by Lucia Ashta
“But you’re connected to something greater than humans, right?”
“I am connected to something greater.” But weren’t all humans, whether they realized it or not?
“Are you connected to the Something Greater?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” I had difficulty in accepting the notion that a specific power, greater than us, governed the happenings of human lives. I felt connected to everything around me. To all parts of life, not just one concentration of it.
“How is it that you’re invisible? Is it faithum?”
“I have no idea why I’m invisible. None at all.”
“But certainly you must possess some faithum.”
“Yes, perhaps.” It was a thought I hadn’t spent enough time contemplating. There had to be some explanation for my existence. Faithum seemed like the best one—if faithum really existed.
“You have faithum. I can feel it.”
Now it was my turn for surprise. “You... feel... faithum?”
“Of course I do. Don’t you?”
“No. Or, well, maybe I do. I’m not sure. But faithum is forbidden.”
“Faithum is only forbidden because one man says it is.”
“And his ancestors before him.”
“Right, one line of people has proclaimed that faithum is forbidden.”
“Are you saying that faithum isn’t... forbidden?”
“I’m saying that I answer to a power far greater than Chieftain Pumpoo.” He spit the chieftain’s name out, not bothering to hide his feelings for the man. I guessed he didn’t figure an invisible girl would tattle on his treasonous comments. “Faithum is real.”
“Are you certain?”
“Completely.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because long ago I discovered the most important thing about faithum.”
“And what is that?” I asked, nearly breathless. Finally, here was a man who possessed worthwhile answers.
“That the only way to see and feel faithum is to believe it exists.”
“That makes no sense,” I said before stopping to think.
“It makes plenty of sense. You have to be attuned to the energy of faithum to be able to experience it.”
My jaw dropped open. That did make sense. “Which must be why you can feel me. Because you’re attuned to the energy of things beyond the seen.”
Dean nodded, and finally let his hand drop from me. “I can feel you because faithum runs through you.”
I had no response to that. Of all the possibilities I’d ever considered for my life, that wasn’t one of them.
Chapter Seventeen
“What is your purpose in being here with our people?” Dean asked before I managed to recover from his suggestion that I possessed faithum. In reality, his statement had been far more than a suggestion, more like a certainty, and that was what had left me reeling.
“I have no purpose,” I answered, before I considered how pathetic I sounded. Regardless, it was the truth. There was no explanation for me—beyond now, perhaps, faithum—and I had no purpose. “As much as I might wish it, there’s nothing that directs my life.” But even as the words left my lips, they felt like a lie. I just wished I understood why they felt that way. What is my purpose, dammit?
“Nonsense,” Dean said. “Of course you have a purpose. If I were a betting man, I’d bet everything I have on you having a purpose far beyond your imagining.” A beat passed before Dean added, “Please excuse me if I seem presumptuous. I can’t help myself sometimes. My nature is to move forward once my guidance signals the correct path.”
“You know of the path?” In all my life, I’d never heard anyone else speak of feeling the path pointed out to them. Even though I’d only spoken with those few who knew of my existence (before now), I’d overheard plenty of conversations when no one knew I was there. Never had anyone mentioned the guidance that placed one on the right path.
“Aye, I know of the path,” he said. “I feel something greater guiding me along the path destined for me.”
“Destined?”
His eyes didn’t waver. “I believe destiny guides us all in the direction we must go. Whether we follow that direction or not is up to us.”
“And if the person doesn’t listen and feel for this guidance?”
“Then that person ends up on the wrong path, which is, I fear, what has happened to so many of the Ooba tribespeople.”
“Including Chieftain Pumpoo?”
“Especially the chieftain.”
“Do you see the energy the chieftain takes from everyone?” I regretted my words as soon as they left me, and I remembered that Dean’s energy had streamed into the chieftain along with the others.’ But I quickly reconsidered, and decided not to regret a thing. Finally, here was someone who understood the strange things I saw and felt.
“You can see that?”
“I can. I mean, I did, just yesterday.”
“Wow. What’s it look like? I’ve felt it, but I can’t yet see it.”
“You sound more amazed than worried. I freaked out a bit when I saw what the chieftain was doing. It’s the first time I’ve seen energy like that. It looked like he was sucking the light out of everyone. Their energy swirled in colors, and entered him.”
“I figured something like that was going on, but I’d love to see it. I sound amazed because this is amazing. The chieftain is just one man, one that we’ll find the way to overcome. But faithum? That’s far greater than any one of us, and faithum will provide the way to defeat Pumpoo.”
“We are going to defeat Pumpoo?”
“Why of course we. Why else would the Something Greater send you and this little dragon to me?”
I had no good answer, but I had a million questions.
“See? There’s no other good explanation for it. Nothing happens by accident.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.” He was certain, and I latched onto that certainty as if it could save me from myself. “Everything happens for a reason.”
That meant that I happened for a reason. And if I were to believe him, and I wanted to, then I’d happened for a good reason. I said, “I could see him taking your energy as well.”
