False Horizon - Alex Archer [59]
“But how do you know when to start?”
Vanya smiled. “We are always at the starting point of something, somewhere. The real trick is knowing where you are at any given moment. Find out the answer to that, and then you will become truly unstoppable.”
“Have you figured it out yet?”
“Me?” Vanya laughed. “Oh, no. I imagine that will take me many more lifetimes to understand. Perhaps then I will escape the wheel. Until such time, I will be back to learn more and continue to evolve.”
“You don’t seem disappointed.”
“Why be disappointed? Time is a function of humanity. The rest of the universe doesn’t seem to care how long something takes or whether things are on schedule or not. It simply continues, regardless. So, too, will my personal evolution. When it is time for me to move on, I shall.”
Annja smiled. “Thanks for your help.”
“It is my pleasure. Thank you for bringing my son home.”
“My pleasure.”
Vanya drifted away, leaving Annja to ponder a lot more than what she’d started with.
22
Tuk walked with his father, Guge, toward the royal pavilion hours after the last of the partygoers had wandered off to sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about the phone call from Garin earlier and what ramifications it might have for his kingdom. But Garin had specifically asked Tuk to find out how to cross over to this land. And Tuk knew his only chance at getting that information was from his father.
“You’re enjoying yourself, my son?”
Tuk smiled. “What’s not to enjoy? For my entire life I’ve always wondered who I was and what I was supposed to do. I thought I’d found my life’s work and then that vanished. I was despondent. Unsure of where I was supposed to go. And then this happened and everything seems so utterly perfect.”
Guge smiled. “Your mother is beside herself with joy. She blamed herself for many years after your disappearance. She was inconsolable in some respects. Guilt is a terrible burden to handle, but especially so where it concerns a child.”
“I would imagine,” Tuk said. “But I don’t hold either of you responsible. How could you have known that your kindness would be repaid with betrayal.”
“That’s the thing that one can almost never guard against,” Guge said. “Betrayal.”
“But surely you can look out for such things. If a person’s actions are suspect, then you can remain on alert for their traitorous ways to emerge.”
Guge nodded and then fell silent for a time. Finally, he looked at Tuk. “You wish to ask me a question.”
“I do.”
“Then why haven’t you yet?”
Tuk smiled. “How is it that we came to be in this place? We examined the cave as much as we knew how. And yet, here we are.”
Guge smiled. “You want to know how you crossed over.”
“Yes.”
“It’s quite simple, actually. Would you like to see it?”
Tuk looked at him. “Right at this moment?”
“Certainly. Why not?”
Tuk shrugged. “I thought there might be something complicated about it, something that would require more preparation time.”
“Not at all.” Guge pointed toward the temple ahead of them that was connected to the royal quarters. Like the pavilion and court, it was constructed out of stone and seemed to be part of the mountain itself. Intricate carvings bordered every doorway and window.
Tuk was amazed at the workmanship. “How long has this been here?”
“Hundreds of years.” Guge pointed inside a darkened corridor. “Come with me and you will learn the secrets of our kingdom.”
Tuk fell into step behind his father. Guge traveled over the polished stone-floored corridors without a sound, seeming to almost levitate as he walked. Guge’s cough had also ceased, which made Tuk feel better about his father’s health. He’d secretly wondered if the coughing might be a sign that his father’s life was nearing its end.
They walked past giant stone gods squatting in amazing detail with their hands knotted into intricate mudra for calling down favor from the universe. Spectacular colored wall reliefs showed ancient battles between the