“Is there another exit, or is the one through the falls the only way out?”
“There’s one that will take us to higher ground and down into the valley.”
Sparrow’s eyes narrowed. “I suggest we move. My instincts tell me we won’t be alone much longer.”
Esán’s aunt made her way through tumbled rocks to the near side of the waterfall. Wet stone shimmered dully in the fading light. “It’s slippery, so pay attention,” she cautioned and tested a foot-sized stone before scrambling from there onto a large, wet rock.
One Man helped Sparrow and prepared to follow. A night bird called, another answered. A chill shimmied down his spine. We aren’t alone . He hurried after the two women. Thank Emit, they won’t panic. Catching up with them, he whispered, “We’ve got company on the way.”
“We heard.” Sparrow stepped to the next rock.
Merrilea jumped across a small chasm and landed beside the plummeting falls. Spray splattered her clothing as she shrugged off her pack and rummaged inside. Withdrawing a lite-stick, she tucked it in her belt, hugged the pack to her chest, and maneuvered around an overhanging branch onto a narrow, moss-covered ledge. Back against the rocky cliff face, she sidestepped her way behind the curtain of water and vanished from view.
Sparrow clutched her backpack in front of her. Imitating Merrilea, she ducked around the branch, stepped onto the ledge, and made the crab-like journey.
A bird called. The answer was closer.
Too close , thought One Man as he followed Sparrow. A couple more steps and he would be safe behind the water. Ahead of him, Sparrow had stopped. The glint in her eyes told him she had heard the call. The word ‘company ’ flashed through his mind. A quick glance back the way they had come showed him nothing. His next step took him under the falls. Crashing water roared around him. “Hurry .” The urgent telepathic message hung in his thoughts like a stone.
Sparrow felt, rather than saw, Merrilea disappear. She stopped. A hand on her arm guided her forward in the dark. Her foot found firm ground, and she knew she was no longer on the ledge.
Merrilea pitched her voice above the boom of the water. “The surface is smooth…but wet. Go on ahead. I’ll help One Man.”
Moving with care, Sparrow traversed a short distance over the slippery ground and stopped. I wish Alli were here. Her hand moved instinctively to the gold locket she wore hidden under her shirt. She had only been eighteen sun cycles when Allynae appeared at her mother’s back door. It had been love at first sight. The locket, warm and smooth between her fingers, reminded her of that fateful summer. Inside it was the V-Chip that contained the record of their secret Joining. Fourteen sun cycles ago, unbeknownst to Allynae at the time, their daughters had been born. They had only been together as a family for a few sun turnings, and now they were scattered from Myrrh to Thera to DerTah.
Diffused light brushing the falls with momentary warmth snapped her out of her reverie. The soldiers are at the falls . Her pounding heart rivaled the roar of water.
One man slid his foot along the ledge. A hand gripped his arm and guided him onto a flat, solid surface and further back into the gloom.
More lights glittering on the other side of the falls sent Merrilea scrambling around a large rock and out of sight. Sparrow followed. One Man squinted, trying to see through the water.
“One Man, hurry!” The words were as clear as a shout. He took one last look and slipped around the rock.
The women huddled together a short distance ahead. Both waited with their backpacks in place. As soon as he came into view and had shouldered his pack, they began a steep climb up a narrow, pebble-strewn path. Only the sound of falling water could be heard.
“They haven’t discovered anything yet, but they haven’t given up either.”
He shook his head, puzzled.
“It’s me, Sparrow.”
“Sparrow?”
“Yes…I hear you.”
“Telepathy!”
“Of course.”
“How did you—?”
“Later.”
The women came to a halt.
He edged closer. “What’s wrong?”
“I lost my lite-stick. Should I go back?” Merrilea’s frightened whisper matched the intensity of the pounding water.
“You two keep moving. I’ll see if I can find it.” He started to backtrack.
“One Man, they found it. Come on!”