Suddenly, Dean’s hard edges were back. “I thought so. I could feel myself growing weaker, that bastard.”
“How long have you known about the chieftain?”
“For a long time, years.”
“All that time?”
“Yes, and it’s felt like even longer.”
“Why haven’t you done something?”
“Because I didn’t know what to do. If I exposed the chieftain for what he is, I’d need proof, which I didn’t have. And even with proof, I had to have enough of the Dragon Force behind me to improve our chances of success. If not, the chieftain would just out me like a lunatic, exile or kill me, probably the latter, and that would be it. He’d continue in power and...”
“And you wouldn’t be around to protect our people.” I thought I was beginning to understand Dean.
He sighed loudly, and I glimpsed some of his inner turmoil. “Exactly. I had to wait until any action I took might be able to actually do something about Pumpoo. He’s a greater threat to our people than King Oderon’s raiders. We might train to protect the dragons from raids, and to protect our people from those soldiers that might march across the rock plains, but Pumpoo is more dangerous than any raider or king from across the world. He’s the real enemy.”
“Because he hides and controls from within.”
“Exactly. Because everyone trusts what he says, and believes his motivations are pure.”
“And they’re not.”
“Oh no, they’re definitely not. Only a wizard as skilled as Pumpoo could hide so much darkness and malice so convincingly.”
“You think he hides malice?”
“Of course I do. How else would you describe stealing his people’s energy? I didn’t even realize what he was doing for the l
ongest time. No, don’t let him fool you, he knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s excellent at what he does. He has all the Ooba people eating right out of his hand.”
Even Mother, who’s probably doing his colorful laundry right now. “You say he’s a wizard? What’s that?”
“Long before our people abandoned Origins for our mountains, they believed in faithum. It was real to them. Back then, there were some who called faithum magic, and those men that practiced it called themselves wizards, and the women, witches.”
The features on my face slackened. I’d never heard any of this before. The only time I ever heard the word “faithum” was when Mother was scolding me for thinking about it. “Tell me more please.”
“I’ll tell you all I know—in time.”
“Can’t it be now?” I’d waited long enough to understand, didn’t he realize that?
“There will be plenty of time. Our paths are linked now.”
“They are?” I realized I kept asking basic questions, but Dean was blowing my mind, not the other way around.
“Certainly. I told you I hadn’t done anything about Pumpoo because I hadn’t seen the way yet.”
“And now?” I nearly whispered, because I already guessed what he was going to say, and I barely dared believe it.
“I see the way now. The path is bright and clear. The Something Greater has sent you and Rosie to me. We’ll walk the path together. Destiny has joined us to set things right.”
“It has?”
He smiled. “It seems difficult to believe that someone as extraordinary as you would never have realized her importance.”
“I’ve always believed I was a mistake.” There, I’d said it. I’d bared the deepest fear of my soul.
And Dean took that fear, imbued it with light, and blew it away. “There’s no such thing as mistakes, only turns in a path we can’t see properly yet. You’re no mistake, I promise you that. You’re the greatest gift I’ve ever seen.” His smile grew. “Or not seen. You’re amazing. You are faithum, ancient magic, whatever you want to call it. Together we can save our people from Pumpoo.”
“And the Andaron Dynasty’s raiders?”
“We can deal with them too, though I find it highly suspicious that no one’s ever seen any of these raiders, don’t you?”
“The raiders have attacked many times since our people settled here.”
“And who told us that?”
“Everyone told me that.” My world was small. Everyone to me meant my family. My world was in the process of getting a whole lot bigger.
“But have you ever come across anyone who was alive at the time of the raiders?”
“No.” I realized what he was getting at, but I still resisted. It was crazy to think so much of what I’d based my life on was a lie.
“Exactly. We have Pumpoo’s word, and before him, that of his ancestors. His word isn’t worth its weight in dragon poop.”
“Dragon poop?” That was a new one.
“That’s right. Pumpoo is worse than dragon poop, and trust me, dragon poop is smelly and gross, and that’s coming from someone who loves nearly everything about dragons.”
“Even when they can give you scars like the one on your neck?”
“Even then. It’s not their fault; it’s their nature. They’re just being what they’re meant to be. Just as now, you’ll be who you’re meant to be.”
“I will?” I was a broken loop of pointless questions.
“Yes, you will.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“Then I’ll be certain for the both of us until you see the path ahead of you. Because you will, I know it. I can see it as clearly as I see Rosie at your feet.”
“But you don’t see me.”
“No, I don’t, not yet, but it’s just a matter of time. Now that we’ve come together, everything will start aligning itself to support us as we embrace this purpose.”
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
“Absolutely, and someday, so will you. You won’t be able to help it. I feel this all the way down into my bones. I’d been waiting for you, I just didn’t realize it.”
“And Rosie?”
“I must have been waiting for her too.” When I didn’t say anything, he filled the silence. “You don’t believe me.”
“I’m trying to.”
“There’ll come a point when you won’t have to try any more. You’ll believe. Don’t worry.”
