Deniably Dead (Arucadi Series Book 4)

by E. Rose Sabin

  And then silence.

  Vic stood open-mouthed, looking awestruck. Lore and Camsen were no less speechless, but Zauna said, “I know that voice.” Zauna had told them about the vision she’d seen of the restoration of the Pescatil dead and how he had spoken to her. “It’s the Dire Lord that ordered Veronica to send us here. Lord Claid. Now we know all is well. He’s spoken through Vic to honor him and to let us know we have nothing now to fear.”

  §

  Jora Lart’s sons knew the hills as well as she’d said. They found and led the five companions to a cave that could be used as a place for Kyla to rest until, if all went as predicted, she would awaken. When she saw it, Renni agreed with Camsen that it could not have been more perfect if it had been designed for them.

  “And how do we know it wasn’t?” Zauna asked. “I’d say that the Dire Lord has been leading us all along.”

  Renni looked skeptical. “I suppose,” she said, “He designed these caves, which have doubtless been here for centuries, just for us.”

  Oblivious to Renni’s sarcasm, Zauna said, “Yes. Just as he told us, he exists outside of time and sees all of time in the same way that I see things in my crystal globe. Except I only get small glimpses, but he sees everything.”

  “That would make him omniscient,” Renni protested. “I’ve never heard anyone claim that Dire Lords were omniscient. They aren’t gods.”

  “What are they then?” Zauna demanded.

  “I don’t know what they are,” Renni said. “And neither do you.”

  The place under discussion was a large cave, at the back of which was a narrow passage leading to a much smaller cave. The cave entrance was a small opening high on a hillside, and not easily seen from a distance. The large cave would serve as the principal shrine; the small inner one would be where Kyla would be laid to rest.

  The entire village of Hillcross took an immediate interest in the construction of the shrine. Carpenters and stonemasons offered their services. Seamstresses sewed curtains. Cooks provided food for the workers. Weavers wove carpeting. And so the shrine quickly took form.

  In front of the cave opening they constructed an ornate stone archway. They shaped the original opening so that they could fit a door to it. Then, in the large cave, they erected wooden walls. Shelves lined the side walls. Village artisans made decorative frames for the two paintings they had brought unframed, rolled and wrapped in oilskin. Miraculously, they had escaped unscathed through all their misadventures. The framed paintings were hung on opposite sides of the entrance to the passage that led to the small cave. Benches were installed in front of the paintings.

  Through the passageway leading to the small cave Kyla’s coffin was carried. It was placed on a stone dais that filled most of the small chamber. A sheer curtain hung in front of the opening to that cave, Kyla’s coffin visible through the cloth.

  In the passageway they constructed a wooden structure shaped like an inverted V, so that a coffin could rest against it on a slant, its occupant resting in a partially upright, semi-reclined position. That occupant was the man who had formerly been Abner Rushland but would henceforth be known only as the Lady Kyla’s guard. The structure filled most of the passage, but a single person could pass to one side of it and thus enter the small cave in which Kyla lay. However, only the Custodian of the Shrine or his assistant would be allowed to do so. A heavier curtain hung across the opening into the passageway.

  Camsen, having agreed to remain behind when his companions returned to Port-of-Lords, was designated the first Custodian, with Vic named as his assistant.

  When the construction was complete, Camsen led a dedication ceremony, attended not only by his companions but also by all the residents of Hillcross. It was a solemn occasion but not a sad one. Rather, Camsen reminded them, it was a time for rejoicing.

  Following the ceremony, the villagers held a community feast in the Hillcross town center.

  §

  For the four who had embarked from Port-of-Lords, the ceremony and feast marked the conclusion of their mission. Finally each of the four companions who’d brought Kyla here and gone through so much to get her to this place of rest individually took time to bid her a final goodbye, knowing that if at some future time Kyla did somehow awake, three of them would not be present to witness that event. Even Camsen had no guarantee of living until that should occur.

  Renni surprised herself by bursting into tears when she said her private and final farewell. She had not expected to feel the depth of bereavement she now experienced. Somehow she felt that if Kyla did return to life, that return would not happen in her lifetime.

  She couldn’t help thinking of the people of Pescatil who’d so inexplicably returned to life after being dead for eight years. She recalled that returning to life had seemed like waking after but a single night. What would waking seem to Kyla? Would she, like them, have no awareness that time had passed? Would she, like them, feel disoriented, confused? Her experience might well be terrifying. Unlike the people of Pescatil, she would awaken in a strange place without awareness of how she had come here, why she had been brought here, and where her friends were. And what of Abner? Would he awake then as well, or would he remain a living corpse? In either case, he would be a stranger to Kyla, something to add to her fear.

  “Kyla, I take leave of you with a heavy heart,” she said, addressing aloud the insensate figure in the coffin. “I wish I could be here to ease your fear and comfort you if you do wake up. I hope someone will be here to reassure you and offer you encouragement. I learned so much from you, and I suppose I’ll never have the chance to tell you how much I admired you. I can only say as I take my leave of you, Rest in peace, and wake to joy.”

