“When was that?”
“Hmm, let’s see.” The professor tapped her fingers on her lips, then pointed at the halfling. “Exactly none-of-your-business years ago, if I remember correctly.”
Cheyenne widened her eyes.
“And I’m very happy with my decision, so I prefer not to go into the details of a past I left on the other side. Got it?”
“Loud and clear.” I bet I’ll be able to get that out of her too. Eventually.
“Good.”
“Okay, so we have magicals coming over to this side as refugees. They want sanctuary from what?”
“The usual. Political scandal. Familial disgraces. War, sometimes.” Mattie dipped her head and rolled her eyes. “Okay, it’s frequently from war. A lot of magicals brave the process of border control and immigration because they want a little adventure. Things back home got stale or impossible, or they’ve exhausted all their options and want a fresh start. It’s pretty easy to do that in a place where most of the inhabitants don’t know you exist.”
“What about the rest?”
“The rest of what?”
The halfling pressed her lips together and studied her professor’s open, curious expression.
I’m gonna have to give a little away if I want more details. Time for some give and take.
“I told you my friend got shot last week.”
“You might’ve mentioned it.” Mattie frowned. “I’m sorry you had to experience that. Trust me, I know the feeling better than I want to admit.”
Well, that didn’t take long.
Cheyenne shrugged. “Thanks. I’m okay. I’m not so sure about my friend.”
“Are they having a hard time processing what happened?”
“Well, yeah. Seeing as she still hasn’t spoken, although she woke up briefly.”
“Oh.” The professor blinked. “She’ll pull through.”
“I know. What I was trying to get to, though, is that before the shooting happened…” Cheyenne puffed out a breath and tried not to spend too much time on the memory. I sound like an idiot. If that’s how I get my answers… “My friend was with a group of magicals arguing about stuff I don’t understand. I think one of them was going around hitting up a bunch of businesses run by other magicals for extortion money. This friend of mine was one of those standing up to this guy, but it didn’t sound like any of them were surprised it was happening. What about the rest of the magicals who try to strong-arm people for whatever? Magicals running around shooting other magicals.”
“I see.” Mattie crossed one ankle over her other knee beneath the daisy-printed skirt and nodded. “That’s what I meant when I said I’m not sure most of the immigrant magicals are refugees these days.”
Cheyenne’s eyes narrowed. “They’re criminals.”
“Well, not necessarily. Trust me, Cheyenne, Ambar’ogúl has its own way of dealing with violence, theft, or any type of criminal activity. We wouldn’t ship our worst across the Border to let humans deal with them.”
The halfling stared at her professor and couldn’t keep the grin from breaking free. “Ambar’ogúl?”
The word felt foreign and familiar on her tongue. Somehow, it felt right.
Mattie nodded. “That’s what we call our world. That’s where I come from. That’s where your father came from. As far as I know, there isn’t any other realm to confuse it with, so it’s Earth and Ambar’ogúl.”
Cheyenne smiled at her lap and turned the name over in her mind.
“I’ve armed you with some powerful knowledge, kid. You need to know that.”
The halfling glanced at her professor and raised her eyebrows.
“We don’t mention that name unless it’s an important distinction to make.” Mattie licked her lips and collected her thoughts. “Words have power, Cheyenne. More than you might guess. That power’s a lot greater on the other side than it is here, but it still exists in this realm. I’m not talking figuratively, either. If you put enough focus and intention into a word, especially into a name, that word can literally become a weapon. And no, I won’t show you how to make that happen, so don’t ask.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
The older magical pointed at her student. “I can see the wheels turning in there, halfling. Don’t think I can’t.”
With another hidden smile, Cheyenne lifted her hands in surrender. “Okay. I won’t ask.”
“Excellent.”
“Next question.”
Mattie chuckled. “Go for it.”
“Who set up the reservations in the first place?”
“Ah. That’s an excellent question, and I have to tell you beforehand that I can’t answer it. I don’t know the answer.”
Cheyenne frowned. “So, a long time, then.”
“A very long time. Centuries. It’s one of those chicken-or-the-egg things.” Mattie opened one hand, then the other. “Did the magicals who came over create the reservations to integrate into this realm, or did humans on this side step in and establish something they felt they could manage? Simple answer? I don’t know. I’m not sure if anyone is alive on this side who does know.”
“You said something last week about the Native American reservations being modeled after the ones next to these portals. Or Borders. Those are the same thing, right?”
The professor nodded. “They are. Native American reservations were—and I use this word loosely—inspired by what we call reservations now. At one point, I’m sure they had individual names, but people took to calling them by numbers. Sometimes by the closest major human city.”
“All over the world?”
“All over the world.”
Cheyenne rubbed her palms on her baggy pant legs. “Native American reservations were designed to keep the tribes contained in one place, outside of federal or state jurisdiction.”
Mattie winked. “You doubling as a Native American Studies major?”
“No. I like to read.”
“What’s your favorite genre?”
“Everything.”
“Ha! Of course, it is.” Professor Bergmann
