2
ConDra’s Fire
Myrrh
I n her cottage at the edge of the Terces Wood, the Guardian of Myrrh stared at her reflection in the alabaster fountain. Elcaro’s Eye apprised her of events past and present as it saw fit. The water’s gentle lapping against the side of the bowl calmed her nerves and eased the tension of the past few moon cycles. She blinked. The sapphire blue eyes looking back at her confirmed what she already knew—The Unfolding would continue to disturb her world and to impact those she loved.
Restless fingers smoothed wisps of silver blonde hair back from her face. High cheek bones, delicately arched eyebrows, a generous mouth—she tipped her head to look more closely at the gentle slope of her nose—all combined to create a beautiful face. Good looks could be a blessing and a curse. She smiled at her reflection. People often underestimated her intelligence based on the face that gazed up at her.
The smile vanished with her reflection as she waved a hand above the fountain’s bowl. A new image appeared.
The Evolsefil Crystal, draped in a mist of blue, sat hidden in the Tower of Nemttachenn, guarded by its Sentinel, CheeTrann. Few realized the true power of Evolsefil. And only she and her brother, Allynae, knew the magnitude of the changes in it since its removal from the Cave of Canedari, its sanctuary in Myrrh’s Dojanack Mountains. Always powerful, a base of solid gold and gold threads that shot upward almost to the top of the seven-foot crystal magnified its power and its impact on the planets in this solar system.
Esán’s talents had helped to save it from Seyes Nomed. Esán had teleported it away from Canedari. The ancient writings stated that he must be the one to return it.
She snapped her fingers. The water trembled. Esán’s image appeared at a small window. The walls of the room melted away. Red desert sands surrounded him. An osprey and a great horned owl soared above him.
The DiMensioner and his mentor, Wolloh . “I must find a way to rescue Esán and bring him back to Myrrh.” The sound of her soft words startled her.
Her fingertips touched the water’s surface and sent agitated ripples to erase the image. When the sound of droplets falling into the bowl informed her that Elcaro’s Eye had shared all it was willing to share, she turned and left the sanctuary.
A lone figure sat at the table in the Guardian of Myrrh’s kitchen. Elbows resting on its top provided a pedestal for a feminine chin to rest on fisted hands. Sunlight from an open window glinted off red curls and warmed fair skin sprinkled with freckles.
Fourteen-year-old Arienh Lynae AsTar sighed and slumped back in her chair. With the tip of her finger, she drew a symbol on the satiny wood. Pondering the past several weeks of her life, which had been a whirlwind of new faces, places, and things, she traced the shape over and over again.
Her hand stopped. Her glance drifted around the table from chair to chair. Only yesterday this room had been filled with five Pentharian, four DeoNytes, three Wood Tiffs, five adult Humans, and four children. Now, they were gone—except the Humans—scattered across Myrrh and the far reaches of the solar system.
Infinity … She drew another horizontal figure eight. Three sun turnings ago, Esán had been sucked down the swirling vortex under Nemttachenn Tower. It seemed like forever, yet the picture of him pinned against the DiMensioner’s chest remained vivid and terrifying. I couldn’t have done anything, but I sure wish… She held up her hand and studied its shape, its contours, the lines that etched her life story across her palm. Am I Human? Almiralyn— she hadn’t yet brought herself to call the Guardian of Myrrh Aunt Mira—and my father are from the planet of KcernFensia. My mother’s from Myrrh. What does that make me? Does it matter? Pressing her palms together, she rested her index fingers against her lips.
“What’s up, Ari?” Brie, her identical twin, leaned against the doorframe.
Ari opened her hands and stared at her palms. “I was just wondering. Are we Human?”
“Myrrhinians are Human. Therans are Human.” Brie joined her at the table. “I don’t know if a species that lives for centuries falls into that category.” She slid onto a chair across from her.
“So what does that make us? Will we live for centuries?”
Brielle Ralyn AsTar put her elbows on the table, rested her chin in her hands, and stared at her mirror image. “I’m not sure what it makes us—half Human—half KcernFensian?” Her brow wrinkled, then smoothed. She smiled. “We are just who we are, Ari, and that makes us special.”
