Ethira

by J D Evergreen

  I raise my eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

  The man lets out a contented sigh. “I love group hugs.”

  I slowly detangle myself from the group. “Usually, I like to learn the names of people before I decide whether or not to hug them.”

  The man steps back and holds out his arm. “I'm Edward, collector of strange things, reader of minds, and most recently, the un-digger of landslide graves.”

  A small smile quirks at the corners of my mouth, and I grasp the man’s hand. “Thank you, Edward.”

  “The pleasure is all mine. I never expected to meet a Xineoph in my lifetime.” He glances at Lexa his eyes twinkling. “Let alone two.”

  My eyebrows do their best to crawl up into my hairline. “What is a Xineoph?”

  The man with red hair laughs loudly before he catches my face. After a quick glance at Lexa his happy face transforms into a grimace. “By the Phoenix, you really don’t know?”

  I shake my head, and Edward runs his hands through his red mane.

  “Oh dear, oh dear,” he mumbles, shaking his head and glancing between Lexa and me as if he expects us to laugh and yell out, ‘this is all just a trick.’

  Carissa is pale-faced and places her hand on Edwards' arm. “It is okay. I am sure they can be taught.”

  Edward shakes his head violently. “There isn’t time.”

  “What is it that we are supposed to learn?” Lexa cuts in.

  Edward stammers incoherent words as he clutches his head, pulling his hair and groaning. Suddenly I am struck with familiarity. I grab hold of Lexa's hand and squeeze. “This is the man from our dream.”

  As the words leave my mouth, Edward falls to the ground and has a fit, his purple necklace shining so brightly that my eyes struggle to look at him.

  Edward thrashes uncontrollably, and Carissa hurries to move furniture away from the seizing man. Coming to my senses, I help her to push a nearby table against the wall.

  Edward screams, “Only the warrior escaped and found, can save us from what lies beneath the ground. Flaming boulders plummet from the sky, without her help we are doomed to die.”

  I glance at Carissa and it is clear she is just as lost as I am. Edward stops his full body seizing and rolls to his side whimpering.

  I kneel beside him and lay my hand on his arm. My necklace shines brightly, and his sputters out light in response before it dims, as exhausted as its wearer.

  Carissa looks at us with an apologetic smile. “This happens to Edward sometimes and it will be a while before he is able to converse. If you go outside, dinner is being served and each of you should go and have a bowl or two.”

  We crowd out the door, and Nathanial pushes inside, scoops up the whimpering man and gently lays him on the bed I had recently vacated, before he too squeezes out the door to stand with us.

  I look at Nathanial with great surprise. He has the strangest ways of showing kindness.

  My attention turns to our location, and I look around to discover high walls of rock on either side of us. It is almost as if we are inside one of the chasms Melissa and I had found just before the goblin attack. A small rock tumbles down the rock wall, and I shudder at the memory of being half buried. That was the first time I had ever been so close to death and completely helpless to try and stop it.

  I take a gulp of air as my legs start to shake. I would choose death in a battle over that slow helpless death any day.

  I stumble and crumple to the ground, my legs refusing to take me any further. Lexa and Tash crouch beside me, and Melissa plonks down too, her pale face covered with sweat. “I'm so glad you were first to sit down. But I'm stuffed too.”

  I give her a small smile. “Walking is harder than I remember it.”

  Melissa nods and gingerly touches the moss padding on her neck. “I’m with you on that. For a tiny little critter, it sure did pack a powerful bite.”

  I glance at her. “It could have also been the tree that slammed into your head.”

  Melissa shrugs. “Aside from a few forgetful moments, I seem to have recovered from that.”

  Lucas nods thoughtfully and rises to his feet. “I will get you two some food.” Nathanial and Tash follow him, and together the three of them drift towards the sizeable central campfire and the line building there.

  Lexa sits between me and Melissa as if she is unsure who needs her the most. I look around. “Where are Miss Q and the others?”