It seemed that I’d have to take his word for it. His enthusiasm and conviction were contagious. And while he claimed to have been waiting for me, I certainly had been waiting for him—or at the very least, the information he had to offer.
He turned to look over his shoulder. “Students will be arriving soon, including Rane and Traya. They were acting plenty strange. Do you know what that’s about?”
I tensed. I’d been playing it all loose and trusting with Dean, but that was before he brought my family into it.
“Never mind, we don’t need to talk about them.” I heard the unspoken yet at the end of his words. Even though he couldn’t see me, he read me better than Rane. “We need to hide Rosie.”
“Why? I thought you were going to take care of her now? With my help.” I still wasn’t about to abandon Rosie to Dean, not even now that I trusted him. I’d made a promise to take care of her myself, and I still intended to keep it.
“I’m going to take care of her, and you, if you’ll allow me. I’ll protect you both with all the skills I’ve learned over the centuries, and with my life. Your lives are worth far more than mine. But now, we need to get Rosie out of here.”
“You don’t trust the students?”
“I trust them more than I trust some of the others higher in the ranks of the Dragon Force. Pumpoo has a hand everywhere, make sure to remember that. You can’t trust anyone beyond me for now. If the students learn of Rosie, then so will Pumpoo, and I still don’t understand how Rosie is involved in all this. But I know she is. So get her out of here. Take her to the other edge of the forest beyond the sacred pools, where no one will go. I’ll come find you once classes are finished for the day. But go now. They’ll be able to spot us soon.”
“All right. Come on, let’s go, Rosie.”
Rosie looked at me, but didn’t get up.
“Come on, girl. Come with me.”
She didn’t move. I touched her head, and tried again. She didn’t budge.
“She’s not going to go,” Dean spoke the obvious.
“What do I do?” I said, trying not to let the panic I was starting to feel grow.
“I don’t know.” He crouched next to the dragon. “Rosie, you need to leave now, do you understand me? These people coming might not want to hurt you, but there are others who might.”
“Why? Why would Pumpoo want to hurt her?”
“I’m not sure that he will, I just know that he isn’t good. Rosie is important to defeating him, even if I can’t see how yet. I don’t want to take any chances with her.”
“Neither do I.” I crouched down next to Rosie too, something that wasn’t as easy as you might think given that she was sitting on my feet and she was a baby dragon, who probably weighed as much as ten of me. “Rosie,” I cooed, “let’s go, girl. Let me take care of you.”
Rosie responded with a lick to my face, but nothing else.
“I’ll go try to intercept the students and keep them occupied until you can get her out of here.” Dean started to walk away from the sacred pools and toward the mountain path.
I stood. “Dean?”
He turned. “Aye?”
“There’s no need.” I had no idea where the words were coming from, but I trusted them. “I can make her disappear.”
“You can?” He moved back to Rosie and me. “By the oasis, that’s incredible.”
“You say I can do faithum, right?”
“Absolutely, I’m sure of it.”
“Then I’ll do faithum.” I said it as if I said and
did things like this all the time, when it was more like never.
“Can I watch?”
“Sure.” Why not? I’d already leapt over the edge of the cliff into crazy zone, what was a witness to my lunacy? “You say all I have to do is believe.”
Dean seemed to understand what I was getting at, as if he could see inside my heart and mind. He put a reassuring arm on my shoulder—and he actually found the right spot the first time. “You have faithum, a hundred percent. I can sense it. All you have to do is align with that belief, and therefore align with faithum.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Easy enough.”
“Easy enough,” I repeated, because why not? Crazy was crazy, degrees of craziness didn’t much matter at this point.
I hugged Rosie, laid my cheek on her back, and closed my eyes. I pictured whatever it was that made me invisible spreading to encompass her. I saw her red, round body disappearing into our surroundings.
I experienced a warm sensation running through me, and extending to surround her. But that was it. No big bang of light. No sparks. No faithum.
“Incredible,” Dean whispered so softly that it felt like a dream. “You did it.”
I opened my eyes.
Holy crap. I’d done it. My invisible arms hugged an invisible dragon and proved that faithum was indeed real, and I was full of it.
Chapter Eighteen
The dragon trainees, still bright-eyed and excited by their new role, began arriving. Among the first to filter into the clearing in front of the sacred pools were Rane and Traya. They looked more relaxed than they had when we’d brought Rosie to Dean, but not by much. I suspected they hadn’t rested a wink despite Dean’s orders.
As soon as my siblings arrived, their gazes swept the area for me or Rosie. Even Traya looked when she knew she wouldn’t be able to see me if I were standing right next to her. But I wasn’t. I remained where Dean had left me, and as much as I wanted to relieve Traya and Rane of their worry, there was no easy way to do it.
I couldn’t get my brain to move past the one, huge, ginormous, amazing fact that kept pulsing through my brain: I’d extended my invisibility to include Rosie. Holy crap! I extended my invisibility to protect Rosie. I did faithum. Dean is right, I have faithum. My mind cycled through different variations of the same feat, and I couldn’t seem to move on from it.