Carrion Crow
Page 23
“What’s this all about?” she asked smiling.
Geoffrey held up his hands as if warding off her inquisitive glare. “Not a clue.”
A flash of shadow bobbed up from behind them and a familiar smiling face greeted them. “It’s for the Parting and Arrival ceremony,” Kofi explained.
“The what?” Geoffrey inquired still hopelessly lost.
Fenwick had remained rather quiet, simply taking in all of the garlands and festive touches being thrown up left and right. He noticed that as excited as they all seemed there remained just a touch of reluctance with every motion. He himself had spared little time to think on it or decide how he felt… A tug on his hand shook his attention. “Yes? Sorry.”
Adrianna arched an eyebrow. He didn’t often lose himself in thought. “I was asking you if you knew what the ceremony was for.”
He nodded once, sharp. “It’s time for Titus to leave,” he told her simply.
“What? Like when he came for Geoffrey and me?”
“No.”
She waited but when nothing more came she narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to be difficult on purpose?” she teased accusingly.
“No, but…just wait, you’ll see,” he promised apologetically.
“Come on!” Kofi grinned. “Feasting comes first.”
Laughing they chased after him following where throngs of people had gathered to pile plates high with the edibles. Music accompanied them as they ate their fill, drank ‘til they nearly drowned, and the whole while they sat surrounded by good company. Abel, Seamus, and Sasha swapped folk tales from their childhoods. Kofi and Kevin buoyed everyone’s spirits with their jokes, some of which were truly awful but were told with such proud enthusiasm they became twice as funny.
Ping remained his usual quiet self, but when a toddler tripped and dropped his heavily powdered funnel cake causing a cloud of it to hit Sasha square in the face Ping nearly keeled over he laughed so hard. This, of course, made everyone else laugh. Sasha, after recovering from the surprise, took it all in stride. Swiping a finger across her face she licked off the delicious sugar as if nothing were amiss. Xià handed her a cloth lightly dampened with water but couldn’t fight down the giggles spouting from her mouth.
Johnny and Adrianna hoarded a plate of Russian teacakes. Beside them two little girls squashed flower crowns onto Fenwick and Geoffrey’s heads much to their chagrin. Adrianna laughed adoringly at them and refusing to disappoint the small Jourdies they kept them on for the whole meal.
While some defied physics and ate more food than their stomachs should be able to carry, others had begun to dance. Linking hands they danced in circles, hopping to the music. As the onlookers clapped and cheered the dancers broke apart, spinning to meet a partner and begin a series of sweeping steps and hops before sliding back into one large circle. When people sat for a rest others were quick to take their place and so the afternoon sailed by in a much-needed day of gaiety. Just for a moment they were able to forget and in forgetting they remembered what war had threatened to erase.
To the sailors’ delight the setting sun burned red in the sky, casting a bold glow upon the remains of the party. Israfil sat to the side beside family, and everyone else soon took their seats as well. Scattered close together on blankets covering the soft sand they faced the ocean where Titus stood before them.
“It has been a great many years since the last ceremony of Parting and Arrival,” he began, sweeping his gaze over the sea of faces watching quietly. The buzz of excitement and merriment began to dwindle and a doleful air settled among them. “I have been honored to serve Oneiroi for the past, well, I hardly dare speak the number out loud,” he chuckled.
“The Collector is a most important role one can fill,” he continued seriously. “The Collector sails across worlds offering second chances and a home for the weak and weary. It is not a duty one takes lightly. Every life is precious, and none understand how or why I am led to some and not to others, but every life is precious and no matter whom I am brought before I will extend the same offer to them all.
“This is more than a tradition. It is more than a way to fill our shores. Some souls know what lies ahead for them but those who do not are never alone. I myself often wonder what life follows this. Another realm? Promised everlasting peace? Perhaps nothing at all. While I am sad to leave you all I find myself ready to go. My time here has come to a close and I look forward to knowing the next piece of death’s great adventure.”
