Chapter 1
1
January 2021 Fort Lauderdale, Florida
With her eyes still red from crying, Kaley looked like she’d lost all hope in life.
Jobi was at the little granite-topped island that was identical to the one in her apartment next door. His brown eyes reflected her misery. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to work this out.” His voice was as rich and dark as his skin color.
For all that Kaley was twenty-six and Jobi in his fifties—he wouldn’t confirm his age—there was no young person versus old dynamic between them. But then, Kaley had been homeschooled by her grandparents. It was people her own age who puzzled her. Besides, her family had known Jobi all her life.
He was mixing her a drink. “Your teacher really upset you, didn’t he?”
“If by that you mean he destroyed my life, yes.” She fell back in the chair. Her body seemed to contain no energy. Jobi’s apartment had colorful art from around the world, while Kaley’s held inexpensive furniture she’d bought in one store on one visit. If she ever, finally, at long last, got her PhD, she didn’t want to be burdened with possessions. Every aspect of her life had been in preparation for now—and it had all been taken away by one ego-mad professor. He had left her at a loss of what her future would be.
Jobi handed her the drink.
In her family, Jobi was almost a legend. He’d introduced her parents to each other and had lived with her family for a whole year. He’d even delivered her. Her grandparents loved to tell the story of how Jeff’s new wife had gone for a walk with Jobi. “Then they called us from the hospital,” her grandfather would say.
Years later, Kaley was in the henhouse gathering eggs when a man appeared in the doorway. She’d seen so many photos of him that she knew who he was. She couldn’t help hugging him, then she took him to her dad and her grandparents.
Sometimes Kaley wasn’t sure how it happened, but a few weeks later she was with Jobi, taking turns driving a rental truck, and heading toward Florida. Jobi had a job and an apartment waiting for him. The plan had been that she’d help him get settled, then fly back to Kansas. But that didn’t happen.
When the world was suddenly shut down and Jobi’s job was canceled, he suggested she take the apartment next to his and devote herself to writing her PhD dissertation. Kaley had protested that she couldn’t do that. Her family needed her to help with the farm and her dad’s car repair shop.
But to her surprise, they agreed with Jobi. “Stay there,” her dad said. “You need time to concentrate on your dissertation. If you come back for a Kansas winter and thousands of chores, you’ll be overwhelmed.”
It was the sunshine and the January warmth of South Florida that sealed the deal. She had money saved from years of summer jobs and she was given a deal on the apartment, so she stayed. Her grandmother shipped all her research books to her.
The first night in her apartment, she and Jobi cooked burgers and he said, “Want me to train you? Get you out of academic shape?”
She’d laughed. Before she went to college, she’d been in good physical condition. Riding horses, milking cows, chasing chickens, working on cars with her dad. She’d always been active.
Leaving the farm to go to college had ruined her. She’d not had much of a social life, but had spent her time studying and researching. Mostly sitting. She’d put on several soft pounds. “That’s too much,” she told Jobi. “You’ll want to...” She waved her hand. They couldn’t go out so activity was limited.
“Catch up on my reading? I’ll go crazy. There’s a splendid gym downstairs. Let me practice on you.”
The way he said it made her laugh. “You wouldn’t like to help me with my writing, would you?”
“Writing about what?”
“Fairy tales and folklore.”
His eyes widened. “They teach that in college?”
“Oh yes. Someday I plan to teach at a university. I’ll live in a stone house that’s strong enough that no wolf can blow it down, and I’ll be very happy.”
His eyes widened with every word she spoke. “I have no idea what any of that means. It’s too American for me.”
She’d been surprised. No one had told her Jobi wasn’t from this country. Or had she forgotten? “You’re not American?”
“I live on one of the islands of Bellis, and before you ask, no one has heard of us. We don’t get visitors because we have no natural resources anybody wants, and no fancy hotels. What we do have are miles of beaches, a couple of mountain ranges and a few lakes with brightly colored frogs. They hop around a lot.”
“It sounds heavenly,” she said.
“It is.”
“But you left.”
“I wanted to see the world, and I still do, but...” He was quiet for a moment. “This will be over soon, I’m sure of it, then I’m going home.”
The next day, Jobi began to train her. He said he liked to experiment and she was his test subject. He taught her weights, yoga and defense skills. They practiced archery outside near the dog lawn, and often went to a firing range. The pounds came off her and were replaced with muscle.
In return, Kaley told him about folklore and how important it had always been to the world. “Oral stories were used when most people couldn’t read.” She often read to him, and they agreed that the stories they liked best ended happily.
“Better than ending with people chained in caves or losing the fight with a hungry dragon,” Kaley said. She swallowed. “Or burying heads in a flowerpot.” They’d laughed in agreement.
Finally, the world opened up and Jobi said he was going home. Forever. When he’d first told her he was leaving, Kaley had been sad, but she’d thought that by the time he did leave, she’d have been awarded her PhD and she’d be on her way to fulfilling her dream.
But this morning, one meeting had changed her entire life.