15
ConDra’s Fire
DerTah
T orgin trudged through the sand, sweat dripping down his face. For the hundredth time, he wiped a wide kcalo sleeve across his brow. Up ahead, Nichi led the way. Although she knew all about Shu Chenaro, her response to leading them there had been mixed. Wolloh, High DiMensioner od DerTah, was well respected and much feared by her people. Brie’s promise to protect her finally convinced her to stay with them. In response to their concern about Fire ConDra, she fell to her knees at Brie’s feet. ‘Not attack ConDria,’ she had explained. They now trekked at a slow but steady pace over the sand, somewhat less encumbered by the fear of being a feast for a bird of fire…at least Brie, Ira, and Nichi were. He looked over his shoulder repeatedly, certain they were being followed. Another swipe of the already dry sleeve soaked up a drop of sweat from the end of his nose.
“This journey is altogether uncomfortable,” he muttered. Grit crunching between his teeth made him want to spit, an absolute ‘no’ in Idronatti. Idronatti . He savored the word. Would I really want to be home right now? Probably not, but I can’t help wondering what my parents are doing. Cramped muscles jerked his thoughts back to the heat-soaked desert. He paused to stretch out his calves and to take a sip from his canteen. In the distance, sand dunes rolled one after the other all the way to the horizon. Does it ever end? He gave the sand a savage kick. I feel dirty and grumpy and too blistering hot.
Ira glanced back, his eyes as blue as the Myrrhinian sky. Torgin felt a momentary tug at his memory. Wish I had some kind of talent . Sweat trickled down his back. I am just too normal for words.
Ira pushed his hood back and ran a hand through his short, unruly hair. Unhooking a small canteen from his belt, he drank a ration of water and let it slide, tepid and wet, down his parched throat. Fera Finnero stretched endlessly ahead. Taking another small sip, he recapped the canteen and hooked it in place.
Adjusting his pack, he trudged after Brie and Nichi. The Dansgirl walked easily beside Brie. Torgin trailed behind. Ira waved him forward. His friend’s face, grim and sweaty, provided a good indication of his mood.
“I have developed a distinct dislike for deserts,” Torgin stated, joining him.
“It’s definitely hot enough. Nichi says it’s almost time to rest.” Ira pulled his hood forward to shade his eyes and gazed up at the orange sky, where the sun hung white-hot and blazing just short of its highest point. “Midday is the hottest time and the most dangerous for travelers. I won’t mind a break.” Resettling his hood, he grinned at Torgin. “You look pretty unhappy.”
“What makes you say that? I have sand in my hair, in my shoes, in my mouth, and everywhere else, and I’m hot. I’m thirsty. I’m tired. I’m definitely not happy. How much longer?”
“Can’t say. ’Magine we’ll get there when we get there.”
“How do we even know Nichi knows the way?”
Torgin’s petulant tone caught Brie’s attention. She said something to Nichi, and they stopped. “What’s up, Torgin?”
He scowled and pointed at Nichi. “How do we know she isn’t lost?”
The Dansgirl smiled. “I not lost. Sand guides me. I know songs for dreaming tracks.”
“What are dreaming tracks?” Ira asked.
“Paths across the sand and sky. They made by desert spirits to guide all tribes.”
“So you sing or what?”
“Songs tell signs to look for. I sing or say words to make me know where I am going.” She touched her heart. “Desert knows Nichi.”
Torgin�
�s face blanked. “You are kidding, right?”
Nichi looked at Brie. “What kidding?”
“It means teasing or not telling the truth.”
“I not lie. Desert lives. Watch.” Nichi turned and began to walk. A faint trail appeared in the sand.
Torgin gapped. “That wasn’t there before. How did you do that?”
“Yeah,” demanded Ira, “how’d you make that trail appear?”
“I whispered song. Desert show way.” She looked at Brie. “You believe?”
“Of course, I believe you. I can feel your connection to the desert.”
Nichi smiled. “You smart ConDria. We rest now. Sun soon be high in sky. Too hot to travel.”
“So we just sit here and roast?” Torgin grumbled.
Nichi pulled a stick-like thing, not much longer that her palm, from a pouch at her waist. “Teska.” She held it up and, with deft movements, unfolded it into a rod just over half her height. She chose a spot at the western base of a dune where the sun had not yet heated the desert floor and drove it into the sand. Removing her kcalo, she draped it over the rod and spread the flowing folds of fabric out to form a tent. She tipped her brown face up to the sun and then smiled at them. “Not much room but we can be in shade.”