  Lexa sits back leaning on her hands. “They helped us look for you after the rockslide. It was actually Miss Q that found these people and led us here. She has left with Jarmile and Jamie to an undisclosed location, but she maintained the decision that she would remain in touch.”

  Melissa wipes her face on her shirt, revealing a glint of silver near her belt. “I'm gonna miss that little squirt.”

  Lexa pats Melissa on the shoulder before turning to stare into the fire.

  I put my hand to my belt where someone had thoughtfully strapped the small knife. Reluctantly I pull it out and offer it to Melissa. “Here is your knife. It is my small and tiny hero, but it belongs to you.”

  Melissa takes the knife and inspects it before handing it back with a smile. “It has Claire germs all over it. I don’t want it. You better keep it.”

  I take the knife back with a small smile and turn the tiny blade in my fingers. “Thank you.”

  After retelling the story of the landslide coupled with how Edward found me and eating four bowls of the most delicious stew I’ve ever had, I finally get a chance to curl up by the small fire our group built on the edge of the camp.

  Fitfully I doze, comforted only by my back pressed against Lexa's leg. It feels like it’s far too soon when Lexa is shaking me awake.

  “Edward is asking for us.”

  Grumbling, I climb to my feet and trudge behind Lexa through the dim and quiet camp. Everywhere people lay bundled in piles, sleeping in rings around fires.

  Slowly we make our way towards the caravan where we had left Edward. I pause at the steps and look up at a young woman with light blonde hair, her green dress swinging softly with her movements.

  “Edward has asked to see you,” she said. “Please be mindful he is weak and upsetting conversations can trigger further seizures.”

  Lexa nods. “We would not deliberately try to harm Edward. Thank you for your warnings, and we shall be careful going forward.”

  The woman eyes us for a moment then steps aside, apparently happy with Lexa's response. We step into the dim caravan lit by a single candle beside Edward’s bed and he is sitting beside it, his face pale and ghostly in the flickering light.

  “Thank you for coming, ladies,” he announces with half the flair I had become accustomed to over our few brief encounters. “I am sorry you had to see me like I was earlier, but such is the life of a keeper. My body is not designed to handle the power of the necklace as yours are.” He grimaces and rubs his face. “As you have seen, it can have adverse effects on one’s health.”

  I grip the necklace around my neck. “The gems affect us too.”

  Edward nods and lifts a small kettle off a table I hadn’t noticed before and steadily he pours three cups of sweet-smelling tea. “I have seen your magical wounds. The power you can draw from the gem is extraordinary, keeping you alive even with all that rock crushing you. Of course, your necklace just heals. The pain must have been unbearable.”

  I push back the memory flash that surges forward and clench my jaw. Slowly, I sink onto a cushion conveniently placed on the floor, and Lexa follows my actions looking at me with a face filled with concern.

  I swallow and turn to Edward. “What is a keeper and how do you know that my necklace heals?”

  “The first question is easy,” Edward says as he hands us a cup each. “A keeper, that is me, has no direct lineage to the original owners of the gem, and it is their job to protect it until its true Xineoph arrives, people like you. If none is found, the crystal is passed down the Keeper’s line.”
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br />   I nod and take a sip of the delightfully fruity tea and enjoy the faint smell of mint it emits.

  Lexa leans forward. “So Xineoph are people who can use the gem’s powers?”

  Edward pauses. “Not exactly. I have access to the gem’s powers, although it comes sporadically, often not of my choice, and it affects me badly, as you have seen.”

  I twitch. “The gem gives you fits?”

  Edward sips his tea before continuing. “Yes. My body cannot handle the power of the gem, and I am only using a fraction of what you have accessed these last few days to stay alive.”

  Silence settles over the room as everyone stares at their tea. Lexa casts a wary glance at me and asks, “How do you know Claire's necklace heals?”

  Edward pulls the blankets beside him into his lap and cuddles it. “Because there is no other way Claire could be alive right now. Some of the rocks that were on top of her legs were so heavy it took three strong men to lift them.”

