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Xana-La

Stephen Palmer

Published by infinity plus at Smashwords

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Stephen Palmer 201!o"er Stephen Palmer
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/books/http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/books/


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Xana-Lais set in the same world as Stephen Palmers full$len%th no"el' Hairy London' a"ailable frominfinity plus in print and e$formats

Hairy London by Stephen Palmer

What is love?

ne e"enin% at the Suicide !lub three %entlemen discuss this a%e$old problem' and thus a wa%er ismade. ,issolute fop Sheremy Pantomile' "eteran philosopher +ornukope 3etherbee and down$on$his$luck 4el"ene rchardtide all bet their fortunes on findin% the answer amidst the dark alleys of a

phantasma%orical 5dwardian 6ondon.

7ut then' o"erni%ht' 6ondon Town is co"ered in hair. 8ow the trio of ad"enturers cope with thisunusual pla%ue' and what conclusions they come to re%ardin% lo"e is the sub#ect of this surreal and

fast$paced no"el.

-nd always the 5ast 5nd threatens re"olution...

9Stephen Palmer is a find.9 Time Out

9Science fiction has %ained a distincti"e new "oice.9 Ottakar's

9Stephen Palmers ima%ination is fecund...9 Interzone

For full details of infinity plus books seewww.infinityplus.co.uk
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/


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ontents

Xana-LaMore from Stephen Palmer


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Xana-La

The fate of all those who enter Moongolia is to die.Such assertions roam our world on the wings of song, passing from man to boy to man

again; the curtailed lies of the Tuan throat singers ma!e them fly. "ut PharadayLemmington !new one word had been altered in the assertion he had heard a hundred timessince becoming a member of the Suicide #lub. Moongolia could be reached, e$plored. %t was

Xana-La that was deadly.&nd so he dared the most curious of all the episodes enliening the brief history of the

Suicide #lub, telling his gentlemen friends that he would find Xana-La and return with proofof its e$istence.

They laughed. % did, too. "ut % laughed 'uietly, for % !new something about Pharadayno-one else did, and % sat bac!, drin!ing, smo!ing... and % wondered.

The "actrian &rchimedean floating system faoured by Pharaday lay in its frost-limnedrac! on the roof of the Suicide #lub, and on a dar! winter morning % climbed the fire escapestair at the bac! of the building ( si$ storeys in all ( in order to reach the roof without myassociates seeing me. There, % found Pharaday.

)Sir,* % said.+e turned, but not in fright. % beliee he !new % was approaching. +e wore the blac!

greatcoat and white woollen hat for which he was best !nown, his spectacles gleaming in thelight of a atrio-burner. )Mr Spar-Turney,* he said.

)#all me ranclin.*+e smiled. )hat brings you here/*)0our challenge. 0ou mean to go to Moongolia/*+e harrumphed, li!e the 1udges with whom he 1ousted on a regular basis. )&ny two-

guinea boy may go to Moongolia, but the secret city... that is a different matter.*My heart thumped in my chest and, 'uite unconsciously % am sure, % folded my arms, as

if to conceal my an$iety.

)Sir...*)Pharaday,* he corrected me.)ould you need an assistant/*+e too! a deep breath. )To hold the lamp when % e$pose the film. To tend the camels in

the ba!ing heat of the sun. To put the treasure into the treasure chests. &re these the tas!s youhad in mind/*

)% was serious.* % frowned ( % had not e$pected moc!ery. )0ou may hae forgotten mytriumphs in 2ogon 3scarpoture(*

)% forget none of the tales that return to the Suicide #lub,* he said. % heard an edge ofannoyance in his oice. )So... you wish to accompany me to Xana-La.*

)%t e$ists/*


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)4f course. &ll legendary places e$ist. The problem is the problem that has bedeilledman since we were apes. 5etting bac! alie, with the tale on the tip of the tongue and readyto be told.*

% nodded. )To be written down,* % said.+e glanced away. )#ertainly, Moongolia has something of a reputation, not least for

tigers.* hen % said nothing he wal!ed up to me, then once around me. )Tall,* he said,loo!ing me up and down as a toff would a racing horse, )greying at the temples, good teeth.&re you strong, ranclin/ #an you pull a greased hawser, cut a leather hide with a shaingra6or/*

)% can do both of those things,* % said, relief flooding through me. +e remembered the2ogon itch 2octor7 % shoo! him by the hand.

