The Stranger

no idea himself.

“You see, Max, you kept a firm grip on yourself, and that gave me time to study the beast. I was absolutely certain that it wasn’t capable of that—of attacking people in broad daylight . . . By the way, Sir Shurf, keep in mind that there is only one course of action in this situation: destroy it. So you’ll be the only one getting your hands dirty. We’ll just watch. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Lonli-Lokli said, nodding. His face looked as though he’d just been told to wash the dishes.

“Do you know what was visiting you, Max? The remains of your honorable neighbor: Sir Tolakan Enn himself.”

“How’s that possible?”

“I think he made a mistake moving into that house. The place is inhabited by a Phetan; it’s clear to me now.”

“A Phetan?”

“A Phetan is a spirit from another world, taught to do specific tasks and sent on a mission here. Even during the Epoch of Orders, the appearance of such beasts was extremely rare, because as they master new skills they become more useful, but also more dangerous. The longer a Phetan lives, the more powerful it becomes. Sooner or later it rebels against the Magician who summoned it, and . . . Most of the time the Phetan will take the body of its master. You see, Phetans miss having a body of their own; and once they get one, they set off in search of food.

“It’s not too difficult to destroy a Phetan—you’ll see that for yourself very soon—but it’s next to impossible to detect its presence. A Phetan surrounds itself with an almost impenetrable protective field. Its main goal is not to attract too much attention. This protective field prevents you from homing in on it. You can’t even detect it. Even if you do notice something, you won’t be able to recall it later. The Phetan feeds its new body on the energy of sleeping people, and after they wake up—if they wake up—they can’t remember what happened. We really are lucky, Sir Max. Very lucky! I’ll tell you why later; that’s another story. There’s one thing that still bothers me, though. Since when does a Phetan attack someone who’s not asleep? I’ve never heard of such a thing before. But no matter—we’ll figure this thing out.”

“But if it flees,” I asked, “how are we going to find it?”

“Out of the question, Sir Max, completely out of the question! Not one Phetan can leave the place it inhabits. It’s a law of nature. That’s exactly why some Magicians involve themselves with Phetans: because you can always escape if you have a head on your shoulders. Sell the house together with its inhabitant, and other people will have to deal with the consequences.”

“But how could Lady Feni go out shopping, if—”

“Good question, boy! I think that having two bodies at its disposal, the Phetan could allow one of them to go free from time to time; though not for long, of course. I’m quite certain it was not Lady Feni going out shopping, but a pitiful semblance of the person she once was, programmed to do certain things. It was a diversionary tactic; a good way of maintaining secrecy. And Phetans covet secrecy. Here we are gentlemen, we can get out now.”

We got out of the amobiler right in front of my house. The Street of Old Coins was pretty crowded. There were a few policemen, half a dozen housewives, and a crowd of gawkers who had come out of the Sated Skeleton. In the center of the circle they formed we found a modestly dressed middle-aged woman whose head was nearly severed from the rest of her body. A basket of nuts lay nearby. The scattered nuts formed a sort of pathway between my house and the Phetan’s, as though the invisible sandy bridge from my dream was casting a very real shadow on the earth beneath it.

My observations were interrupted by the voice of Sir Juffin demanding an explanation from the policemen.

“Witnesses say that it was a very little man, sir,” said the policeman, perplexed.

“Where are the witnesses?”

A young couple emerged from the crowd of onlookers. They seemed pleasant, and very youthful, probably around sixty years old by local standards. The lady turned out to be more talkative than her companion.

“We were taking a stroll around the city, and we chanced upon this street. It seemed quiet enough; there wasn’t anyone around, just one lady with a basket, walking along ahead of us. Then all of a sudden a little man jumped out from behind that house.” Here the girl pointed to the ancient architectural masterpiece that I was already so sick of.

“Are you sure he was small?” asked Juffin.

“I’m sure, sir! You can ask Frud here. He was very small, like a baby, or even smaller. But he was dressed like a grownup, all nice and fancy. At first we didn’t understand what was going on. We thought that the man recognized the lady and ran up to hug her. Well, he jumped up; because of course how else could he hug her, being so little and all. We thought it was cute. But then the lady fell over, and we got scared. The man jumped up and down on top of her a few more times, and then left.”

“Where did he go?”

“He just left . . . Well, he didn’t come toward us, praise to the Magicians! Frud wanted to chase after him, but I got scared. Then we started crying for help.”

“Thank you my dear. Very good,” said Juffin. He then turned to the police officers. “Did you see anyone leaving the house, boys?”

“No, Sir Venerable Head! And we didn’t go inside, because—”

“And a very good thing you didn’t! Max, Shurf, let’s go!”

So we went to pay a visit to my neighbors, a thousand werewolves on their nuptial bed! Inside, the house was dark and very quiet—and very foul, I might add! A massive parlor laden with valuables gave the impression of an odious museum built in the foyer of hell, a collection comprised of belongings stolen from sinners. And I’m not saying that just because I suffered at the hands of the house’s owners. The atmosphere of the house was truly disgusting. Even Lonli-Lokli winced squeamishly; and I’m quite sure that doesn’t happen often.

For the first time since I arrived in Echo, the oversized spaces annoyed me. It took us several minutes to search the first floor, even though we worked very quickly; to no avail. Our search yielded nothing but a thoroughly rotten mood.

We went upstairs. The second floor was as dark and quiet as the first. Lonli-Lokli stepped onto the staircase that led to the third floor. I followed him with a feeling of certain doom. It would have been so nice to wake up just then, but I couldn’t have been more awake.

Hey Max, don’t get depressed! Juffin sensed that I was losing heart and magnanimously sent me a call. No matter what happens, this is work for Shurf; and it’s not difficult, either. You and I are just here out of curiosity. It’s not the most pleasant outing, but it’s nothing more than that. Chin up, my boy!

I felt a bit better. I even mustered a weak smile and had it sent General Delivery to Sir Juffin.

Finally we were on the top floor of the house. Above it there was nothing but sky.

They were waiting for us—Tolakan and Feni Enn: fabulously wealthy, smitten with love for each other, and happy together till the end of time. But, no, they’d been gone for a long time already. Only the formidable Phetan remained, extending his longevity with the two sequestered bodies.

The beast knew very well that the situation was hopeless, and knew what awaited him. It didn’t even try to put up a fight. Suddenly, I got an uneasy feeling. I think I was beginning to sympathize with this unknown beast, who was not even here of its own will; it was merely trying to survive in the only way it knew how. What if some crazy Magician summoned me? And with my talent for getting into trouble, even in my sleep . . . I felt a chill, and shivered.

Five snow-white rays raced toward the motionless couple. Sir Lonli-Lokli’s left hand smote the double- bodied beast quickly and efficiently. Painlessly, as well, I hoped.

“Juffin?” I asked in the ringing silence. “Is there anything left of the Enns themselves? A soul, I mean, or whatever the scientific word for that is . . .”

“No one kno—Oh, Max!”

Quick as lightening, he struck the back of my knees, and I collapsed to the floor. As I was falling, I realized there was something wrong with the nape of my neck. I felt a painful incision in the very place where the hair