  I shake my head. “That can’t be right. With Lexa, I have made shields, and before me, my mother used it to see glimpses of the future. If it is healing, why did it not heal for her?”

  Edward gives me a small smile and bops as he sings a small children’s rhyme. “The crystal knows what the heart rings true, it will show you until you do too.”

  I almost sigh in frustration. “And the song means?”

  Lexa cuts in, “Are you saying the power of the crystal is entirely dependent on our heart's desire?”

  Edward nods excitedly.

  This time I do sigh. “So now we have a fairy tale ending all summed up in a cute little rhyme. Will we require true love’s kiss as well?” I snap.

  “Claire?” Lexa questions startled by my outburst.

  “Sadly no,” Edward answers completely oblivious to my bitter explosion. “It just means everyone has a deep desire to do something, I suspect after living a life where you were forced to kill people, all you want to do is give life, not take it.”

  I shoot him a look, and he holds up his hands. “Carissa mentioned the brand on your thigh. I have seen the wanted posters, and I could have ratted you out already if I wanted to.”

  “I might as well get it branded to my forehead with how well I am managing to keep my identity a secret,” I mutter.

  Lexa squeezes my hand. “Perhaps it is time to get some more rest?”

  I nod and rise to my feet. Edward casts me a sad look before turning to Lexa. “Look after Claire. She was not in a good way when we found her.”

  I sigh and leave the caravan, unable to hear anymore. Lexa comes out a few minutes later and quietly leads me back to our group's little fire. Tash is sitting quietly keeping watch. I grumble a hello to her and curl up under my blanket, keeping my back to our tiny camp.

  Why does this keep happening? I have survived countless near-death situations before. Why must this one surge up within me every time someone even vaguely mentions it? I clench my fists and curl tighter in a ball. Surely I have not become so weak as to cower every time something like this happens.

  Lexa sits quietly beside me keeping carefully separate and she doesn’t reach for the blanket we share even though the night is cold.

  Tash fidgets for a few moments before declaring, “I am going for a walk, see if I can snag any more of that stew.”

  Lexa shifts beside me. “Of course, I will keep watch while you are gone.”

  Soft footsteps move away from us, and I try my best to keep the prickle of tears from emerging. Soundlessly, Lexa places her hand on my shoulder. I stiffen, then slowly raise my hand to link my fingers with hers. The contact helps, and I let out a long slow breath. Releasing with it some of the tension that has been building in my body since I was told of my mother’s fate.

  We sit quietly like this for a long time, and at some point, I fall into a deep sleep.

  Something jolts me awake, and I listen quietly to the darkness. Nothing. Slowly, I roll over and face the dying embers of our small campfire and all of my companions sleep clustered around the fading heat. Lucas snores from the large rock usually occupied by whoever’s turn it is to watch. I guess boredom sent him to sleep. I pull myself from the blanket I share with Lexa and the cold of the cavern bites at my skin. I hurry over to the glowing coals and add a few precious sticks and a small log. The fire sighs happily and begins steadily munching on the wood I put there. The wave of heat is an immediate relief from the cold of the cavern, and my companions unconsciously roll towards the warmth.

  I sit for a while and watch the leaping flames.

  “Fire, the bringer of destruction and life.”

  I twist around to find Miss Q standing beside me, warming her body by the flames.

  I shrug off the fright and turn back to the orange light. “Such a burden for one small fire.”

  Miss Q settles beside me. “The greatest fires can be started by the smallest of embers.”

  “Great fires bring death,” I snap bitterly.

  Miss Q nods. “When a fire rages through the cavern, it does bring death to all in its path, the old twisted trees and plants that refuse to yield. Those same old plants smother the seedlings.” She pauses to stir the fire with a stick. “But fire clears a path. It removes those old twisted plants and allows the younger plants to take root, to grow strong and create a paradise for all on the dust and ash of the mistakes that others laid before them.”

  I put my head in my hands and abandon our metaphorical use of fire. “I can see why Lexa was chosen for this path.” I pull my face from my hands and look over at the sleeping woman. “She is strong, smart, resilient, a leader, kind and—” the word beautiful dies on my lips and an awkward silence settles over us.