+e indicated the "actrian &rchimedean machinora. )elcome to the ne$t flight of thisold beauty.*

8e left at dawn one wee! later, on the winter solstice, which we deemed, 'uite wrongly, to

be an auspicious date. The spitoons of two do6en of our comrades clanged in the alleys below

as they mar!ed our suicide, or 1ourney, as we termed it.The machinora was two humped and thus proided with more than ade'uate lift, and

for some days the flight went well, Parisi passing below us first, then 9uinceria, "erlin6eug,:arsaw and Spi. "ut as we crossed the Muscoite Steppes a distant machinora appeared, onemar!ed with the red heart of the loating Ladies, and my own heart san!. Pharaday wasnotorious for his dalliances with the stronger se$.

2eciding that my best tactic would be one of honesty % challenged him, as we ate hamsandwiches and dran! Somerset sprit6ers. )% confess % am worried,* % said, )for all of us in theSuicide #lub !now of your... of your...*

)4h, stop stuttering man,* he said, grimacing. )My wea!ness, is that what you weregoing to say/*

)0es.*+e gestured at the floating bagnio. )% will hae a loo! around ( a 'uic! loo!, mind (

and then we shall be on our way. %t was neer my intention, ranclin, to !eep my hands onthe tiller for the entire flight.*

% said nothing, not !nowing if he had used a euphemism. "y now the scented laceappurtenances of the approaching machinora were ma!ing my nose twitch, and % paced upand down, fretting. Pharaday grinned, and a thin line of drool crept down his chin.

The loating Ladies flung out their plan! and Pharaday wal!ed across, both hands onthe guide ropes because of the fierce wind we flew at one thousand feetegency s'uanderer7* he roared, slapping my bac! and

grinning li!e a +indoo idol.

"y the time of the ne$t full moon our machinora flew across the blac!, swaying pineforests of the Tur'uish Main, a land % feared, not least because starlight could not sae us


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should we fall, so bright was our Lune. % had, of course, heard of the fateful flight of the&stral Spinneret ( as had we all in the Suicide #lub. 3en Pharaday was frightened,murmuring to himself about piercings and death by sooty needle.

2ays passed. The air grew uncomfortably warm, so we actiated the ice cube dolly andstripped to our !nee-1ohns and string ests. % was most intrigued to see two tattoos on

Pharaday=s upper right arm, one in the form of a red half moon, the other shaped as a greenflower with a white centre. +e in turn

e$amined the patterns of scarification on my chest, made when % was in the hands of the4uagadougou torturers.

)The hairs do not grow there any more,* % remar!ed.+e nodded. )0ou are a fine man,* he said. )% chose my assistant well.*)&frica,* % said, )is a dar! continent indeed. "ut not so dar! as where we go.*)%ndeed not. &nd, now that we are close to the 4rient, ranclin, % do not mind telling

you that % am rather an$ious about our fate. This was a somewhat...* +e struggled for words,then sighed and said, )ironic challenge to underta!e.*

% did not !now it then, but that word signified our respectie fortunes.

e floated at speed across the lands of the est %ranian Pashas, and thence into arorthern %ndoo, which lay below us li!e a fabric of emerald green and blue ( a moreentrancing land difficult to imagine. e ate poached eggs on toast enliened with 2urhamsauce, and we dran! perry from glass goblets. "ut all the while we loo!ed ahead, and thoughtof the doom that was ours.

