Ice: Chapter 2

“Come in, dear friend, and familiarize yourself with a charmed life. Hold on a moment--there: now it’s nice and dust free for your little fanny. Please don’t mind the stuffing poking out about the seams; these chairs have endured no short while here, to be sure! Is there anything else I can get you? No, no, just stay right there. I’ll bring you a nice lemonade, with four big ice cubes--I shan’t be more than a moment beyond these red beads in the kitchen. So, did you find it difficult to get here? It can be a bit difficult, I agree, with all the distractions society serves up your days. Ah, here you go. A nice hot cappucino and biscuit to keep you comf—Careful! It’s hot. Now hold on a bit while I go get the, er, the... the thing. Just a bit!”

He shakes his head and walks into the small corridor in his bizarre, half-hunched loping fashion. Tearing off a bit of the bagel reveals a rather standard raisin-and-cinnamon fare, and I decide to do as bidden; in a moment I’m stretched out in the strangely sturdy chair, cappucino in the left hand, bagel in the right. A tall, thin lamp to my right with an orange-red globe about the bulb casts strange, slightly flickering shadows--perhaps it contains a candle rather than a lightbulb?--around the edges of the room onto orange-red walls. A shadow ambles over and jumps into my lap. Surprise and shock paralyze until I carefully set down my cappucino onto the nightstand to my left. Closer tactile and visual examination discovers claws--long sharp ones on my thighs--and two large sea-green eyes. A single stroke retracts the (painful!) claws; however, despite being able to feel the fur, it remains hidden in a black abyss. Footsteps--

“‘Allo! ‘Allo! See you’ve made yourself comfy. Well, sit there and listen... I’ll translate the best I can.” He sits on a bookcase with some sort of dirty, worn notebook bound in cheap leather. Situated, his unusually low set brow furrows and he begins to read.

“‘10th of the First Blessed Month:,’ that’s today, you understand, June 30th as you know it, the Blessed Months begin on your June 21st, ‘woke up to weather unseasonably warm for even this time of year. Was sent out on a ‘scouting’ mission by Sergeant (burn him), if you can believe... ‘gathering firewood’ more like it. 30 minutes over desert, found small oasis. And then I’m not sure what happened. Perhaps I’ve received a prophecy? But I’m far too old for prophecy... and usually it doesn’t come to seers through disturbed hags. She said something about an evil iceman... my heart beat so fast it still doesn’t make much sense. Should I report this? Might seem like I’m just trying to get out of returning late and empty-handed... and cold! I said it was warm earlier; but it sure isn’t now. Well, my watch.”

He looks up from the volume. “I know, you must go. But remember this. And return.”

I assure him that I will, break my focus, and walk out of the Mercantile Library.