  “Lexa is a formidable woman,” The Quelton agrees. “An appropriate choice.”

  I glance at the Quelton as she leaves those words to hang in the air.

  I stare back at the fire. “Why me?”

  The Quelton puts her furry paws over her heart. “Because sometimes all the world needs is for someone to be brave enough to walk through the dark and come back with the sun.”

  She puts her furry arm around my shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. I press my face against her shoulder and take the comfort she is offering me. “Come back with the sun Claire.”

  After a while she nudges me back to the blanket I share with Lexa and sits beside me until my eyes close.

  When I awake, I grip my blanket tightly in my fists and tentatively I stretch, feeling the burn in my back and legs. I sit up and inspect them, finding the patches of blue-purple bruising has faded to an ugly yellow-green.

  I look down at my necklace, still glowing steadily against my skin. It must be working overtime because my stomach growls loudly with hunger, and I feel exhausted regardless of all the sleep I have had.

  I look around, expecting to find the Quelton but all signs of her are gone. The fire around me is deserted except for Lexa, who sits quietly mending a dark blue shirt. I watch her for a time, her hands moving swiftly with the thread, an action she must have repeated a thousand times before.

  She reaches for a small stone spindle covered in delicate blue thread, but as she brushes it with her fingertips, it rolls away. Clumsily, I crawl over to it and hand it to Lexa.

  “I am sorry about last night,” I say quietly. “I was an ass to you and Edward.”

  Lexa gives me a tight smile. “You have had to endure a lot these past few weeks and I should have realized before last night the burden was growing too great for you to bear.”

  I look down at my dirty fingernails and begin to pick the soil out from under them. “You think I'm weak,” I state.

  Lexa sets aside her mending and takes my hand. “It is actually quite the opposite. I think you have been too strong for too long. Even the mightiest of us must rest sometime, Claire.”

  I look up at her with a shy smile.

  Edward comes bouncing up to us and dramatically warms his backside by the fire. “How are you lovely ladies today?”


  I clear my throat. “Better, thank you. Edward, about last night—”

  “Oh, pish posh,” he cuts in waving his hands at me. “You are an inspiration to us all. It takes true skill to piss Darkmor off like you have managed to do every day since you escaped his clutches.”

  I chuckle. “Some people may view proximity to me as a health hazard with the way he has sent men and magical machines after me.”

  Edward shrugs. “Some people view housing poisonous animals as a health hazard, but that hasn’t stopped me.”

  I gape at him and open my mouth to ask what he means when he spirals off on a new tangent. “So, my ladies, my lovely Xineophs, have you brought the true owner for my necklace in your little band of merry men and women?”

  I glance over at our group. Nathanial sits with his arms crossed glaring at all the people around him and everyone goes to great lengths to give him plenty of space. Lucas tinkers with the wooden box Lexa found in the giant stone carving, ignoring everything and everyone else. Melissa, pale and shaky sits beside them and looks like she may throw up at any moment. Tash paces back and forth, looking at the small group obviously stressed over everyone’s behaviour and apparent indifference to those around them.

  I look back at Edward. “Merry band is not how I would phrase it.”

  Edward glances over at them with a smile. “What a lovely adventure you must all be on!”

  My eyebrows furrow. Lovely? Edward marches over to the fire and picks up a long, twisted stick. If I had to guess, I would say it was once a root. Probably something that came down in the landslide. My hands ball into fists, and I bury them in my lap. Edward grips the branch with both his hands and uses the enormous stick to stir up the fire. Satisfied with the flames, he turns and warms his backside by the leaping flames, looking at us expectedly.

  I glance at Lexa, who has paused her steady mending to consider the man, her face perfectly neutral. Is she as worried about his mental stability as I am?

  “We did not realize we had to find the Xineophs as well as the necklaces. We were running under the assumption that the people who possessed the necklaces were the ones who could use them,” Lexa fills in.