"almy days passed. e floated eer east, eer on, as the snowy cranes flapped oer ourheads and the tigers roared far below. That white-pea!ed mountain chain beloed of theSuicide #lub, the +imalayas, rose far to the icy north; and then the 1ungled hills of "urmeer.

The sun lay low as we approached the mountain range that Pharaday claimed mar!edthe site of the concealed city? #hin=a to the north and east, the 2esert of 5obi too near forcomfort. e landed the machinora and let it gra6e the wind-rippled grass plains of the region,

pac!ing our bac!pac!s then setting forth, with wal!ing stic!s in our right hands andbinoculars in our left. :ultures followed us, but we did not spea! their tongue, so we ignoredthem.

)Those bald-headed armints don=t !now our fate,* Pharaday reassured me. )They 1ustli!e to show off. Pes!y, if you as! me.*

% loo!ed at him. )0ou hae been here before, hae you not/*+e sensed the current lur!ing beneath my sentence, and he frowned, then uttered a

single cough of embarrassment. )hat do you mean/*)% !now you hae no belly button, sir.*)hat/*

)%t is true. % !now it. % suspect the fact lies close to your motie for this 1ourney.*+e said nothing for a long, long while. e tramped along a lane of high grasses setwith siler trees, alie with twittering birds and copper-green butterflies. &t last he said,)+ow do you !now/*

)hen % 1oined the Suicide #lub,* % e$plained, )% was nothing more than a na@e lad,not een twenty ( pushed forward by my father in those last months remaining before thePatagonian #ancer got him.*

Pharaday sighed. )+e was a marellous chap, your father.*)4ne night % was ta!ing the air outdoors upon a balcony, watching painted ladies in the

street, when % noticed a bright yellow lamp switch on at the window beside me. This wasaccidental, % promise you. % loo!ed in, and saw you and a na!ed girl ( the blac! one with the

beads in her hair.*)+elAne ormidablA.*


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)% !now not her name. 0ou were dressed only in pantaloons and... the red sil! sasharound your waist that, so the girls gossip, you neer ta!e off. "ut you wal!ed forward andraised your arms to close the curtains, and as you did the sash rose, reealing your abdomen.There was no belly button.*

)% see.*

)This is why % !new % had to come on your 1ourney. % !new it would be li!e no other.*)% am glad that you hae been honest with me,* he said. )% was minded neer to tell you

( though, often at nights as % wrestled with my conscience, % wondered if it would be better tolet you !now. "ut... hah7 0ou already !new.*

% nodded. % !new then that he would tell me the reason why he had chosen Xana-La ashis destination.

)% hae many, many dreams of Xana-La,* he said. )They seem so real to me. "ut thereis something else too.*

)hat/*)ranclin,* he said, )we are not the first to hae set out for the secret city.*)"ut surely,* % said, )nobody has come bac!/ e would !now7 eer mind our club,

the whole world would !now7*)0ou would thin! so,* he replied. )"ut the man who went to Xana-La and returned

brought only three words bac! with him. Bust three words, ranclin, yet they energised meli!e nothing else.*

)hat words were they/* % whispered.)0ou were there. 0ou were there. +e whispered that to me as he landed his pluial

machinora in the yard behind the club. % rushed out to rescue him from the deluge, but hedrowned. &nd you !now/ % wonder if Xana-La did that... % wonder if the mystical power ofthat city reached out oer &sia all the way to our little club in London to drown my uncle.*

% gasped. )Le$tor the irst/ +e was your uncle/*)My family has neer been one for settling down to the 'uiet life.*)"ut... you are saying that you lie in Xana-La/ &nother Pharaday/*)So % understand. &nd % will find out. 4h, % mean to find out.*% nodded. )&nd % will stand beside you. &nd we will return, to tell the greatest tale of

our age.*)0ou fill me with hope, dear fellow.*e tre!!ed into the foothills of the mountains. They were, Pharaday assured me, called

the Spirallo Mountains because from high orbit a traeller could see their helical form. )hatthe Moongols call them %=e no idea,* he laughed. )2oesn=t really matter, % suppose.*

)e should respect their cultures,* % replied, )if only through their tongue and music.*+e glanced at me as though % were raing. )%f you say so... and % suppose you may hae

a point. "e difficult to escape their clutches if we couldn=t spea! a few words of the lingo.*"y now we were ascending fast, the air cooling, our breath coming hard and deep. Myshins ached, my eyes stung, and % stan! of sweat. %n a rippling, ice-cold rier we bathed, thencarried on, ta!ing a path of stone laid out between ochre boulders.

