To Fight the Black Wind

Chapter 6

When you move every couple of years, as I did when I was young, you learn that places are different. Not just strange people and new buildings. It is the landscape itself. The color palette is subtly off until you get used to it. Trees are the wrong shade of green and are shaped differently—rounder instead of triangular. The grass is lighter or longer or stiffer. The buildings are made from yellower rock instead of red. It seemed to me that the farther away from the coast you went, the lighter, yellower, or browner the landscape became. If you were not looking for it, all you would know is that something was “not right” about the new place you were in.

One of the things I would do as a child when we arrived at our new home was pick out exactly what was different—flora, fauna, and colors. I did not know it then, but I was creating coping mechanisms for the loss of my home and friends and all things familiar.

At first, it looked like a small New England village, but the closer we came, the more it looked like what someone thought a New England village should look like. Between the meadow and the start of the village was a road that gave Ulthar the perfect border. The rest of the village was displayed like a postcard on the gentle slope of the foothills. The village proper clustered together in a series of business buildings and homes. The rest of the land to either side of the village was farmland as far as the eye could see. Behind it all, the mountain stood as if shepherding its flock below.

It was beautiful and not quite right. It was too neat, too properly quaint for a real village. The central area appeared to be laid out in the shape of a cross with shops on the main street and administrative buildings on the cross street. Snaking out from the sides were several dirt roads that picturesquely wound their way out to numerous farms and small houses. This appeared to be where the bulk of the people of Ulthar lived—if you judged by the people coming and going.

In the center of it all, there was an actual town square. This was where Foolishness led us. Almost every building had some sort of cat motif adorning it in the form of statues, metal silhouettes, and etched glass. People watched the cat lead us toward a door with a sign emblazoned above it: Einar’s Place.

The cats watched us as well. There were dozens upon dozens of cats in the streets, on porches, in windows, and in the alleys between buildings. All of them looked healthy, well fed, and clean. Several smaller ones, older than kittens but not quite adults, followed us. There were no meows, hisses, yowls, or trills normally associated with cats. Just the soft murmur of voices from humans and felines alike.

Rather than being strange, this felt appropriate. As if it were meant to be. I gave the village and our watchers one last look before I entered Einar’s Place after our escort and my patient. Inside, I found myself in a tavern, clean smelling and welcoming. Long tables lined the almost empty room. Two people and three cats turned as we came in.

I froze. One of the people looked like Malachi. Just as I was about to call out to him, he laughed and stood. I was mistaken. That wasn’t Malachi. He was too different in stature and tone. I just wanted him to be my dead patient, well again. The man looked over his shoulder, a smile playing about his lips as if he knew he’d fooled me.

Josephine touched my shoulder. “We need to wait.”

“Yes.” I nodded. I looked from her to the man and found him gone. I shivered, unsettled. “All right.”

Foolishness wound himself through our ankles. “I’ll find Insightful.” The cat disappeared among the legs of the tables and chairs.

Josephine chose a table and sat. “I remember when my brother first brought me here.”

“Your brother?” I furrowed my brow. Ah, yes. Leland.

“Sometimes, we would meet in dreams. When he thought I was old enough, he brought me here.” She gave me that sly smile of hers. “Our parents did not know. They had a time line for everything. Sometimes, we skipped the time line.”

“I don’t have a brother or any siblings. What was it like?”

Josephine smiled to herself. “It was terrible and lovely at the same time. Leland was older than me. Sometimes, I think he resented me as the youngest. We fought over so many things. But he was my big brother and he protected me from all who would do me harm.”

I glanced at the ceiling with its large, dark wood beams. Leland might be the source of her grief, but I could not remember how he had died. Just that he had passed. “It sounds like a complicated relationship.”

“It was. The older I became, the more we understood each other.” Her smile disappeared. “Then he left, as all siblings must do in the end.” She hugged herself and turned away, ending the conversation.

I sat across from Josephine, watching her and letting the silence grow until she relaxed into that familiar waiting pose. The tavern was like the rest of the village: it looked like a tavern you would see in picture books. The artwork wasn’t exactly normal pub fare, however. A framed silhouette of a cat, gold against a black background, hung above the hearth. I gestured to it. “They really like their cats here.”