“I wonder…” Ira shrugged off his pack and dug through its contents. “The Guardian packed these, and she knew we would be in the desert. Ah ha!” He held up a compact teska identical to Nichi’s. “Thanks, Almiralyn.”
Brie and Torgin immediately followed his example. Soon four makeshift tents lined the base of the dune.
“No lie on sand. Too hot. Many bugs.” The Dansgirl arranged a section of the kcalo to serve as a sleeping mat. She then scooped sand onto the back edge of her tent, crawled under, curled up, and slept.
“Wow,” Ira looked down at her. “She’s out like a lite-stick.”
Copying Nichi, Brie crawled into her tent. “It’s only gonna get hotter.” Within a short time, she, too, lay curled kitten-like in the small square of shade cast by her kcalo.
Ira gave her a quizzical look. “You’d think you’d been here all your life, Brielle.”
Brie yawned. “Get some sleep, Ira.” Her eyes closed.
Wide-awake and sure he would remain so, he crawled under his kcalo. He yawned and glanced up at Torgin. “Ya just going to stand there, Torg?”
Shrugging, the tall boy settled in his tent. His sand-speckled face grimaced with disgust. “I hate sand and heat and—” He flicked a small brown spider off his sleeping mat. “—bugs.”
Ira laughed. “Get used to it, my friend. There seems to be no end to any of it…sand or bugs.”
Shooting a disgusted look his way, Torgin grumbled, “I’ll lie here, but I won’t sleep.”
Ira closed his eyes. A shadow creeping down the side of the dune woke him to Torgin’s soft snores. Lifting the edge of his kcalo, he scanned the unending sand. Several feet away, Nichi sat beside Brie speaking as much with her hands as her voice, her previous shyness gone. The urgency in Brie’s body language chased away the last traces of sleepiness.
She glanced over. The message in her eyes made Ira look around with a sense of nervous expectation.
“Wake up Torgin and join us.” Brie called softly and returned her attention to Nichi.
Her call added to his apprehension. He crawled from beneath his shelter, stood up, stretched, and knelt beside Torgin’s tented-kcalo. Holding up the edge, he gave him a gentle shake. An eye cracked opened.
“So…you won’t sleep, huh?” The expression he’d seen on Brie’s face made him keep his voice low.
“I wasn’t sleeping, Ira.” He groaned and stretched his long body.
“Right.” Ira smothered a laugh. “You always snore when you’re awake.”
Torgin ignored his teasing and scooted out of his tent. “Brie looks upset.” He nodded in her direction.
“She does.” Certain that Brie didn’t have good news, Ira donned his kcalo. Folding the teska, he jammed it in his backpack and joined her. “What’s up?”
“Nichi says that four desert rohes—a type of horse—are headed this way. They carry men. She’s afraid.” The worry soaking her reply made him even more apprehensive.
Torgin joined them, yawning. “Men? What men?”
Ira sat down beside the Dansgirl. “Why are you afraid?”
Nichi sniffed the air and lifted fear-filled eyes to his. “Many dangers in desert. Fire ConDra not all. Tribes of Sebborr roam dunes. They very bad. Steal and hurt. Take us away to be slave.”
“I cannot hear anything.” Torgin shaded his eyes with his hand and scanned the dunes. “And I don’t see anything either.”
“Neither can I.” Ira focused on Brie.
“Put hands on sand and shut eyes,” Nichi instructed.
Ira gasped. The hot sand trembled beneath his fingers. His gaze darted from Nichi to Brie.
Torgin knelt next to the Dansgirl. “I don’t feel any… Ohhh.” A startled look flashed across his face. “How far away are they?” he whispered.
Nichi pressed her palms into the sand, forefingers and thumbs touching. Leaning forward, she placed her ear in the created diamond and shut her eyes. “They not far.” She sat up and blinked. “Maybe this many.” She opened and closed the fingers of her right hand one time. “No time hide.”
“Well, they can’t know we’re here,” Ira looked at his hands and then at Brie. “I guess they can. Now what?”
“ConDria know what to do.” Nichi’s adoration for Brie showed in her red-brown face.
