by Ian Newton
Chapter 17
Invisible
Jacob patiently worked with each child, helping them tie their ribbon onto an ever growing chain of color. When they were all done, the banner stretched more than twenty feet.
“I’ll tie it to the very top of the mast as soon as I get up there,” he told his group of supporters.
“That way we’ll always be able to tell them apart,” said a little girl no older than four.
“That’s how we’ll do it,” Jacob agreed, tousling her hair.
“Thank you, everyone,” he said smiling. “I’ll be able to talk with Kaya, and I’ll keep you posted.”
With a final farewell and one last wave, he crossed the gangplank and disappeared.
Everyone gasped. “Jacob!” they shouted, “Jacob!”
“What’s wrong?” he asked from the deck of the ship.
“We can’t see you anymore!” the children shouted.
“Wait until I cast off, then tell me if you can see me,” he said.
In a few minutes, Jacob had cast off his lines and was moving away from the pier.
For the citizens on the dock, watching the separation of the Lady Marie pulled at their minds. Like an image in a broken mirror, she rippled as two things separated back into each other. Until Jacob had sailed outside of the original silhouette, the image was almost painful to watch.
From high above the deck, Jacob and the long ribbon of color waved at the dock.
“Can you hear me and see me?” he called back, headed out of port.
“There you are!!!” shouted every little voice, just like they had practiced.
“I see you too!” Jacob called back.
Sailing the amazingly golden, surprisingly sophisticated-looking ship from the crow’s nest with only his mind, Jacob thought, “What a perfect way to sail.”
He laughed and pointed to the banner of color flying from his Lady Marie. The children were right, it comforted the mind.
Kaya was already greeting a group of five at the east gate. The family had walked for the past two days, without rest, because they could see the City.
Andrew’s group had already greeted them a mile out, and everyone’s spirits were alive with the possibilities of what needed to be done.
Four days after Jacob’s departure, Kaya waited at the south entrance. She had seen the three people on approach and waited patiently on the edge of the Fountain.
As they walked under the archway of the outer wall, Kaya jumped to her feet. She wanted to run out and greet them, but she couldn’t leave the City.
When Ross saw her standing just inside the inner archway, he yelled to her and started to run.
Kaya danced in place with nervous excitement as he cleared the final twenty yards. Jumping the inner threshold, he leaped into her open arms.
Ross spun her around and around, shouting, “You did it! You really did it!”
Kaya cried with joy as she spun, and whispered, “Welcome home big brother, I’ve missed you more than you’ll ever know.”
Ravi and Tarquin were right behind him, and when Ross finally let go, Kaya hugged her friends and welcomed them all to the City of Light.
Later that evening, while having dinner at her parent’s house, she turned to Ross, and asked, “What took you so long to get here?”
“That’s right,” Ross said. “I didn’t tell you yet. We were at the Oasis, Ravi, Tarquin and I, and he showed up.”
“Who showed up?” Ross’ mother asked.
“The One!”
“The One?!” Kaya asked with trepidation.
“Yup. We got him at the Oasis. It was crazy, the whole thing flooded. We took him to the Empire. He should be fine.”
“What was his name?” Kaya asked slowly, afraid of the answer she would hear.
“It was Duncan, Connor Duncan.”
Kaya’s fork fell out of her hand, pinged off her plate and hit the ground. She went to stand but stumbled getting out of her chair. She made a desperate grab for the back of Ross’ chair and missed.
She couldn’t get her feet to move, everything twisted, her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled to the floor.
Kaya sat up with a jolt, making the damp cloth fall onto her face.
“Easy there,” Ross said, taking the cloth. “You gave us quite a fright.”
“I’m fine,” she said, trying to sit up, but Ross had his hand on her shoulder.
“All right, all right,” he said, “but take it slowly, would ya?”
“I fainted, didn’t I?”
“You'll be all right, sweetheart,” her mother said, offering Kaya a cup of water. “With everything going on, I don’t know how you manage in the first place.”
“Ross, why didn’t you tell me when you got here?”
“You mean before I swung you around, or after I drank from the Fountain?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, taking the water from her mother. She drank it down and handed the cup back.
“Thank you,” she said. “Maybe I’m just dehydrated.”
“Nobody’s at any of the entrances,” one of her little brothers reported. He was sitting at the table with his eyes closed.
“That’s a relief,” Kaya said. She felt her head and took an assessment of herself. “I don’t think I hurt anything. How long was I out?”
“Just long enough for us to move you off the floor and get that cloth on your head,” Ross told her.
“I don’t think I’ve fainted in all my lives,” she said, looking at Ross.
“In all your lives?” Ross asked. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”
Kaya smiled, and it spread to Ross, then to everyone in the room. Grandmother winked at him, and Ross said, “You’re going to have to bring me up to speed, Sis.”
“Let him lie down before you do it to him,” Marco said, from the table. “I nearly fell over when you did it to me!”
“I said I was sorry.”
“I know my sweet. I just like giving you are a hard time about it.”
“Before you do what?” Ross asked.
“Do it to me at the same time,” one of her little brothers yelled, running in and sitting next to Ross.
“No fair! It’s my turn,” yelled another little voice from the other room.
“This is for Ross only,” Kaya told them all. “And I’m not the entertainment.”
“Ross, lie down, and I’ll show you something.”
“That cannot be your introduction,” her mother interjected, stepping next to both of them with her hands on her hips.
“It wasn’t going to be,” Kaya said, looking up with a smile. “I’m just getting warmed up.”
“Good, because so far, nobody’s been quite ready for your…for your…,” Erynn touched her finger to her forehead, “your whatever you call that.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” she said to Ross. “Let’s take a walk. I’ll tell you a story, then I’ll show it to you.”
“I sure wish she’d done that for me,” Marco said, winking at Ross.