“Of course we do.” A heavyset man approached with a couple of tankards. “They’re the eyes and ears of the god Ulthar.” He gave me a curious look at my obvious lack of knowledge. “Real kitten here, eh, Josephine? Where’d you dig her up?”

Josephine folded her hands. “Good day, Einar. Please meet Dr. Carolyn Fern. She is my doctor and a good one at that.” Although her tone of voice was smooth and polite, her mild rebuke was plain.

“Pardon, uh, Doctor.” Einar put the tankards on the table. “Didn’t mean any disrespect. It’s just strange here in Ulthar for someone to not know of Ulthar.” He glanced at Josephine who nodded her approval. “Ulthar was put on earth to watch the other Elder and Outer Gods. It’s said that if things go too wrong, Ulthar will reveal himself and deal with them.”

I glanced between Josephine and Einar. “Elder Gods?”

He shook his head. “We don’t say their names. Not even here where we’re so blessed and protected.”

Josephine nodded. “So true. I will explain them later.”

“I will explain them sooner.” This came from a small, long-haired calico cat not much bigger than a loaf of bread. She leapt to the table and sat, wrapping her tail about her paws.

Einar looked uncomfortable. “Anything for you, Insightful?”

The cat shook her head. “No. I have business with these two.”

Fascinated, I watched as the cat commanded the room. Her presence was enormous despite her small body. Einar ducked his head and hurried away. Josephine and Foolishness both regarded Insightful with respect.

“Welcome home, Josephine. Welcome, Carolyn.”

“Hello.”

Sometimes when Insightful spoke, it looked like she actually spoke in words. Sometimes, it looked like she spoke with only her body. “You don’t have much time and you have much to do while you are here.” Insightful twitched the end of her tail. “But, it’s dangerous for you to be so naïve to the true ways of the universe.”

“You speak of these otherworldly gods?” Just saying those words gave me a shiver. It reminded me of the spiral I’d started to fall into while looking at the marks on Josephine’s back. “Who are they?”

“Your world is but one facet of many.”

The cat inclined her head toward a ring on the table I hadn’t noticed before. I picked it up, shocked at its familiarity. “This is my mother’s.”

“And will be yours when she passes. I know. I plucked it from your mind. Look at the emerald. The top facet is the world you know, Earth. Do you see the facets to the sides? This one is the Dreamlands. That one is R’lyeh. Each of the others is a different plane of existence, but part of the whole.”

As the cat spoke, I found myself not only holding the ring, but standing on top of the emerald itself. I watched the tiny version of me upon the precious jewel. Around me, the tavern persisted, yet became even more unreal.

“Look within the gem. Do you see the other facets? The Elder Gods live here, the Outer Gods there. They want to be on the top.”

Both versions of me watched the play of light through the gemstone. “The facets are moving.”

“Yes.” Insightful walked at my side even as she sat on the table before me. “The facets move. When the edges of the other planes come into contact, beings of that plane can cross over. When all the edges come together…”

“When the stars aligned…” Josephine walked on my other side.

“The gods travel. When that happens, the order is upset. We, the cats of Ulthar, watch and wait and try to prevent that from happening. We don’t always succeed.”

“What happens when you fail?”

“Madness and death.”

All at once I was singular again, sitting in the tavern with Josephine and the cat. Insightful lifted her paw and pulled my mother’s ring from my hand with a delicate claw. The ring disappeared as she did so. I sat back and pet the black cat that had snuggled into my lap, purring. I don’t know when she arrived, but I was grateful for her warmth.

I gazed at Insightful’s green eyes, the color of my mother’s emerald ring. “I…”

“Ask your questions, Carolyn.”

“What are these Elder…Outer…Gods?”

“Beings of great power. Ancient and alien.” The cat shook her head. “That is not your question.”

I flicked a glance at Josephine. She gazed at her clasped hands. “What does any of this have to do with my…with Josephine? I must help her. These nightmares. The wounds on her back.” Josephine raised her head as I spoke her name, but she didn’t say anything.