  Wiping away her tears, she eased slowly past the other silent occupant and through the outer chamber. The time of parting had come.

  Camsen and Vic would stay in Hillcross. Renni, Lore, and Zauna would leave, but not by the covered wagon that had brought them. That wagon would remain on display at the base of the hill where they’d built the shrine. From it a path wound upward to the shrine. For the three taking their leave, their path led in another direction.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  FAREWELLS

  Renni insisted on riding Dark Star from Hillcross to Highport, but Zauna and Lore preferred to go by coach. Coach service between those two towns was irregular during winter months, but spring was near, and they were able to arrange a special run. Renni would wait for them in Highport. She wanted this last ride on Dark Star. She could not keep him in Port-of-Lords. Before leaving Hillcross, she mindsent to Jac Thornbridge, telling him to meet her in Highport if he wanted his horse back. He promised to be there. True to his word, Jac was waiting when she arrived.

  “I hate to give him up to you, but he was yours, and though I feel no guilt about stealing him from you, I know you care for him as much as I do,” she told Jac.

  “I do, and I promise you I’ll treat him well,” Jac said. “I know you don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you. But I won’t go back to my former ways. That I swear to you. I’ve settled in Pescatil, and I’ve sent for Ril’s mother to join me there. I guess I’ll even marry her, if she’ll have me.”

  “Good. I have another favor to ask of you.” She drew from her jacket pocket a small package. “Please give this to Chon Iston, the sculptor.” She pressed the package into his hand. “Tell him I've kept my promise to return the missing piece. He won’t remember the promise, but he’ll be pleased to get the gift.”

  He grinned. “I know what it must be, and I'm sure Iston will be delighted to have it. And now, may I please have my horse?”

  She handed Jac the reins, hugged Dark Star, and bid her beloved steed goodbye. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched Jac mount him and ride away.

  §

  When Zauna and Lore arrived at Highport, Renni met them and the three of them booked passage on riverboat to Harnor. In Harnor they boarded a train that would eventually take them to Port-
of-Lords. First, they had a three-hour layover in Marquez to allow them to get their afternoon meal before continuing. Lore and Renni headed for the nearest restaurant, but Zauna decided to use the time to make a quick visit to see Allie at her shop. After promising to hurry back, she walked the distance at a brisk pace, not certain why she had such a sense of urgency about this visit.

  She reached The Brave Bear and entered to the usual loud clang of a bell. The tabby cat greeted her with loud meows as soon as she entered.

  “What’s wrong, fella?” she asked.

  The cat turned, went to the door that led to a back room, and meowed even more loudly.

  Zauna headed toward the cat. “Is something wrong? Where is Allie?”

  As if in answer the cat went through the doorway and turned, still meowing. She followed into what was a storeroom with a staircase off to the side. The cat started up the stairs and turned again to give her a meaningful look. Recalling that Allie said she slept in a room above the shop, she understood that the cat was going there and wanted her to follow. Something must be wrong with Allie!

  “All right, I’m coming,” she told the cat. It turned and continued up the stairs, tail waving as though beckoning her on. The cat led her into a dim room, illuminated only by outside light filtering through a curtained window. By that inadequate lighting she made out a bed, and in it lay Allie. She hurried to the bedside.

  “Allie?” she said, relieved to hear the shopkeeper take a rasping breath. “Allie, it’s Zauna.”

  “I knew you were coming.” Allie’s voice was scarcely more than a whisper. Zauna had to bend down to hear her. “I told Nobie to watch for you and bring you to me.”

  Nobie. That was the cat. “He did just what you told him to do,” Zauna said. “But you are ill? What do you need me to do?”

  “Not ill, no. I’m old, Zauna. Old and tired. I’ve lived too long and seen too much. I’m ready to pass from this life.”

  “No, Allie!”

  “Don’t say no. You know I speak the truth. I’ve been waiting for you before taking my leave. I hope you’ll stay and take over this shop.”

  Startled, Zauna understood that this explained the urgency she’d felt, the need to come here.

  Allie continued to speak, her voice growing even weaker. “This shop sits on a power node. It must remain in good hands. It must not pass to someone with the wrong sort of power. I have the transfer of ownership papers. I’ve already signed them. You only need to add your signature. And promise to care for Nobie. Please, you must do this.”

  Zauna thought of the home she’d left in Port-of-Lords. It had only been rented, and she’d left behind nothing of value there. Her only friends were the members of the Gifted Community, and she would miss them, but she’d foreseen a change coming to the Community with Kyla no longer there to lead it and Marta and Ed determined to return to their home in Sharpness. Veronica would do what she could, but at only fifteen years of age, how could she hold the Community together?

  She made her decision. “Yes, Allie. I’ll stay and take over the shop. I must go back to the train station first and tell my friends I won’t be going on with them. I’ll sign the ownership papers when I return.”

  “Better sign them now,” Allie wheezed. “They’re on that table.” She pointed to a small table holding an unlit oil lamp, papers, an ink well, and a pen. “Nobie’s a good mouser, but there’s a fishmonger comes by every evening and leaves anything he didn’t sell from the day’s catch for me and for Nobie.”