Pharaday pointed to the indigo eening s!y. )See those bustards/ They mar! the secretway.* +e smiled and raised a forefinger into the air. )& clue, you see, one % learned fromtal!ing to the +indoo fa!irs who occasionally come this way.* +e grinned. )or theemeralds, you !now. air sends them into gem-lust.*

)"ustards/* % replied.)0es. Tric!y bird, the bustard, but what is not generally !nown is that they migrate

annually in and out of the alley in which Xana-La was built. % paid si$teen #hin=a slaes to

ac'uire that particular clue.*% whistled. )3$pensie.*


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)Shhh7* he hissed. )eer whistle around here. 0ou don=t !now if listening tigers areabout.*

e wal!ed on. &fter an uncomfortable night we passed an uncomfortable day, and thenanother one, until, climbing an escarpment, we found ourseles loo!ing across a plateau? ice-coered, roc!y and harsh. e had long ago put on woollen sweaters and hats, and changed

our !nee-1ohns for long-1ohns, but still the free6ing wind robbed us of our bodily warmth.&nd we were e$hausted.

Pharaday, howeer, spo!e happily. )ot far to go now,* he said, cleaning his spectacleswith spit and tissues. )e shall follow the line of the golden

bustard, it being the leader of the family. 4nly the golden bird will lead you to thesecret alley entrance.*

So began the most difficult part of our adenture. To follow the flight of the goldenbustard we had to dodge between snow-shrouded boulders, through raines, across ice-edgedstreams and along narrow ledges, sometimes beneath bright blue s!ies, more often throughsnow and hail. e neer spo!e, we shouted ( and still the wind tore our words away.

3$haustion and defeat seemed the most li!ely prospect as we sheltered from a bli66ard

in a narrow defile. % loo!ed oer my shoulder, hoping to find a deeper part of the cae where,perhaps, we could light a fire; but there was no wood fuel and my lighter had run out ofpetro6ine.

Then % espied a light. %n fact it was no light, it was a gap in the rear wall of the defile. %staggered across to it, to peer through.

& most incredible spectacle. )e hae found it7* % cried. )Pharaday, we are here7*0es. e had arried. or at the rear of the cae lay a low crac! leading out to a ledge,

and thence to a path.)My sweet felinus,* Pharaday said, as the tears rolled down his face.The Xana-La alley lay before us. 5reen and pleasant, set with white and pin! trees,

and scented li!e the rose garden at Cew, it rolled downwards and away from us for mile aftermile, the s!y windswept aboe, but lined to an e$traordinary height by encircling pea!s. %twas cool, certainly, but calm. alling snow from high aboe was transformed into a mild,dewy mist.

e sat at rest for a while, drin!ing stream water and eating cold por! chops and pic!le,until we felt strong enough to wal! on.

&nd the secret city of Xana-La awaited us. % felt beaten down by its ma1esty. %n truth %almost fell to my !nees and prayed, but some remnant of my London manners restrained mefrom that embarrassment. Pharaday, howeer, wept li!e a girl.

Xana-La rose in white encrusted towers from innumerable bloc!s built li!e sugarloafcubes into the stone of the mountains. These towers entwined one another li!e tendrils, and

all were pierced with windows, tall and narrow, li!e those of elsh castles. "ridges and ropeladders 1oined different 'uarters of the city, and from eery parapet a flag flew, embla6onedwith a white-centred green flower on a sable bac!ground. &s we approached % heard themystical sound of choral music, which % guessed came from chambers within the city. 3en %,hard-hearted it has been said, was moed; and the shiers played up and down my spine.

e reached a great door made of beaten copper, in which a design of tigers chasingmen had been etched. >ubies and emeralds mar!ed the eyes of eery figure, while the cloudswere inlaid mother-of-pearl.