“Good morning.” Almiralyn entered the kitchen and paused to prepare a cup of tea before addressing her nieces. “You seem to be in a quandary. Can I help?”
Ari blushed. “I’m just confused about who I am—whether I’m Human—whether I’ll live for centuries. I’m all mixed up.”
Almiralyn sat down at the head of the table. She inhaled the aroma of her dojanberry tea, savored several sips, and put the cup down. “I am Human, Ari. The planet of my birth is in a different dimension and vibrates at a higher frequency, so my life cycle is different, but I am as Human as you are.”
Relief lit Ari’s face. “So I won’t live for centuries?”
“I didn’t say that. You are more KcernFensian than you know, and there is a possibility you have inherited the longevity of my bloodline.”
“Oh-h-h-h.” Red curls bobbed as she dropped her face in her hands.
Curiosity enlivened Brie’s dark eyes. “Aunt Mira, what do you mean we are more KcernFensian than we know?”
Almiralyn swallowed the last of her tea and peered at the pattern of leaves lining the bottom of the cup. She smiled at Brie. “Go and ask your parents to join us. I’d prefer they were a part of this conversation.”
Ari peeked through her fingers as her sister darted out the back door. Lowering her hands, she gave Almiralyn an awkward smile. “I feel a bit like Torgin must feel when he’s faced with something he doesn’t know. Why does this matter so much?”
“Have you thought about why it matters to you ?”
“I don’t know. I mean… I’ve always known Brie and I were different from our classmates in Idronatti. Not just because we’re identical twins. Our red hair is a dead giveaway. No one else in The City has red hair. Brie always knows things before they happen, and I never worry about the rules like everyone else. But this is bigger.”
Brie burst into the kitchen with her parents in tow. “Here we are.” She flopped down on the chair next to Ari.
SparrowLyn AsTar poured a cup of tea. Dark chestnut hair pulled back and tied with a green ribbon framed her face. Her dark eyes, so like those of her daughters, telegraphed an inquiring look in Almiralyn’s direction as she sat down next to Allynae, opposite the twins.
Allynae smiled at his sister. “Brie says you need us, Mira.”
Almiralyn studied his face—the blue eyes shades lighter than her own, the unruly dark hair shot through with silver, and the large nose under which a new mustache grew like thistle down.
“Ari has some concerns and questions, and I didn’t want to answer them without you present.”
Everyone looked at Ari. “I just wanted to know if I’m…uh…Human. And if not, what am I?” She sounded slightly cross. “Almira…Aunt Mira said we’re more KcernFensian than we know.”
Brie caught Almiralyn’s eye. “We want to know what that means.”
Allynae shifted his gaze from his daughter’s face to his sister’s. “And the answer is?”
Almiralyn ran a finger around the rim of her teacup. “Sparrow, what do you know about your parents and their families?”
“My parents were both born here. I met my father’s mother when I was young, but don’t recall ever meeting my mother’s family. Why?” Sparrow glanced up at Allynae.
“You don’t remember your mother’s family because they’re not from Myrrh.”
Sparrow’s face flashed emotions like the shifting of a kaleidoscope—astonishment, bewilderment, surprise. Finally, curiosity brightened her eyes and brought a flush to cheeks that had
gone pale. “Where are they from, Almiralyn?” The words fell soft as summer rain on the intensity that filled the room.
“Your mother is full-blooded KcernFensian and…”
“Wait!” Sparrow gasped. “Wait.” She turned to Allynae. “That means…”
He laughed and hugged her to him. “It means we have the same life expectancy! So, Mira, tell us more.”
“What about us?” Ari demanded.
“Yes,” Brie echoed. “What about us?”
Almiralyn smiled. “Patience, everyone. I can’t answer your questions if I can’t get a word in between them.”
An expectant silence settled over the family gathered around the table.
In the red barn behind Almiralyn’s cottage, a tall, gangly boy with skin the color of milk chocolate finished grooming Tam, the pony Myrrh’s guardian had placed in his care. He walked her to the paddock and swung the big gate closed behind her. Running a hand through his dark, wavy hair, he stood lost in thought.
