Ageless

Chapter 19

Caollin kept looking into me intently, never breaking eye contact. After a time, it became unnerving, and I felt myself shifting in place under his ceaseless gaze. Finally he turned his shoulder and began to stride down the hall, calling back, "Follow me, Jillian."

The priest walked fast, his long legs capable of strides twice my length so I was practically jogging to keep up with him. "Did you come here alone; from the Outside?" he asked me, as we turned the corner and began to ascend a spiral stone staircase, his wide shoulders bouncing with each step.

"Yes," I said, then began to clarify, unsure of how much Malcolm had revealed to the priest about our situation. "Well, besides Malcolm. He convinced me to come, although we got separated on the way. The only thing he told me prior to my arrival was that he was the King here. Heard you were my best bet at reaching him."

He paused his ascent. "He brought you here, then. Malcolm did." He scratched his chin. "You use the old name."

"Well, I've known him as Malcolm my entire life, long before he became the King here. How long has he been calling himself Malstrom?"

Caollin laughed, a gravelly rumble emanating deep from his belly. "I do not know. As long as I have known him, perhaps longer. Although, it is not uncommon for an ageless to change names throughout their lifetime, especially the older ones. They have only been able to live openly as ageless in recent years. A sign of social progress." He began to resume the climb. "And behold, now one has become king."

Several questions sprang to the forefront of my mind. "Father, has he been searching for me? Or even worried for my safety? He was the one that dragged me into this place, yet since he stranded me here, it seems he's been more preoccupied with his duties as a King than trying to find his own wife."

Caollin furrowed his brow. "Wife." He said the word slowly, deliberately. "It would be unwise for you to refer to the King as your spouse. At least for the time being." He paused to let me catch up, so we took the steps side by side. "And I cannot speak for the King, but I would surmise it much easier for a face in a crowd- such as yourself- to find a King, than a King to find a face in a crowd. I can assure you, his majesty has been awaiting your arrival for some time. He speaks of you often, 'Jillian Reynolds, the Angel from the Outside,' in his own words."

I thought back to the first time I had seen him in the city, a few days ago. "At the funeral, he seemed so stiff and formal. And I've talked to people that...uh... have strong opinions about him. Different than the man I knew. Is he like that in person now too?"

He smiled at me. "You can judge for yourself. When did you see him last, prior to the funeral?"

If I tell him the truth, will he think I'm crazy? The man had not revealed if Malcolm had confided any secrets in him.

I met the priest's eyes again. They did not look at me in the same way that Ko'sa did, when I told them about my situation. His eyes were not filled with patronizing sympathy, but curiosity.

"We both came from a different dimension," I blurted, resigning myself to the potential backlash. "One where time passes differently. He claimed he had lived in this place for 1000 years, when he returned to take me back here. In my world, this was less than a minute for me."

The priest looked lost in thought, but nodded his head. "Intriguing. Yes, I have heard this type of story before. Of the existence of other dimensions, some where time flows as fast as the the current of a river, and others, where it trickles slowly, like that of a leaking roof. There are passages about such things, in our Holy Texts. Some of these stories are even said to predate the Tale of the False Pontiffs, which itself is over 6000 years old. The veracity of these tales, however, is widely debated amongst scholars of the faith. One would ponder if they hold some connection to the phenomena of the ageless." He stopped himself. "Ah, but I am getting carried away. A discussion for another day, perhaps."