Titus extended a hand towards Geoffrey, beckoning him to join him. He clasped the boy’s shoulder firmly as they stood side by side. “The Collector can serve for many years, but they do not often stay so long. For long before their final voyage they must find their successor. There are many candidates one comes across over such a length of time. I’ve met a fair few before this boy here ever crossed my sights.”
Geoffrey’s eyebrows rose in surprise and a twinge of fear widened his eyes. Titus smiled warmly and slid something cold into Geoff’s hand. “Take this compass. There were three, one is lost with Cassandra, Israfil guards the other, and this one here will guide your ship. Follow it always and never stray,” he warned. “Find your successor quickly, boy. Don’t wait as long as I. But do not hurry, choose wisely as I failed to do before.”
“This…this is unexpected, Titus,” Geoffrey stammered still stunned at the sudden burden being tossed his way. “I have no clue what to do, what is expected. I know nothing about—”
“You know what I’ve taught you,” Titus interrupted. “The Whispers can help you along, but alone you will learn the rest.” He clasped both of his hands tightly around Geoffrey’s still holding the compass. “It won’t be easy, and you’ll see things that will urge you to turn away. But…I think you’re stronger than that. You were chosen, Eisen, and not just by me.”
Opening his arms wide to the crowd around them Titus gestured grandly. “Geoffrey Verdandi, Collector of Oneiroi!” Applause rippled through the Whispers and Jourdies, getting louder as the Weepys joined them with the falling sun.
A drop of rain fell, finding itself caught in Adrianna’s eyelashes. She blinked it away but soon there was another and another until a very light steady rain wept upon the beach. Titus bowed his head and slowly faded into the falling rain, becoming no more than mist and leaving no shadow behind.
An unlit bonfire turned dark as the moisture soaked into the wood. Abel approached Geoffrey solemnly. “You must light the fire signifying the Collector’s parting and his arrival,” he instructed heavily.
Geoffrey glanced at the lightly soaked wood and frowned. No torch would light it now. Looking down at his hands he understood. Only magic would light that fire and only the Collector possessed that gift. Raising his hand he waved his arm in a slow arc as if waving a reluctant goodbye. Blue-green flames sparked within the large heap of tinder growing until it blazed bright and hot.
Everyone bowed their heads murmuring farewells to the man they’d known so long. When they finished they turned their hopeful smiles towards Geoffrey and murmured words for the man they’d only just begun to know.
Sasha stepped forward and began to sing with her deep worn voice. Johnny soon joined her with his surprisingly warm tenor. The quartet was completed with Seamus singing bass and Xià drifting above them as soprano. Together they wove a melody in unison and apart, each voice reaching out to explore the music only to return to its fellows and share the words as one.
Perhaps I’m doomed to be a wanderer
It’s both a blessing and a curse
Perhaps I’m doomed to stay in one place
I don’t know which fate is worse.
There is beauty in the journey
There is strength in deep roots
Guide me to where my soul belongs
To my waiting tribe follows my boots
Perhaps I’ll be a Jack of all trades
It’s both a blessing and a curse
Perhaps I’ll master one lifelong career
I don’t know which fate is worse
There is beauty in the journey
There is strength in deep roots
Whatever mark I leave on this earth
Let it be worth all the pain
Perhaps I’ll only have a handful of friends
It’s a blessing and a curse
Perhaps I’ll live my life surrounded by family
I don’t know which fate is worse
There is beauty in the journey
There is strength in deep roots
Whomever passes through my life
Help me find my home
There is beauty in risking the journey
There is strength in growing roots
Be a light in the darkness
Sprinkle salt upon the earth
There is beauty in your journey
Big or small, long or short
There is strength in your roots
Whether short or deep
There is beauty in risking the journey
There is strength in growing roots
Be a light in the pressing darkness
Sprinkle salt on this tasteless earth.