& single man stood at the entrance. +e was ancient, with a white moustache, beard andhair. +e wore a tunic of leather and a long s!irt of orange cotton.

)0ou hae come to isit Xana-La/* he said, in perfect, albeit accented, 3nglish.

)e hae indeed,* Pharaday replied.The man nodded. )There is only one rule. 2o not touch any tiger.*


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e both nodded, at which point the door opened a couple of feet, allowing us entrance.e had arried7%nside, the city was a ma6e of passages, scented courtyards and long, twisted alleys. %t

was 'uite beautiful? natural, claustrophobic, idyllic, oercrowded. The green leaes werealmost too green to bear, the scent of the flowers enough to ma!e one drun!, the music too

profound to grasp. %t bustled too, with a ast range of people? beggars, labourers, women andchildren, and 'uite a number of more important fol! ( 1udging by their be1ewelled fingers andfur-lined cloa!s.

The people loo!ed at us, stared at us een, but we were neer molested or stopped. %guessed that isitors to Xana-La were either accepted without concern or, possibly, weremore common than % had realised.

e lodged in a small inn called the DTigris angD. Pharaday paid with gold coinsloosened from the clutches of his South &frican relations.

)This will last an hour or two,* he said, nudging me in the side with his elbow. )Timeto e$plore7*

)&nd find... you,* % said.

+e loo!ed embarrassed. )Perhaps, ranclin,* he said. )Perhaps.*% glanced away. ow that we stood inside the fabled city % felt uncomfortable, as

though hidden layers of Pharaday=s personality were being reealed. +is libertine ways %!new, but much less did % !now of his deeper character; and of course the enigma of his

physi'ue remained unresoled. % decided to watch the man and stay alert for trouble.&s e$pected, Pharaday insisted we isit the disreputable 'uarter of the city, which lay

in the lower leels, and, not wishing to lose sight of him, % agreed to trot along too. +e wassurprised and, % thin!, pleased. The ladies of the 'uaintest bordello were oriental, thoughsome seemed to hae %ndoo blood, and two or three &frican. #hoosing the dar!est s!innedmoll blac!amoors were his feminine ideal< Pharaday disappeared, leaing me alone.

4ne of the other dar! ladies approached me. % beliee she may hae felt sorry for me (perhaps recognising that % was, in a sense, Pharaday=s chaperone. 4r perhaps she was curious.hateer her motie and thoughts, a minute or so later % found myself in her room. )Bust total!,* she said. )othing more than that. %=m Panthera.*

)0ou are ery !ind,* % said, as she poured camomile tea into porcelain cups. )Tell me,did you wal! here, to the alley, and then decide to stay/*

)4h no,* she said, )% rode here on a 6ephyr. & lot of us girls did. Tell me... who is thatman you came with/*

)2o you smo!e/*She smiled. )0es7*% handed her an e$otic cigarette, which she too!, and lit with a match.

)+e is my associate,* % e$plained.)%s he/*& thought occurred to me then. This was a lady of Xana-La. She would !now things. %

glanced around the room, which was small but lu$urious in its dAcor, and seemed secure;then with a conspiratorial glance % went to sit on the bed. Panthera 1oined me, a smile on herruby lips.

)+e is called Pharaday Lemmington,* % said, )and he is an ac'uaintance of mine fromLondon.* % related seeral of the tales of Pharaday in &sia, Pharaday in Eulu-land, Pharadaycrushing diluial rebels on the &ma6on, then went to the side table and prepared two dishesof biscuits, and more tea. These % too! bac! to the bed, my intention to as! a faour ofPanthera; but % was at once halted by her loo! of sorrow.