Torgin Wilith Whalen, how are you ever going to go back to Idronatti and be happy there? Eyes the color of summer leaves stared into the distance. His fourteenth Sun Cycle Celebration had changed his once predictable life to one of chaos and uncertainty. The home that had been his security for as long as he could remember no longer beckoned him. Why don’t I want to go home? I wanted to leave Myrrh almost as soon as I got here, and now I cannot even imagine living anywhere else. What is happening to me?
Tam whinnied and stuck her nose through the bars of the gate. He smiled and scratched her forelock. She had rescued him more than once during the previous weeks. His first trip to Myrrh, a gift from the twins to celebrate the date of his birth, had quickly escalated into a battle to save Myrrh and Almiralyn from DiMensioner Seyes Nomed. He shuddered at the memory of the scarred face and focused anger of the man who had turned out to be Esán’s uncle.
Life in the city of Idronatti did not prepare me for this adventure or for the different life forms I have encountered here . He combed his fingers through Tam’s creamy mane. When things overwhelmed him, she had calmed his anxiety and helped him to face his fear of change or of anything new. He sighed. So had Yaro, his Pentharian heart brother. I wish he were still here . Yesterday, he and all his fellow adventurers had shared their stories with Almiralyn and returned to their homes. I sure miss them.
“Hello, young Torgin.”
Solemn thoughts vanished as he turned to smile at the tall, black man leaning with causal ease against the barn. “Paisley! It’s great to see you!” He shook the huge man’s hand. “Where have you been?”
“I waited for Yookotay t’ return t’ the Dojanacks. The DeoNytes were sure glad t’ have their leader back in their midst.”
“Did you see Skipt?” Torgin smiled at the thought of the small boy made of gray stones.
“Nope. The Enots went straight home t’ his mama,” he said as they walked through the barn and into the garden. “Where’s everybody?”
“They all left yesterday, except of course for us Humans. I think everyone is in the kitchen.”
“So when are ya goin’ back t’ Idronatti?”
Torgin kicked a pebble across the garden. “I don’t want to go back to The City. The PPP will erase my memories of Myrrh and all that happened here. I cannot lose who I’ve become, Paisley. I cannot.”
“Now, now, young one, let’s see what Almiralyn has planned ’fore ya panic. We gotta rescue Esán, ya know.”
Torgin yanked open the screen door, burst into the kitchen, and went straight to Almiralyn. “I cannot go back to Idronatti. Please don’t make me, Almiralyn. I do not want to have my memories erased, and I want to help find Esán, and Tam is here and the twins and…” The sudden realization that everyone around the table was staring at him brought the stream of words to a halt.
The Guardian’s sapphire blue eyes sparkled up at him. “Slow down, Torgin. Have a seat, and catch your breath. I’m not sending you anywhere yet.”
Relief made him giddy. “Oh, ah, I… Thanks, Almiralyn.” He squeezed in next to the twins.
“Paisley, it’s good to see you,” she said. “What’s happening in the Dojanacks?”
Paisley pulled up a chair next to Allynae and lowered his sizable frame onto it. He grinned at his friend’s welcoming pat on the back. “Everyone’s home and safe. Elae’s feelin’ better. The Cave of Canedari’s waitin’ for Evolsefil. It’s darn quiet.” He curled the end of his black mustache around his finger and lowered his eyes.
“When are we going to rescue Esán?” Torgin fidgeted in his chair. “It’s already been three turnings.”
“Yes, Almiralyn, what are your plans to rescue my nephew?” Esán’s pretty, blonde aunt entered the kitchen with Jordett, the Theran major who had helped to save Myrrh. He pulled out a chair, and they each perched on an edge, their focus on the Guardian.
“Good Morning, Merrilea. Jordett. I’m glad you’re here. We were just discussing Esán.”
“Wait,” Ari interrupted, “what about…”
Sparrow gave a tiny shake of her head.
“Where’s Karrew?” the major asked, shifting everyone’s focus to him. “I haven’t seen him around lately.”
Allynae grinned. “You still can’t believe that Almiralyn’s raven talks, can you?”
“Actually I do believe it. I just never get tired of hearing him.”