Jobi gave her an intense look that she’d come to know well. “Tell me again what happened.”
Outwardly, she was calmer now, but inside she was screaming, What do I do now? Where do I go? What will I do? What can I do?
Right after she left the professor’s office, she’d flown home from her alma mater in Indiana. On the flight, she’d not allowed herself to fully comprehend what happened. Besides, if she thought about it, she might start crying. She didn’t want strangers asking her what was wrong.
A car service drove her the few miles to her apartment building. As if he’d sensed that something was wrong, Jobi was standing before his open door. Without a word, she went inside, he closed the door—and Kaley let the tears flow. She told him what had happened.
While reassuring her that she’d eventually get her pig-proof stone house, he made her a gin and tonic. Then he asked her to repeat her story.
She gulped half her drink and tried to think more calmly. “As you know, I turned my paper in weeks ago.” All through grad school, she’d researched for her dissertation. As she’d read and studied, she drew conclusions and put them together. She knew her field of folklore had been well researched, but there was room for original thought, and she believed she’d had some ideas that were hers alone.
But her professor had not agreed.
He’d tossed her thick paper onto the end of his desk as though it was distasteful. “I’ve heard it all before.” There was no empathy in his voice. “Not one word is new or original or even interesting. Cinderella? Really, Kaley? The bloodiness and cruelty of fairy tales is not new. And why can’t you distinguish between fairy tales and folklore?”
“Many of the great folklorists combine the two.” She wasn’t able to fully understand what he was saying. It was hard to comprehend that her years of work were being dismissed as if they didn’t matter.
“Not for a dissertation,” he snapped. “Maybe you should try the commercial world.”
That insult was like a slap in the face.
“If you insist on fairy tales, then they must be new and fresh,” the man said.
“How can they be new?” she’d asked. “Folklore’s definition is of age.”
He gave her that I-am-the-professor look of disgust, then turned away. It seemed that the loose papers on his desk were more important than her work. “That’s for you to figure out.” He waved his hand in an autocratic way, letting her know that he was through with her.
She wouldn’t allow herself to give up. He didn’t like her paper, but maybe the dissertation committee would. “I can defend it,” she said. Defending was what the presentation she’d do before the doctorate professors was called. In this case, it was well named.
“There is no defense of this.” His voice was almost a growl, and he didn’t have the courtesy to look at her. “I won’t offend them by showing them this tripe.”
Kaley had wanted to lash out at him, yell, curse, but she managed to control herself. “I guess I should find some undiscovered country and tell their stories.” She hoped her sarcasm sounded as venomous as she felt.
But the professor turned to her with a smile. A man notorious for never being pleased about anything was smiling at her?
“ That is something I’d like to read. Or hear. Be sure to record it all.” For a second, he seemed to be imagining a new country and new stories. But then he turned away and Kaley knew she was being discarded. Holding her head as high as she could manage, she left. A few hours later she was home—and Jobi was waiting for her.
After she’d told him the story the second time, she didn’t feel any better. Her sense of hopelessness had not left her. “I don’t know what to do. I can rewrite my paper, but I have nothing new to say.” She grimaced. “I wonder if the people on your islands have any stories that have been passed down through generations.”
In the time they’d been living next door to each other, they’d spent many hours together in the gym, but they’d also socialized. They’d shared meals and afternoons at local fairs.
During their time together, she’d asked him a lot about his home. He’d always been reluctant to tell much, but she’d not given up. Primitive was the word he used most often. Isolated was a close second. She’d learned that his island had no cars, no internet, no cell phones, not even any computers. “And certainly no airports,” he said. “We don’t even have a dock for ships.”
He’d sounded embarrassed, so she replied with humor. “Ships have things called anchors. They can park anywhere.”
He’d smiled in thanks. “Beauty,” he said with a faraway look. “Pristine, perfect beauty is what we have in abundance.”
Of course she did an internet search. There was a Wikipedia entry but it was short. The words unexplored islands made Kaley’s eyes widen. “Like the Korowai in Guinea and the Vietnamese Ruc,” she whispered in awe. “And the Sentinelese of India.” Those people killed anyone who got near their island. Those places were proof that even in the twenty-first century there were communities that no one had been able to penetrate.
Kaley asked Jobi many questions, but he was always evasive, almost secretive. That seemed to fit what she’d read about keeping the world away from them.
But now, as she sat there, drink in hand, the professor’s words echoed in her mind. He wanted to read about an undiscovered country . She’d asked her question as a joke, but it had ignited something inside her. She waited for Jobi to answer.
“I can’t imagine that anyone would want to hear our stories.”
“I would.” Kaley’s heart, and maybe her whole life, was in those words.
Jobi gave a small smile. “I’m not sure we’re that interesting. Although, King Aramus does like a good story.”
“You have a king?” He hadn’t mentioned that before.
“Oh yes. He lives on the island of Eren. He used to live in a palace. It was a splendid place with marvelous mountain views. But then, to be fair, people say the Old Royals are the real rulers, so maybe he shouldn’t have a palace. Of course, he did step down and now he has a splendid house, but—” Jobi waved his hand. “It was all set up long ago and far away, as they say in your stories.”