)4h, you are so !ind, and so well mannered,* she said. & tear welled up in the corner ofone eye.


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)&re you 'uite well, Panthera/* % as!ed.She began to weep, and then to my surprise flung her arms around me. )0ou=re in

terrible danger7 There is another Pharaday here. +e is a mean, shifty man, and nobody li!eshim. +e treats me badly when he isits me, and the other girls too. +e will deceie you7 2onot eat the food here. +e will try to mesmerise you by tainting your supper with the nectar of

the :iridio lower, and then you will neer leae Xana-La... oh, and there are worse secrets %dare not tell...*

Shoc!ed by this confession, and oercome with sympathy, % hugged Panthera to me as %would a lamenting child.

)There there,* % said. )% will ta!e care. 0ou surely are a lady of good character to warnme so.*

She smiled and nodded, and then, in the swiftest of gestures, pulled down the thic!cotton tunic she wore. +er nipples, already erect, were e$traordinarily long.

0es, % did engage in furtie relations with Panthera. "ut % also told her of my plan. &ndshe agreed to be part of it.

Pharaday spent most of the night with one or other of the dar! s!inned ladies,

emerging, tottering li!e a drun!, at some unholy hour of the morning.)retched girls hae e$hausted me,* he said. )My legs feel tenderised.*% had been half-asleep in a chair? now % 1umped up, awa!e and nerous. )Pharaday7

#ome bac! to the inn, % insist. e hae spent far too long in the company of these ladies.*+e staggered up to me and e$amined my craat. )Tied differently,* he said. )So you

hae been playing butter the teaca!e as well. Most e$cellent7 "ut % am so tired % can hardlywal!. 0ou must allow me to lean on you, ranclin.*

e returned to the inn, entering with our pass !ey, and moments later we lay in ourrooms, fast asleep beneath crisp, white sheets.

8% soon discoered the truth of Panthera=s assertions. hile Pharaday e$plored the mercantile'uarter of the city % too! all the remaining food in our bac!pac!s and secreted it under my

bed. Pharaday had trumpeted his intention to eat at all the best inns of the city; he would notbe interested in "ritish beef and roly-poly puddington with raisins on top. Then, an$ious onceagain, % left the inn and wal!ed to a courtyard % had earlier noticed, where % too! the cool airand tried to rela$.

Some time later Pharaday chanced upon me. )0ou, sir,* he said, his manner terse. )&reyou meant to be here/*

)Pharaday,* % replied, )% do not beliee this to be a priate courtyard.*+e stared at me, and % realised he had not e$pected me to spea! 'uite so familiarly with

him. +e said, )0es, well, hmm, are you en1oying your time here/*

)Tolerably. &fter the immense 1ourney we undertoo!...*)%ndeed. &nd the inn... you li!e it/*% shrugged. )%t smells of yoghurt and the floorboards crea! fit to wa!e lettuce-sellers as

far as Shanhai, but it is pleasant enough.*)0oghurt,* he said. )loorboards... yes, yes. ell, % must be off. % shall see you later.*% watched him depart. & ision of Panthera=s face rose up before me and % grasped the

truth of her words. "ut what were these worse secrets she had mentioned/% realised % had to ta!e my chance. Pulling my coat about me, % followed Pharaday,

lur!ing sometimes ten yards, sometimes fifty behind him, following as he ascended the stepsand croo!ed passages of the city, until, half a mile aboe the plain, he halted at a door. % wasnot surprised to see a red half moon painted upon it.


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% raced bac! to the inn. My Pharaday bought gewgaws in the mar!ets still. &t top speed% sprinted down to the bordello and sought Panthera, who, luc!ily, was not engaged with aclient.

ithout delay % said, )hat is the place of the red half moon, high atop the city/*)4h ranclin7* she said, her face twisted with shoc!. )eer go there7 % beg7 0ou are

too good a man, too sweet and decent to go there.*% too! her in my arms and comforted her, telling her that % would not return to the place.