  Zauna lit the lamp, looked over the papers, and dipped the pen in the ink. Her hand shook as she signed, knowing that signing made her decision irrevocable. Putting the papers down, she hurried back to the train station where Lore and Renni waited.

  “I’m going to stay here in Marquez,” she announced. “The owner of the shop where I bought my crystal ball is dying. She’s passed the shop to me. The store is a special place, a place of power. A nexus, I think. She needed someone to take it over who will protect it and use its power wisely. I couldn’t refuse.”

  “Then of course you have to stay, but Zauna, we’ll miss you.” With that, Renni threw her arms around Zauna and gave her a big hug.

  “I’ll miss you and Lore.” Zauna wiped away tears. “It’s hard to say goodbye.” She clasped Lore’s hand tightly and then, without another word, hurried away to return to the shop that was now hers.

  §

  Lore looked at Renni and said, “Do you think we can stand each other’s company when it’s just the two of us all the way from Marquez to Port-of-Lords?”

  “I guess we’ll have to.” Renni laughed. “Do you suppose that’s another part of the Dire Lord’s plan?”

  “We’ll never know,” Lore said.

  THE END

  FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ARUCADI

  Arucadi is a large nation covering an entire continent. It is the largest continent of the planet Quintus, fifth planet of the sun Dor. Quintus is an Earthlike world. The planet has one large moon, Dora.

  The country is divided into twelve provinces, each with a provincial governor elected by the provincial legislature. The legislature is made up of one delegate from each county within the province. The central government is ruled by a triumvirate selected from among the ranks of provincial governors by vote of town and city councils throughout the nation. The triumvirate meets in Tirbat, the national capital.

  The country has no army. Because it is an island continent with no near neighbors, and air travel has not been developed, its isolation makes an army unnecessary. Ships ply the oceans and make possible overseas trade with nations on other continents.

  The national currency consists of gold dorins and silver triums, minted by the central mint in Tirbat and distributed throughout the country so that they are of equal value in all provinces. There are also copper coins in three denominations of lesser value. Each province mints its own coppers, and these are used for most routine transactions. The value of the coppers varies from province to province, so that travelers from one province to another must either use dorins and triums or must exchange their coppers at the local currency exchange.

  Arucadi's political structure is based on the prevailing religious beliefs (or perhaps vice-versa). Arucadians have a great god and goddess, Dor and Dora, whose representations are, respectively, the sun and moon. They do not worship the sun and moon themselves, only hold them to be symbols of Dor and Dora, whose names they bear. There is a great temple to Dor and Dora in Tirbat, but elsewhere there is little organized worship of the great gods. All Arucadians pay them homage, but the temples and shrines are dedicated to the under-gods. The concept of the great gods is somewhat nebulous. They are seen as the prime creators, the rulers of the Universe, but they are never visualized as having physical forms, are never portrayed by statues or icons, never incarnate themselves. In fact, they are not viewed as taking interest in individual lives or as concerning themselves with day-to-day events. They are transcendent and unknowable; man is incapable of comprehending their ways. They are understood to be the Prime Movers, the ones who govern the motions of the heavenly bodies, the age-long cycles of life on the planet, and the broad, general plan of creation.

  There are twelve under-gods, and each province has its special patron from among these, with a temple or shrine to that patron god or goddess in most cities of the province. The under-gods are Liadra, patron of Castlemount; Mibor, patron of Delta; Ondin, patron of Port Province; Lufor, patron of Northpoint; Cerine, patron of Richland; Tetakor, patron of Crescent; Planor, patron of Plains; Elas, patron of Island Province; Nisil, patron of Northwoods; Harin, patron of Inland; Ixina, patron of Southpoint; and Arene, patron of Wide Sands.

  The Dire Lords are the guardians of other planes of existence, alternate universes, and spirit realms. These include, in the beliefs of many, the realms to which the human soul travels after death. There are evil Dire Lords, beneficent Dire Lords, and indifferent or amoral Dire Lords. Normally none of the D
ire Lords takes interest in the affairs of living humans. One objection to the introduction of magical powers is that they attract the attention of the Dire Lords, since those powers originate in and are drawn from the Dire Realms.

  The Dire Lords are considered separate creations of the great gods, not intended by them to interact with humanity. The Gifted Community for the most part rejects belief in the gods but fears and/or reveres the Dire Lords and reveres the Power-Giver as the conduit through which the Dire Lords channel power to the magically gifted.

  Some important cities of Arucadi

  Carey: An important town in the wheat farming area of Inland Province, Carey is an old town, and its fortunes rise and fall with the price of wheat.

  Dabney: A larger town than Lines End, Dabney is also a bit more open to new ideas. A single rail line runs from Lines End to Dabney. From there it branches off into three directions, going southwest, east, and southeast to connect with major cities of other provinces. Dabney is surrounded by apple orchards and caronut groves, and has lumber mills and furniture factories, but does not have the ore-processing plants that pollute the atmosphere of Lines End.