“That is the appropriate question.” Insightful flicked her ears about as if listening to something. “The short answer is: everything.”

“That isn’t helpful.” I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice. I failed.

The cat continued on as if I hadn’t spoken. “The longer answer is this: your journey here is what will help or hinder Josephine. She has a duty. One she’s forgotten—for good or ill. You also have a duty. To her. Thus her burdens are yours. Both of you will lose something important as soon as you gain what you need from this place. It’s not an easy path you must walk. You have already met the one who will help you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand. You didn’t answer my question. What do these gods have to do with Josephine’s malady?”

“The edges of the planes also meet in a point. A point in time and space. A gate. A portal. These points are rare and dangerous. They have so much power. They are protected in the only way we know how.” Insightful turned her attention to Josephine. “You’ve been gone for too long. You need to return to your childhood. You must remember what you already know.”

Josephine pressed her lips together for a moment. “I think I remember the way.”

The cat licked her paw then rubbed her cheek. “How you get there is of no consequence, as long as you get there.” She turned back to me. “You will help her. In your duty, you will lose something so precious it makes me weep at the thought. But you will gain what you need—what you must have—to continue your own journey. This dream is merely the beginning.”

None of this made sense. Not to my logical mind. But there was more here. I could feel it. Dream logic wasn’t the same as waking logic. I pushed my frustration away. “Thank you for your…insight.” Josephine smiled at me. My returned smile was quick and perfunctory. As interesting and unnerving as the idea of alien gods breaking into my world was, it was still just an idea. Surely they couldn’t be actual gods.

I shook my discomfort off and pet the cat in my lap again. My patient was before me. She was very real, and she’d said something I could follow up on. I just needed time and privacy with her. “Josephine, I think it’s time for us to go.”

The black cat in my lap jumped down. I missed her warmth and comfort, but it was time to get to work. The cat rubbed against Josephine’s ankle before she looked back at me. In my mind, I heard her say, “In times of need, think of me.”

In a rush, I realized that the cat’s name was Comfort and she was the reason I’d been taking these most outlandish revelations so well. It was a strange comfort to know that a talking cat kept me from going a little mad. Then again, I understood in all of this there was a journey I needed to take in order to help Josephine. I was willing to do so, no matter how odd or unbelievable.

Josephine and I left the tavern. I realized that neither of us had drunk from the tankards nor paid for the drinks. I wondered if, like in the fairy tales, one should not drink or eat in the Dreamlands. In truth, I wasn’t hungry or thirsty, but we’d only just begun.

“Do you know where we’re going?” I watched Josephine as much as I watched the beautiful buildings of the village that we passed by. Foolishness continued to escort us even as he took a moment to chase a flock of tiny flying books that scattered like butterflies at his half-hearted swipe.

Josephine frowned. “I…believe so. Insightful said ‘back to my childhood’ but I believe she actually meant to…to…” She stopped. “The idea is right there. I cannot reach it. There a veil between my grasping mind and the idea of it.”

“Perhaps, Insightful meant a place you loved as a child?”

Her head came up. “Perhaps.”

I could tell that she wanted to say more, although not here, not in such an open place. As we reached the edge of town, I halted and hunkered next to Foolishness. “Thank you for your help.”

“My pleasure. Nice to get away from my duty every once and a while.” Foolishness bumped his head against my leg.

I obliged him with a scritch behind the ears. “Do you have any other advice for us?”

“Yes. When you’ve done what you need to do, return here. If not to Ulthar itself, return to the glade where we met. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“Will we need to save you again?”

Foolishness flicked his tail back and forth. “Perhaps. Perhaps I’ll do the saving. Just make sure you come back to this place. Don’t try to leave through another path.”

Josephine stroked his back. “We will.”

I stood and looked toward the steep, rocky path we were to traverse. “Our path is before us. One step at a time.” I led the way, wanting to put Ulthar and the talking cats behind me. More to the point, I wanted to speak with Josephine about what she wasn’t willing to say in front of the cat.