&t the time % belieed myself, % really did. "ut then % left, returned to the DTigris angD andentered my room. Subtly, carefully, somebody had been through my belongings. 2ownstairs %as!ed the door!eeper if Pharaday had returned. +e nodded. )&nd gone again,* he remar!ed.

"ut % !new my Pharaday had not yet returned.&t once % leaped steps and aulted railings, ascending through siler afternoon light to

the place of the red half moon, where % halted. The walls stood deoid of windows, the doorshut? silent, forbidding. % stood alone. "ut % was not to be defeated. Spying a series of

balustrades falling in graceful arcs from the bath-house ne$t door, % clambered up to them bymeans of guttering, then crawled, li!e an alley cat, to their ery end. rom that eyrie % saw a

s!ylight in the roof of my goal? the building of the red half moon. % 1umped. % landedaw!wardly and almost slipped, but pulled myself to safety by means of hairy iy.

Moments later % opened the s!ylight and peered down. The sweet, heady scent ofincense came to my nostrils and % heard faint chanting. & floor of wooden boards lay si$ feet

below me. The attic lay empty, so % lowered myself in.My only weapon was the dir! gien to me at the beginning of the 1ourney by Pharaday.

% loosened it in its sheath.% had no plan in mind. "ut % !new something sinister, perhaps something terrible,

lur!ed inside the building, that related to Pharaday and his curious life, and so % decided %must moe on to discoer the truth. % crept to the attic door and listened. The sound ofchanting, faint, though distinct, did not alter, and % guessed it had its source some distanceaway. % hoped the upper reaches of the building would be dusty and empty, as were the upperreaches of most buildings.

% opened the door and slipped through. The corridor % found myself in was dar! andcobwebbed, empty and silent. % crept on, found a staircase, descended, entered anothercorridor, wal!ed to its end to find a second staircase... and the incense-cho!ed chamber at the

bottom of those steps led me to a concealed balcony from which % was able to obsere abi6arre scene in the hall below.

%t was some !ind of shrine. &t one end stood two thrones, on which sat a human manand a tiger, hand in hand li!e !ing and 'ueen, and wearing siler crowns. & do6en peoplestood in arious attitudes before the royal pair, some seated, some standing. %ncense rose in

thic! clouds from lines of thuribles set on siler poles; % closed my mouth, trying to breatheshallow, !nowing a cough would betray me.&nd then % saw Pharaday. "ut % did not !now which Pharaday it was.+e spo!e to the !ing in rough tones. )This is a poor state of affairs, your felinuship.

0ou tell me that % must ta!e the place of my embodiment and leae this city ( my home ( andyet you will !eep the embodiment of the other one/*

)This is my desire, Lemmington,* replied the !ing. )0ou will do as you are bid.*)"ut why/ % need answers, your felinuship.*% 1udged from the bile of the man that this was not the Pharaday % !new from the

Suicide #lub. %n a menacing oice the !ing said, )The presence of your embodiment,returned to Xana-La, means the intruder who escaped managed to return to London. My plan

is to...* +e chuc!led, then continued, )... amend the embodiment of the other man, thenutilise him appropriately.*


13/17

% swallowed? mouth dry. % !new they meant me. The intruder % supposed to be Le$torthe irst. Some awful plot was moing here that threatened ciilised society in London, and ashier ran up my spine.

)Show me this amendment,* Pharaday said.The !ing hesitated, glancing at the tiger beside him. &s one they rose, the tiger

balancing without difficulty on her bac! legs, then wal!ed to whateer chamber lay behindthe throne. Seeing that the balcony on which % perched continued behind the rear wall of thehall % wondered if % might be able to see more.

0es ( % did see more. The chamber behind the hall was large, filled with huge iron ats,glass ials, steam and macabre blac! implements. &nd there on a table, laid out li!e a dampcorpse, % saw myself.