The music faded as the rain ceased but the burning fire remained bright. A moment of silence passed before Abel cleared his throat a touch uneasily. Squaring his shoulders he fixed Geoffrey with a solemn look. “You have been chosen and received as Collector but even such an honor cannot protect you from the price to be paid for your wrongs,” he announced.
Geoffrey’s face fell and he nodded. He had tried not to give such a thing a spare thought although he’d been long waiting for it to come. “I understand,” he bowed politely although understand he did not.
“Cassandra began war and as punishment she was banished,” Abel continued. “Although your actions deserve no less a judgment you cannot be banished for Oneiroi cannot be left with no Collector guarding the seas. The Council has conferred and agreed upon this decision. It is final.”
The boy swallowed but made no protest. He wanted to remain in Oneiroi with his sister. It was the one thing he’d fought for all along. But even he could not sweep aside the reality of blood on his hands and the soldiers he’d led to death along the way. “I understand,” he murmured again.
“You are bound to the Collector’s ship and shall take not a step upon this land again. Free to serve your duty you will cross the realms until you find a successor of your own. When that person is chosen you will be given one year with them before they are brought before the Whispers and you will leave for the Outer World, never to return. There you shall live the rest of your mortal life.” Abel’s voice did not waver. He believed the decision just.
Adrianna’s face fell and Fenwick curled an arm tightly around her. Seamus couldn’t look at either Geoffrey or his sister but did not speak up for the Whispers had discussed the topic long and hard. Inciting war was unforgivable. Kofi’s usual grin was nowhere to be found but no matter how much he loved his friend they could not ignore what he had done.
Slowly Geoffrey raised his head and met Adrianna’s tragic stare. No tears fell from her eyes but he knew she felt as heartbroken as he. Keeping his rueful gaze fixed upon her he nodded once more. “I understand.”
And so it was.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Geoffrey Verdandi stood behind the wheel watching the horizon bob gently in the waves. He should be an old man by now but he stood tall and strong as ever, one hand guiding the ship and the other clasped around a small compass. Choosing to go by his surname in honor of his and Adri’s old game, he spent his first few months aboard the ship receiving an exhausting crash course in all lessons nautical but his crew was good-natured and loyal. They taught him well.
He found that he took to the sea with natural ease although a deep sadness still pinched his heart whenever he watched his sailors bound off the gangplank onto Oneiroi in search of rest or loved ones. Gratefully he received visits from several of the Whispers, particularly Kofi, upon the deck of his docked ship. And Adrianna never failed to show. He held their visits close in his heart but it never seemed quite enough. Gone for weeks at a time he could not go to them upon land and they could not stay with him upon the sea. His well-attuned legs only felt solid earth beneath their soles when he reached the Outer World.
With great interest he watched the world he once knew change and grow with every passing year. His friends clamored eagerly for any news he brought back with him and in return they shared what progress had been made in Oneiroi. After the Parting and Arrival Ceremony Geoffrey had been given three days before he was bound to his ship. Three days to say goodbye, yet with his looming fate he felt every day brought a renewed farewell.
The Whispers had taken up the laborious task of citizen-related duties. They patrolled Oneiroi freely, making their presence known once more. Crime dwindled as the Jourdies were welcomed back into a forgotten time of freedom and peace. It wasn’t absolute but nothing ever is. Visits from the Whispers came few and far between with how busy their goals kept them. It was of utmost importance that they rush in with the return of Whisper guardians and crush any hopefuls eyeing the abandoned Crown.
Xiomara and Aleksander sailed with Geoffrey a handful of times but the sea did not agree with them particularly well. Instead they better served their time working alongside Pekka Gabor and Tom Myrddin to disassemble the major camps, both military and labor related. Freeing all of those forced into serving the Crown only those with genuine interest in military affairs remained.
