The Door in Crow Wood
By Rob Summers
Copyright 1996,1997 Rob Summers
Library of Congress Copyright Number for The Empress,
Part I of The Door in Crow Wood: TXu000839363
Library of Congress Copyright Number for The Emperor,
Part II of The Door in Crow Wood: TXu000839364
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Empress, Part I of The Door in Crow Wood
Prologue: Six Years Before the Kulismos
Chapter 1: The Misara Fijata Razabera
Chapter 2: Tsawb
Chapter 3: The Ruins of Lucilla
Chapter 4: The Summer Stars
Chapter 5: The Vulture’s Borders
Chapter 6: The Village of Ruin
Chapter 7: The Iron House of Ursula
Chapter 8: The Valley of the Past
Chapter 9: The Palace of Reflections
Chapter 10: The Council of Simone
Chapter 11: The Mountain Track
Chapter 12: Simone the Soldier
Chapter 13: Trans-Titan
Chapter 14: The Battle of the Field of Parting
Chapter 15: The Crossroads
Chapter 16: The Valley of Thunders
Chapter 17: Cemetery House
Chapter 18: The Trunk-Fire
Chapter 19: Hazot Tower
Chapter 20: The Pretender
The Emperor, Part II of The Door in Crow Wood
Chapter 21: The Galley Heracles
Chapter 22: The Little Appian
Chapter 23: Kulismos
Chapter 24: The Menander Tollpoint
Chapter 25: Farja
Chapter 26: Metuza the Dog
Chapter 27: The Black Hall of Purgos
Chapter 28: The Heretics’ Pool
Chapter 29: The Court of Chess
Chapter 30: The Silb Maze
Chapter 31: Dowerkass
Chapter 32: Nashpa of the Mangars
Chapter 33: The Ride to the Snow
Chapter 34: The Ice Caves
Chapter 35: The Medallion and the Cloak
Chapter 36: The Emperor’s Battle
Chapter 37: Zeeba, Daughter of Nero
Chapter 38: And the People of the East Shall Be Saved
Chapter 39: Tsawb Again
Chapter 40: The Witch Gelen
Postscript: In the Year of the Kulismos
Rob Summers’ Other Works
About Rob Summers
Connect with Rob Summers
Chronology of the Fold
Word List of Kreenspam
Moves to the Chess Game
Where are the Maps?
(A note from the author)
An ebook reader or smart phone screen is far from ideal for displaying maps. So with apologies I ask the reader to download PDF format images, created by me, of 1) a map of the continent of the Fold and 2) a map of the entire Fold, both at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/163833791/2-Fold-maps These may then be viewed and printed. Their artistic merit may be judged from the portion shown on the book cover, but the forgiving reader will find them useful.
The Empress
Part I of The Door in Crow Wood
Prologue: Six Years Before the Kulismos
Twelve year old Simone Gareth sat on the sun warmed cemetery bench, stroked the little invisible animal at her side, and cried. All around them the ground was carpeted with dazzling leaves, and the wind was tearing down more from the sugar maple boughs. Two early snowbirds hopped in the branches. The tall, thin girl thrust her hands in her jacket pockets to control their shaking.
“If you go,” she said, “I don’t have anybody.”
The creature’s claws skittered on the concrete bench surface as it turned to face her.
“You have your family,” it said, it’s voice scratchy and high.
“Some family,” Simone pouted.
“And I’ll come back,” it went on gently, “if at all possible. The only Door known that connects my world with yours is far away in the Mediterranean Sea, and it was very difficult for me to reach you from there. But now that I’ve done it once I see I have some chance of doing it again. Still, I must warn you that it may be years.”
“I’ll just die,” Simone muttered.
“Simone—Simone? I’ll miss you very much.”
“Then why do you have to go? It’s only been four months.”
“I’ve told you. I have to report to my people. I’ll come back for you. You and your brother must someday come to my world—to the Fold.”
“Raspberry, tell me now about your world.”
