the pier. Smaller buildings stood over the water abreast the larger pair on either side of the woodplanked jetty. More buildings stood where the jungle ended and the sandy shore began. Several dozen people walked about. One man pushed a cart full of fruit James had never seen. A woman stood beside a wooden cask yelling at anyone within shouting distance to come try a chalky-looking beverage called homeroot juice.
Kilani led James between the two buildings. A loud bell rang and they turned to watch men and woman crowd the dock and begin walking toward them.
“What’s going on?” James asked.
Before Kilani could respond, a voice from a balcony above quieted the crowd.
“Brothers and sisters of Harbor Town, we have a new arrival,” he shouted, walking down the rickety wooden steps to join the crowd that surrounded James and Kilani.
“What brings you to our fair land, my friend? Murder? Blasphemy? Treason?”
James thought the man looked oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place from where. James guessed he was close to his father’s age-had his father still been living. He had a long, well-kept beard. A hint of gray streaked the light brown hair on his face and head, which was likewise long. His eyes shifted in their sockets in a way James found rather unsettling; it seemed almost as if the man had an illness of the head. James stood silent as the crowd waited for a reply.
“What say you, young man? A spy, perhaps?”
James looked at Kilani. She nodded reassuringly.
“I didn’t do anything. I was framed and banished.”
“Ahh, yes. A conspiracy. Why didn’t I think of that?” the man said facetiously. “We’re all innocent here on the Isle of Never. Tell us, what news from our world?”
All James could do was stare at the crowd. He moved his eyes from face to face. Each looked, well, normal (with the exception of the man with whom he was speaking). He couldn’t believe a place that appeared so common could exist in such a wild and remote environment. Yet here it was.
“Jungle raptor got your tongue, boy? Get him some homeroot juice. Always loosens the tongue,” the man shouted. The woman who’d been peddling it ran in an ungainly trot resembling a wounded animal down the dock to fetch the juice.
“This is Master Luno,” said Kilani.
“My, my. Such dreadful manners have I. My apologies. Yes, as the beautiful Kilani so duly noted, I am Luno. I speak for my brothers and sisters here at Harbor Town. Please tell us your name, traveler.”
“James Stuart,” said James.
The crowd started. He heard gasps and then silence. Luno smiled nervously.
“Have you a middle name, Master James?”
“I have. I’ve been given the name of my father. James Lochlan Stuart.”
The man gasped, and everyone in the crowd took a step back.
“Can it be? After all these years?” Luno said in almost a whisper.
“What is it?” James asked, looking from Kilani to Luno.
“Let us speak in private,” Luno said, extending his hand and ushering James up the rickety wooden stairs to the balcony he had descended moments ago.
When they reached the balcony, James looked back down at Kilani with a longing expression for the only person he’d known since his arrival. Luno, noticing the direction of his stare, yelled down.
“Oh, very well. Kilani, Join us. Up you come.”
She ascended the stairs and Luno led them into a large open room. The vaulted ceilings added to the spaciousness. In the center of the room was a low square table that was surrounded by cushions. Across from the entrance was a large window overlooking the sea. James passed a wall covered entirely by a meticulously detailed map. He felt the lure of the water as he gazed at the horizon.
“Ironic, isn’t it?” said Luno
“What?” James asked.
“All that ocean and yet you can sail for a hundred days and never lose sight of this land.”
“It’s an illusion?”
“Oh it’s real. As real as anything else in this place. Many men have met their ends in that sea. Nothing is as it seems here, James. Beneath the surface are things more wonderful and terrible than you can possibly imagine. Reality, as it is in The Never, is much like reality in the world from whence you came… and much different.”
“What is this place?” asked James
“Some say it is another world. They believe there is a magical link between our world and it, which enables one to travel between the two. Others think it is a place on our world simply hidden by magical enchantments of such extraordinary power that only the greatest of our kind could possibly find it.”
“And what do you believe?”
“A fine question, my boy. Fine question. Again Luno’s eyes darted with such rapidity that James was sure the man would fall over into spasms. I promise you this. Before you depart, I will tell you what I believe. For now, you must be satisfied with that.”
“Very well,” James replied.
“Please sit,” Luno said, extending his hand to the cushions beside the table. Kilani and James sat.
“Where are my manners? Tea, anyone?”
Without waiting for a reply, Luno picked up a kettle from the side table and poured the clear liquid into three cups. Luno sat quickly opposite James with Kilani to his left. Luno opened a small wooden box on the tray. Inside were dried leaves.
“Anon leaves. Named after the gentleman who discovered them, poor bloke. Anyway, best damn tea I’ve ever tasted comes from these little beauties.”
He gave the box a tap and three equal portions made their way into the cups. The liquid inside the cups changed to a deep amber color. An intoxicatingly fragrant smell slowly rose from the cups.
“Cheers,” he said with a smile, raising his cup. He set it down without taking a sip.
As James raised the cup to his lips, Kilani shook her head. He lowered the cup despite his desire to taste its fine-smelling contents.
“Now, I suppose you have some questions for me.”
Kilani quickly stood and cleared the table, removing the dangerous liquids.
“Thank you, Kilani,” said Luno, never taking his eyes off James. “Damn good stuff, Roger leaves, wouldn’t you agree?”
James simply nodded his head.
“Now, your questions, my boy.”
“So much has happened so quickly, I’m not sure where to begin,” James said.
“Perhaps I can help as I’ve had this conversation numerous times. Although-” he paused for a moment, thinking to himself. “Well, we’ll get to that. The first question I usually get is where am I? To which I reply, you’re in The Never, in the quaint costal villa of Harbor Town to be exact. Then they ask what is The Never? To which I reply, it is where you go when you’ve been really, really naughty.”
“How do I get back?” James asked.
“Back? Why on earth would you want to go back? This place can be whatever you want it to be. For me, it is a home. For others, it is a prison or nothing more than a final resting place. Of all those things, going back is not
