The Beyond by Jeffrey Ford

mixed in with that of the burning wood.
    Two virile-looking young men and a young woman sat around the fire. The old man took his place in the circle and motioned for Cley to sit next to him. The hunter smiled as he got down on his knees and copied their posture with legs crossed in front. They smiled back, and he noticed it was not genuine but more an attempt to imitate him. He nodded in a feeble show of thanks for their courtesy, and they nodded back. Wood then stepped up to the old man and sat close beside him. The old man put his head forward for the dog to lick his nose. For this, Wood was given a piece of meat from a gourd bowl resting on the fire stones.
    Cley was impressed that the dog had already ingratiated himself to the tattooed people, for the animal repeated this act with each of those present and at each stop was fed a piece of meat. Then Wood approached Cley and waited as if expecting his companion to follow the ritual. The hunter tried to ignore him, but Wood sat and waited. Cley noticed that the others were watching, so he gave in and leaned forward. There was also a bowl of meat set by his place at the fire, and he fed the dog a piece.
    â€œYou sly bastard,” Cley thought.
    Wood glanced at him from the corner of his eye and then walked over near the entrance and lay down.
    The others began eating from the bowls, and Cley did not hesitate to join them. The meal, whatever it was, was delicious. The meat was cooked to tenderness and seasoned with a variety of spices, both sweet and hot.
    â€œVery good,” said Cley, but the sound of his voice seemed to annoy them, for they winced when he spoke. For the rest of the meal, he remained silent, satisfied enough to be filling his stomach with real food.
    Cley decided that the fellow sitting across from him must be the chief or the mayor of the village. He alone wore an elaborate necklace made of formidable-looking animal teeth and was decorated more profusely than the others. There was also the fact that his muscled, lean physique exuded an aura of strength and confidence.
    When they were finished eating, this young man reached behind himself and brought forth an object of considerable size. Cley was surprised to see that it was the book he had carried with him on the journey. The chief passed it to his right to the young woman, who took it and handed it to the hunter. He looked up and around at the circle of faces. The other man to the immediate left of the chief squinted and fixed Cley with a piercing stare. The old man with the one ear opened his eyes wide. The young woman winked her left eye and the chief winked with his right.
    Cley understood the seriousness of the situation but could hardly prevent himself from laughing. He wondered what he was to make of all this mugging and eye language. The old man leaned over and opened the singed cover of the book. Turning to the first full page of remaining text, he gently brushed his gnarled fingers across the words.
    â€œBook,” said Cley.
    They stared at him.
    â€œWords,” he said.
    They sat as if waiting for something to happen.
    In the tense silence, he finally realized what they wanted. He lifted the tome and began quietly to read. As he read about the nature of the soul, they sat perfectly still, and when he looked up at the break between the third and fourth paragraph, he saw that they were not even breathing. He refocused his attention and hurried to the end of the page so as not to suffocate them. When he was finished, he saw their bodies relax and heard, only faintly, the air passing through their nostrils.
    He looked around to see if they wanted him to continue. The old man leaned over again and took the page that Cley had just read between his fingers. The hunter waited for him to turn it and indicate that they wanted him to continue; instead he suddenly ripped it out of the book. Cley was startled, but he did nothing, knowing he owed them much more than the entire book for having