The little creature locked its front claws into her jacket sleeve. “I’ve told you very little, I know, because the language lessons have been more important. When you and Clay come, that will be soon enough to learn about our ways. Promise me that you’ll study, Simone. Study both Gellene and Kreenspam equally, for you’ll need both languages. And you must make Clay study too.”
“He doesn’t like to learn them, not like I do.”
“But he must learn them. Simone, swear by Ulrumman that you won’t forget and put the books aside. Remember that I brought them here at the risk of my life. You swear?”
“OK, I swear by Ulrumman.” She wondered dully who or what she was swearing by.
“Good. Someday I’ll make it clear to you why you must know our languages and come to our land. You’re too young for the whole story, but I’ll tell you this much that I’ve been holding back. We Fijats have kept a watch on your family for twenty-three generations. Yes, we knew your remote ancestors.”
Simone’s eyes widened. Suddenly she thought she understood something. “Is that why we’ve had so many ghost stories in our family? Was it you?”
“My folk, yes.”
“Mom—when she was in college—she said she heard things, saw things move.”
“Yes, a clumsy friend of mine who was not supposed to be noticed by her. Zatel is rather old now, and is probably napping high in a yellow wood in my homeland. It was he who instructed me how to get here to Viola, Indiana, when I was chosen to come looking for your mother. Twenty-two years had passed since his visit, you know. We didn’t even know that Susan Tanner had married and had children.”
Simone’s tears had at last stopped. She looked down at the place where the Fijat crouched invisible. “Raspberry, why didn’t your friend talk to Mom like you do to me? She still thinks it was ghosts.”
“Much has changed since then, my dear. Then we waited and watched. Now the time has come to reveal ourselves, to draw you back to the Fold. But when I came I was so worried about frightening you.”
Simone faintly smiled. “You wrote those notes to me in the margin of my Alice in Wonderland.” (She spoke as of something long ago, though it had only been in June.) “I thought I was going crazy, or that Clay was playing a trick. And the first time you spoke to me, I was scared.” A leaf fell in her lap and she brushed it away. “But after you became a secret friend to Clay and me, life became so interesting. You gave us the language lessons, and you taught us to be brave and unselfish and truthful. How to be a noble descendant, a Misara Sisskame.”
“Both words are accented on the second syllable, dear.”
Simone said it again, correctly. Then they were quiet, both remembering the business at hand.
“To you I am Raspberry, a secret friend who you know little about, but—” Simone began to cry afresh. “—but in my own land, in the Hule Argura or Silver Forest, I am the Misara Fijata Razabera, and a member of the council of the Forest Obscure. I have great responsibilities.”
“Yeah, you’re on boards and committees,” Simone said bitterly, “like Mo
m.”
“No, child, it’s different. I can’t explain everything; it’s too much for you to hear now.” Raspberry rubbed Simone’s hand with her furry muzzle. “I must go. Goodby doesn’t say it well enough, does it? But goodby, my dearest.”
Simone took a few ragged breaths. “Goodby, Raspberry.”
The Fijat dropped to the leaves and skittered off a few paces. “Study the languages!” she said. “Never forget me! I will come back and you must be ready. Be very careful of yourself and of Clay. Goodby!”
Simone heard the creature race off across the cemetery lawn. She stood and ran after her.
“Raspberry, Raspberry!”
She stopped and listened, her lips trembling. No answer. In a lull in the wind, the fallen leaves all about her lay unstirred. Slowly she turned back and made her way to the break in the fence that separated Greenlawn from her own yard. She climbed a steep bank to Cemetery House where her younger brother Clay stood by the ramshackle back porch, his blond hair sticking out from under a stocking cap.
He grinned nervously. “She’s gone?”
“Yeah,” Simone said. “Maybe for years. I guess we’re orphans again.”
She passed through the porch into the house. In the bathroom she washed her face and then surveyed herself in the mirror of the medicine chest, her fists clenched at her sides.
“Mij koru dal zel-korangfetal, Razabera,” she said with all her soul.
(I never will forget you, Raspberry.)