“Karrew is off running an errand for me, Jordy.” Almiralyn gave him a conspiratorial grin. “He’ll be back in a few turnings.” She looked around the table. “Since we’re all here…Esán is on the planet of DerTah, and that is all Elcaro’s Eye will show me.”
“Can we go there?” Brie and Ari chorused.
“I haven’t decided if it’s safe for you and Torgin to go anywhere.” When they started to protest, she held up her hand. “You’ve already been exposed to enough danger. DerTah is not a friendly place. And it’s the planet of Nomed’s mentor. Three DerTahan leaders hired the DiMensioner to steal the Evolsefil Crystal. If they caught you, they would use you to gain control of it. I cannot send you there.”
“One Man, Jordett, Paisley, and I can go,” said Allynae. “I have a bit of experience with the planet. Some of my contacts may still be there.”
Jordett glanced around. “Where is One Man? I haven’t seen him all morning.”
“He’s out walking in the woods,” Torgin answered. “He helped me feed the horses and then said he needed some time to think.”
“Time to be alone is probably more like it,” offered Allynae. “Being around people can’t be easy after so many sun cycles of solitude.”
“And he just met and lost his son all in such a short time.” Merrilea’s voice quivered.
Ari nudged Torgin in the ribs. Her brown eyes darted from him to the door.
“What?” he mouthed.
Her elbow in his ribs made him jump up from his chair. Glaring at her, he moved aside so she could slip by. “Since we aren’t needed,” Brie said, standing up to follow her sister, “we’ll go out and enjoy the sunset.”
“Please don’t wander too far.” Almiralyn’s voice had a strange edge to it.
“We’ll stay in the back garden,” Brie assured her.
Torgin wanted to go with the twins, and he wanted to hear more about Esán’s rescue. Brie squeezing by him made up his mind for him.
“Come on, Torg.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door after Ari.
“What is wrong with you two?” He jerked his hand away and followed her across the garden in the direction of the barn. “I wanted to hear what Almiralyn and Allynae are planning.”
Ari did an about face. “You interrupted a very important—”
“Ari, leave it.” Brie shook her head.
“What’s going on?” He looked from one twin to the other.
“Nothing, Torg.” Brie linked her arm through his. “Almiralyn was talking about KcernFensia.”
“I wanted to hear more about it, that’s all.” Ari led th
e way into the barn and headed for the ladder to the loft. “Up we go. No one will hear us up here.”
“No one will hear us down here. They’re all in the kitchen,” Torgin muttered as he climbed the ladder. At the top he sprawled in the hay. “What are you up to?” Again, his gazed traveled from one twin to the other.
Ari nibbled on a piece of straw. “I’m not waiting for the adults to get organized. We have to figure out how to get to DerTah and how we can snatch Esán away from Nomed.”
“We don’t know anything about the planet except that Wodash and the DiMensioner are there, and it’s got a desert. How do you propose to navigate around those obstacles?” Torgin scowled at her.
Ignoring his testy tone, Brie continued what her sister had begun. “Wouldn’t it be great, Torg, if your compass would work there? I wonder…”
“What’s going on in that brain of yours, Brielle AsTar? Come on, ’fess up.” The straw moved from one side of Ari’s mouth to the other.
Brie pulled them into a huddle. “Here’s what I think we have to do. Tonight, when everyone’s asleep, we need to pay Elcaro’s Eye a visit. Maybe it will answer some questions for us. We’ll meet in the kitchen at midnight.”
“Good plan.” Torgin got to his feet. “Now, can we go back and find out what the adults are planning? We might learn something important, you know.” He scrambled down the ladder and strode across the garden without waiting for the twins.
“What type of planet is DerTah?” He heard Jordett ask as he pulled the screen door open and waited for the girls to precede him into the kitchen. “I know different dimensions have different time frames as well.”
Sparrow moved over so her daughters could join the group still gathered around the table. Torgin plunked down on a chair next to Brie.
“DerTah is quite primitive compared to Thera. It is Old Earth nineteenth century in feel.” Allynae acknowledged their arrival with a nod and continued. “Some provinces have train lines. Trinuge and Geran provinces have sailing ships. Horses are the main mode of transportation on land.”
The UnFolding Collection Two Page 2