With the intention of keeping war off the horizon for as long as possible the armies were disbanded so those who remained with such interests were carefully selected and offered positions as Watchers – Jourdies who helped the Whispers guard the people of Oneiroi, settle disputes, break up fights, catch thieves, and that sort of thing. Verdandi smiled regretfully; he felt that if he had remained on Oneiroi he would have chosen a career as a Watcher. He thought he’d have been quite good at it.
Adrianna and Fenwick helped wherever they were needed. Geoffrey often wondered about Ralph Okami however. He’d kept well out of the fighting. He wanted no part of it and no part did he have. When Cassandra passed on Ralph disappeared and no one had heard or seen him since. His was a story never explained to him. It remained close to the few who knew it but Verdandi’s curiosity couldn’t help but pique whenever he docked in Oneiroi to deliver the new arrivals.
Only once as Sasha and Johnny stood upon the docks waiting a black furred wolf with eyes bright as pure gold sat beside them. The sight of the creature reminded him of the odd man who’d first greeted them upon Oneiroi’s shores but thirteen years passed and he never saw the docile beast again.
All of that was long ago, and while the world moved onwards Verdandi sailed his ship…
Shouts rose up on deck as land approached quickly. Ropes were tossed to open hands, sails adjusted for their approach, and Verdandi guided the ship steadily into port. The dunes of Peru shifted in endless restlessness and the distant trees swayed in the early morning light.
The Collector’s boots stomped softly onto the weathered planks escorting him from sea to sand. The compass warmed in his hand and he followed its arrow true. Weaving between locals carting their wares he wound up streets and down alleys until finally he faced the doorstep of a large stone villa near the heart of the small city. Pushing open the door he climbed each marble step with steady silence. A bedroom’s door stood half-open. The compass practically burned in his palm so he slipped it inside his pocket then slid quietly inside the room.
Lying in the bed with hair slicked to her face from sweat slept a girl, perhaps fifteen years of age. Damp dark curls framed her heart-shaped face and full lips muttered senselessly in her sleep. Numerous pillows were piled beneath her head or chucked to the floor, sweat staining them all. A little boy curled up by her side with rosy cheeks clutched the girl’s hand tightly. At the sound of Verdandi’s presence the boy looked up.
“Don’t worry,” t
he Collector whispered. “I’m here to help.” The boy nodded eagerly, eyes still round with fascination. Verdandi moved closer and reached out to feel the girl’s forehead. “How long has she endured this fever?” he asked softly.
The little boy said nothing but pointed a small chubby hand towards the bin. Treading quietly he reached into the bin and drew out a crumpled letter. He scanned the contents quickly before casting his eyes about in search of the package that had accompanied it. Spotting a small delicate perfume bottle sat atop her bureau nearby he wafted a hesitant sniff. Turning his nose away quickly he frowned. Tossing both objects into the bin he returned to the girl’s bedside.
“Why…are you here?” the boy asked not one bit frightened by the rough stranger standing before him.
“I’m here to help,” he repeated. Laying a hand lightly upon her brow he murmured a quiet spell to calm her fever. Slowly her eyes fluttered open. “Is this your sister?” he asked to which the boy nodded smiling proudly. “Might I speak to her alone?” The child puckered his lips in a pout but suddenly leapt off the bed and scurried out the room, stopping close enough to eavesdrop of course.
As the girl grasped her bearings, the Collector smiled sadly. The poison was already in her veins and his spell keeping the deep fever at bay would wear off quickly. Perching himself by her feet he smiled. In gentle tones he told a story of a land far away and yet so very close. A place where she did not have to fear death but could run beside it hand-in-hand as she chased down adventures and witnessed impossible things. In the end she agreed to go with the stranger and they disappeared into the early light.
The little boy scurried into her room quickly but the man had vanished. The windows stood open and the wind blew the silk curtains into a frenzied dance. Running to them he tried to hoist himself up so he could search the streets below, but try as he might he could not find him. Turning away he gasped. There in her bed laid his sister, but she looked…cold.