“Come on,” she said, pulling Ross to his feet. As they headed for the door, she thanked her mother and father for dinner, hugged her grandmother and told everyone they would be back later.
“Good luck Ross!” Marco called out, “You’re gonna need it.”
Long after the moon had set, Kaya and Ross sat on the edge of the Fountain. Ross was still struggling with all she had shared, but Kaya had moved on. She was focused on Connor.
“If you knew what could happen, why did you give him all the gold?”
“I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. And besides, I didn’t want to carry it all the way back.”
“I don’t think this is going to end well. He’s not the person you think he is.”
> “You know the story as well as anyone,” Ross said. “He can go either way.”
“Either way?!” Kaya snapped. “One way is horrible for everyone, and the other is only good for Connor.”
“You can’t just assume he’s going to start killing people and spreading evil in his path. At least that’s not the person I met. Besides, the legend of The One isn’t very clear in the first place.”
“I’m also not assuming he’s going to choose a path that leads him back here. At least not without a little evidence,” she insisted.
“He’s the one who can make the choice,” Ross pointed out. “If he has the resources to choose either path, what’s the difference?”
“You know the difference.”
He did, and it bothered him.
“When are you going to tell Jacob?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to have to talk it over with Andrew first, but Jacob has to know before he gets there.”
Jacob had sailed for the better part of two weeks before he began regularly encountering warships.
They sat low on the water. Mostly built for rowing and ramming and the closer he got to the Empire, the thicker they appeared.
Not a single ship he passed could see him. It was no use yelling to them either. These were hardened men who watched the ocean for a living, and not a single one of them ever saw or heard the Lady Marie.
It was twilight when he arrived in the King’s harbor and even for a ship steered by thought, it was challenging to maneuver. Every mooring ball was thick with floating machines of war. Every slip and every dock ending was fully loaded.
There was at least one sentry on every deck, confirming the King and his Empire were going to war.
“I’m here,” he thought to Kaya and Andrew, “and being invisible certainly has its advantages.
There isn’t any room in this port to even drop anchor. The Empire is close to war,” he thought to them, sailing out of port. He ran the Lady Marie aground a few hundred yards up the shore from the farthest ship.
“I’m going ashore.”
“Wait,” Kaya thought back, “there’s something I need to tell you before you go.”
“I’m hungry, tell me while I walk into port,” he answered, disembarking the Lady Marie.
“It’s about Connor.”
Jacob stopped in mid-stride. “What about him?”
“He’s there, he’s in the Empire.”
“He’s here! Are you sure? How do you know?”
“My brother Ross helped him get there a couple of weeks ago. It’s a long story; I wasn’t sure how to tell you, and I can’t put it off any longer.”
Jacob wasn’t sure how to react. He loved his son, he blamed himself for putting him in the Chamber and for what had happened.
“I need to see him.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Andrew chimed in.
“I’m his father aren’t I? How could it be a bad thing?”
“You don’t think he’s going to be the least bit angry?” Kaya asked.
“If he’s not already over it, he’ll get over it. It’s been so long.”
“Not for him,” Andrew thought.
“Do you know where he is? Did Ross tell you anything else?”
“He said he would probably be at the house outside of town.”
“Perfect. I’ll get a bite to eat at this horrible place just off the docks, then I’ll walk out to see him.”
“Be careful Jacob,” Kaya warned.
“Careful of what?”
“He may not be the same person who went into the Chamber,” Andrew said.
“It’s not a question of if we change, it’s a matter of how. Isn’t that right Kaya?”
“He’s only eighteen Jacob, and he’s probably still angry. If he’s not ready, leave him be.”
Jacob started walking down the shoreline, and thought back, “It’ll be fine. I’ll let you know if I find him.”
Connor and his grandfather had taken an immediate liking to each other. They were very much alike and tonight they were at a tavern, down by the water. Neither of them was drunk yet, but it was still early.
His grandfather sat across from him telling stories Jacob never could. They were incredible scenes from a long history of sailing, warfare, and exploration.
Connor left the tavern about ten seconds before Jacob was about to walk in. There was no eye contact between them and Jacob dropped back, far back. He followed Connor to his horse and from there, back to the farmhouse outside of town.
Having ridden home, Connor arrived well before Jacob.
He was out in the barn, pumping the bellows to his forge when Jacob arrived. The sound was unmistakable, and it set Jacob on edge.
Jacob debated with himself for the better part of fifteen minutes before he reached for the oversized wooden door. By that time, Connor was already hammering away.
As the door swung open, Connor looked up, and Jacob stepped in.
Connor dropped what he was working on.
“You’re dead!” he whispered, backing away from the anvil.
“Just thought I would stop by,” Jacob announced, with a friendly smile. “I thought it would be great to start over. You know, from the beginning.”
Jacob’s death in the foothills was a critical part of Connor’s story. He’d told everyone how tragic it had all been. He’d even made up Jacob’s last words!
With his mind slipping into a panic, Connor mumbled, “You can’t be here.”
“It’s a really crazy story, if you have time to listen,” Jacob offered warmly.
Panic had spread into fear as Connor envisioned the world with Jacob Duncan in it.
“Pridarius will kill me! He’ll kill us both!” Connor thought.
Mistaking Connor’s repose for acceptance, Jacob started looking around for a stool. Finding nothing but bales of hay, he turned to sit and found Connor not five feet from him.
As the blade pierced his chest, Jacob opened up his thoughts to Kaya and Andrew. They watched and felt as Connor pushed the blade up to the hilt.
“You need to stay dead old man. There isn’t room in this world for the both of us!” he spat.
As the life pulsed out of his body, Connor put his foot to Jacob’s chest and pushed him off his blade.
Kaya and Andrew clutched their chests, Jacob fell backward, and everything went black.