&nd my other self had no belly button.% almost fainted from horror. % stared again at myself. There was a great hole in the left

side of my chest, bloodless and inanimate, or so it seemed, with the ribs s!ewed bac! andheld by means of threads and pins. & scene too macabre for me to grasp.

Then % saw still more. Tiger bodies in carts ( a do6en at least.

)&h7* % heard Pharaday say. % glanced oer the edge of the balcony to see him. )ow %understand the meaning of your phrase, your felinuship.*

)My phrase/*)%ndeed ( Fto put some heart into the embodiments= you said. 0our felinuship, % must

apologise, % imagined you used heart as a metaphor, li!e the "ritish do to mean enthusiasm.hy...* and he laughed for a moment, then wiped his lips, )... % did not realise you intendedusing real tiger hearts. Most ingenious7*

The upright tiger ( the !ing=s 'ueen, or so % imagined ( gae a blood curdling yowl.&nd that is when the horror got the better of me, for an inoluntary cry escaped my own lips.

The tiger=s ears flic!ed. 4ne pointed in my direction. Then she turned her head andloo!ed up, straight into my eyes.

+er second yowl was more of a shrie!. Pharaday and the !ing turned to stare up at me.% ran for my life.#lattering up the stairs, shouts behind me, heay bootsteps? but what % feared was warm

breath on the bac! of my nec!, sharp teeth brea!ing my spine. Tiger 1aws. 5asping for breath% staggered into the attic, my legs hardly fit for escape; li!e 1ellies they were. % turned.

obody at the door. ith my last energy % grasped the edges of the s!ylight and heaedmyself up, managing to get an elbow upon the roof ( a ploy that saed me. &s my legsdangled and my strength faded, % bent one leg up and used it to leer myself out. Then, li!e a

beached fish, % lay on the roof, shutting the s!ylight as my final effort.% !new % did not hae long to lie. The tiger 'ueen would emerge from the building,

ascend and capture me, if she did not !ill me. % rolled onto my bac!, tears in my eyes, andmurmured, )% did not wish to go li!e this. 4h, % did not...*There came a fluster of feathers, a smell of mountain air, then something enormous

landed beside me, ma!ing the roof tiles ibrate. & bird7)ranclin7 There is yet time to escape. Show me freedom, % beg, and % will show you

loe7*)Panthera7*The monster bird ( some species of auric bustard % beliee ( lowered its head to glare at

me with one fulous eye. & saddle lay upon its bac!, Panthera astride it. % struggled to myfeet and, ta!ing hold of the pommel, dragged myself up, raising and moing my right leg asPanthera leaned bac! to facilitate my inelegant mounting, so that moments later % sat before

her, facing forwards. The delicious warmth of her body progressed through my clothes to myown s!in ( a !ind of mystical protection it seemed.


14/17

Then there came a chilling yowl from the far edge of the roof. )The tiger 'ueen7* %cried.

The bustard raised its wings and 1umped off the roof 1ust in time; % glanced oer myshoulder to see the tiger 'ueen, tail thrashing, one paw raised clutching feathers.

Panthera wailed and hugged me. )% thought you were doomed,* she said.

% !issed the bac! of her hand. )Ta!e us to the head of the alley,* % said, )and % willshow you your freedom.*

8e wal! the lanes and pleasant green alleys of London, Panthera and %, daring the loo!s ofour neighbours, who thin! that a "ritish man should neer marry a woman with dar! s!in."ut we do not care. e !now loe. &nd we consider ourseles trailbla6ers in more than onesense.

"ut % watch my neighbours, !in and colleagues with an almost fanatical ferour, for %!now that one day, perhaps this year, maybe in the new decade to come, % will stroll down astreet and see myself wal!ing towards me; and % will !now that this other self has no belly

button and the fierce heart of a tiger. &h... it is only loe that tempers fear.

&nd if you, dear reader, are perusing this tale, then Panthera and % are gone, to who!nows what fate ( for % hae caused this document to be held in the aults of DThe TimesD, to

be published in the eent of my anishment.


15/17

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