Ira raised his eyebrows. “Well, Brielle. Does the ConDria know what to do?”
Apprehension made Esán’s palms sweat as he waited opposite Wolloh in the arena at Shu Chenaro. He squinted at the twisted side of the DiMensioner’s face. The sightless eye held a gleam that made his heart race. I have no idea what to expect . He calmed his anxiety. It would not do to show fear.
“So, young Esán, your time has come. Henceforth, you will never be the same. Today you begin to challenge the very core of who you are. Your uncle tells me your mother was from Myrrh and your father from Thera. He is incorrect. The very fact that you carry the Seed of Carsilem belies that erroneous fact. So…we begin.”
“What is the Seed of Car-si-lem?” Esán measured the word out in soft syllables.
Wolloh leaned his scared cheek so close its rough surface touched his. “When I want you to speak, I will let you know. Until then—”
A fury-filled shriek interrupted him. “How did you do it? How in the name of SeDah did you destroy my Fire ConDra?” Gidtuss hurled his stocky body across the arena, sparks crackling in the air around him. Two feet in front of Esán, he came to an abrupt halt, his face a study in confused rage. He slammed the air in front of him with a flattened palm. It hit an invisible wall. Uttering a dog-like snarl, he stared at his hand and then at Esán. “You little—”
“Gidtuss.” Wolloh’s voice held an edge of danger not even the Dreela could ignore. “You are not welcome in this space at this time. Leave immediately.”
Esán admired the dramatic effect Wolloh achieved by the slow angling of his disfigured side to the Dreela.
Gidtuss glowered at the High DiMensioner. “That boy,” he growled, stabbing the air with a chubby finger, “destroyed a Fire ConDra and…” His words sputtered out like a gutted candle. Time held him motionless.
Stebben entered the arena and took the stunned Dreela by the arm. “Come along then, Gidtuss.” A nod to his master, and he escorted their intruder out the gate.
Wolloh turned his smooth cheek to Esán. The intelligent eye smoldered with unknown secrets. “So, Esán, who do you suppose killed the Fire ConDra? I know it wasn’t you.”
Esán remained quiet and curious. The intensity of his desire to search the red dunes for the culprit shook his carefully preserved calm. Dare he hope?
“You may speak.”
“Sir, what will destroy a Fire ConDra?”
“Water.”
<
br /> “But…”
“There is water in the desert, but not where Fire ConDra roam. It is an interesting mystery, don’t you think? Can you shed any light on it?”
“No, sir.”
“Then let us get busy.”
Esán did his best to listen to Wolloh’s explanation of the theory of teleportation in its varying stages and levels. He effortlessly performed each task the High DiMensioner proposed and surprised even himself when he arrived in a small, dark room he had never seen before. Reappearing in front of Wolloh, he couldn’t help but feel excited, although he did his best to contain it.
“Where did you find yourself?” More secrets danced in Wolloh’s good eye.
“In a small room I’ve never been in before.”
“Remember it, Esán. It is well hidden and only four trusted people, now five, know it exists.” He turned his sightless eye to the gate where Nomed, TheLise, and a military officer waited. “We have company yet again, boy.” He picked up his cane. A flick of his clawed hand brought the group forward. “So, Granier, did you enjoy your tour?”
“It was most instructive,” replied the officer. His eyes avoided Wolloh’s face and looked a question at Esán.
Wolloh ignored his interest. “Midday repast is about to be served. Shall we?” He gestured with deformed fingers toward the gate. Grasping Esán’s arm with his good hand, he leaned heavily on his cane. The drag of his bad leg seemed exaggerated. Esán glimpsed a wicked smile on the High DiMensioner’s face. At the gate he postured his uninjured side to his guests. “Please go on ahead. I will be there shortly.”
Esán, detained by the grip on his arm, remained by his side.
“Your job, prior to meeting me later this afternoon, is to find out who destroyed Gidtuss’ fire creature. And, boy, stay out of the Dreela’s way. He is not overly bright and may forget that he is in my home. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. But, sir, how…”
“Don’t be obtuse, boy. You know exactly how to discover the truth of it. Seval will come for you later. Be off with you.”
The UnFolding Collection Two Page 12