Kaley’s jaw dropped. All her many questions and he’d never hinted at any of this. Old Royals? A palace? A king who may have been overthrown? About a thousand fairy tales ran through her mind. “How long ago? How far away?” Kaley’s voice was so low it could hardly be heard.
“A hundred years or so, I guess. It was Tomás’s father who changed things.”
“Tomás? The king ? You sound like you know him personally.”
“His family and mine are related.”
Kaley gave him a hard look. “You are related to a king , but you never told me that?”
He smiled. “We’re not exactly British royalty. Lots of islands have kings, or queens, or—”
“I want to go,” she said. “For the summer. That’s all.”
“But your home is here. You haven’t seen your family in over a year.”
“We’ll survive.” She held her breath as she waited for his reply.
When Jobi looked at her, there was no humor in his face. “What if I told you that my country is on another planet and it takes three years of Earth time to get there?”
“I’d say, ‘I’ll download a lot of books.’”
Jobi didn’t smile.
Kaley let out her breath. “Metaphorically, I’m sure Bellis is like being on another planet, but Wikipedia says you’re real, so I’ll take that.”
Jobi said nothing.
Kaley stood up. “Please take me with you.”
“You’re upset now, and I’m sure that you’ll find a better way to spend your summer than with old me.”
“I know you want to protect your country and I swear that I won’t betray you. I can say I collected the stories from an anonymous source.” Her eyes widened. “Please tell me you aren’t saying that if I go I’ll never be allowed to return.”
Jobi shook his head. “You could return at any time you want. We don’t imprison intruders or harm them, but then we don’t allow many earthlings to visit us.”
Kaley smiled. “Yes, I’m an earthling. Tell me, do your people look like you or do they have eyes on antennae? And how do you breathe on Earth?”
Jobi reached up and popped out a couple of contact lenses. When he looked up, she saw that his eyes were ocean blue. Beautiful! She knew him well enough to understand why he’d hide the unusual coloring of his blue eyes with his dark skin. He wouldn’t like to stand out, to call attention to himself.
“There are three known planets that have the same atmosphere,” he said. “That’s why we Bellisans can visit Earth.”
Kaley started to reply, but his fantasy wasn’t her concern now. “What else am I going to do? Go home and raise chickens? Or maybe I should do more coursework at another university, then try to get my doctorate there. That’s years of repetitive work. To go where others haven’t been is an opportunity I can’t pass up.”
Jobi gave what appeared to be a look of defeat. “What about your apartment?”
A bit of hope ran through Kaley. “I’ll sell my furniture and send my books home.” Her eyes were pleading. “One summer. Three months. That’s all I ask. You can introduce me to the king, let me hear some stories, then I’ll return to write a whole new dissertation.”
He was quiet for a moment as he thought about what she was saying. “Are you sure your dad won’t mind if you’re away for the whole summer?”
Kaley knew she’d won. She hugged him before he could come up with more excuses as to why she couldn’t go. She paused at the door. “How much time do I have to get ready?”
“Six days,” he said quickly. “We’ll take a charter plane down to Key West and board there.”
“Board a ship or a plane?” she asked, teasing. When Jobi hesitated in answering, she waved her hand. “How silly of me. It’s on a spaceship and it’s out of Key West because those people wouldn’t blink an eye if an alien craft landed in front of them. Right?”
Jobi’s blue eyes were twinkling. “Exactly right.”
“I have lots to do.” She hurried out of the apartment.
For a moment, Jobi stood still. He was glad to have cheered her up.
Last night, yet again, he’d tried to foresee exactly how Kaley would help his country, but his vision was mostly a blur. He knew that Roal’s son, Tanek, was involved but Jobi wasn’t sure how. There was a young man with a dragon, which meant the king’s obnoxious son. Of course, the Nevers were there. And he saw another man. He was big. Somehow, they would all become involved with Queen Olina—the woman he’d been careful not to mention to Kaley. But then, she’d probably be excited at the idea of an “evil queen.”
A wave of guilt ran through him. Kaley hadn’t believed him about being from another planet, but at least he’d told her the truth. He chanted, “For the greater good. For the greater good.” That was what this was all about. It was larger than one or two people. It was his entire country!
When he’d calmed somewhat, he began to smile. He’d achieved what he set out to do. Now he needed to prepare. He had a list of things to take back to Bellis. But then, wasn’t that the point of these trips? Borrowing, known on Earth as stealing , was what they’d been doing for centuries. And in return, they’d added a lot. One of his main pleasures was watching YouTube videos about things on Earth that no one could explain. Nazca lines. Voynich, a book they’d accidently left behind. The “disappearance” of the Russian Amber Room. Tomás enjoyed that room very much!
Still smiling, he left the apartment. He had three mating pairs of animals to pick up. Earthlings were saying they were going extinct and Jobi needed to save them.