by Derek White
CHAPTER TWO
The subject of the morning's discussion rode into Camelot just after two and stopped outside the Council Chamber. Leaving Karim, her best friend and familiar, outside to gather her usual collection of admiring children, Tyana strode into the meeting room and looked around. They were all present, five Whites, seven Golds, and two she did not recognise.
She was glad to have taken out the time after her forty mile ride to visit home, shower, and change into a Gold trouser suit with matching shoes and gloves. Her favourite brooch, a unicorn in sapphires to match her eyes, adorned her left breast, and for once her long black hair was groomed to perfection. She hoped she would sound as confident as she looked.
Shaena greeted her as she entered. "Welcome back, Tyana. Please make yourself comfortable for a few minutes and then we'll receive your report."
At first Tyana listened to the debate which was about two new arrivals from Earth, then she watched Shaena, hoping that when she was entering her fifth decade she would look half as attractive.
They were the same height at five feet eight inches, and both looked and moved like athletes. Even the hair colour was identical. If Shaena's eyes had been blue instead of black they could have been relatives.
With an effort she dragged her thoughts back to the reason for her presence - to report on her trip made to the neighbouring towns and realised that Merlin was now speaking.
".....and since they were both so distressed I allowed the boys to keep them at the ranch to get used to being here.
"Now, Tyana! I'm sorry to keep you waiting. What have you learnt?"
Tyana stood and waited till the muttering died down, then spoke.
"In both Midwitch and Argentcourt there are more rumours circulating than here in Camelot. The people are afraid and those who didn't know me were very wary, even though Karim was with me. Although you didn't ask me to, I looked for anyone who was benefitting from the losses. I'm sure that the person or persons we want are not in Camelot, Argentcourt, or Midwitch.
"I spoke with the first victim, my old friend Darren as you suggested, but he was too upset to say much. I'll follow it up when he visits his old home in a couple of days.
"With your permission I'd like to visit all the other towns on Refuge. Someone, somewhere must be benefitting from what's happening!"
"Does anyone wish to comment?" asked Shaena.
Mattra rose to her feet with her Koala, Koresh, cuddling her.
"Is it not time for someone with more experience to take over? I'll accept that Tyana's report is probably accurate as far as it goes, but I for one would be happier with an experienced White Witch in charge!"
Several voices were raised in support and without really knowing why Tyana tried to identify them.
Archimedes screeched to get attention. Merlin, who like his illustrious ancestor spoke only when he had something important to say, made one of his rare speeches.
"The girl goes!
"Tyana and Karim are a unique pair. Between them they will have a better chance of solving the mystery than any of us. The matter of her being only Gold was discussed and dealt with this morning, as I'm quite sure you remember."
As always when Merlin spoke there was instant silence. Tyana had often wondered whether he dressed like the pictures of the original Merlin from the days of King Arthur just for effect, or whether he simply liked the long flowing robes and pointed hat.
At only five feet, and maybe seven stones he was the smallest present yet received the greatest respect.
"I'll go further and say that if they can't solve it, then probably none of us can." The speaker was Shaena.
"Any other business?
"No? Then I declare the meeting closed and ask as many of you as possible to attend the qualifying session tomorrow.
"Tyana, please stay behind and ask Karim if she will kindly join us."
Tyana had to think quickly, for she had been en rapport with Karim throughout ..... was this the time to admit it? She still didn't know why she had the feeling that their true ability should be kept secret, but that was one reason she had not applied for promotion to White.
"Cast your mind back to when Darren found that he couldn't even move a book. He was only the first of six cases that year, and not only children were affected. We had two in Camelot, there were three in Argentcourt, and one in Midwitch. There were no more for another two years and so naturally we put it down to a virus as the healers suggested when they were unable to cure it, but then there were another twelve. You must remember that three quarters of the population never reach Bronze standard, so the immunity of Bronzes, Silvers, Golds, and Whites, whilst it may lead to a solution eventually is of no help to the majority now.
"It was only when the third group, this time sixteen happened two years later that the three of us, Qamar, Merlin, and myself realised that there was only one explanation. Someone, somehow, was causing the losses of power deliberately. We had been under attack for four years without even knowing."
Shaena was almost in tears, and Merlin took up the tale.
"There have been an increasing number of cases every two years in this part of the country.
"At the last General Assembly of Council Leaders seven years ago we discovered that the same thing is happening throughout the land. Now the people are realising it, hence the rumours and possibility of panic. It was only when we added together the numbers in towns in each district that we saw the pattern.
"We desperately need to know the answers to three questions, and your looking for who stood to gain was a good idea. Put simply we want you to try to find Who? How? and Why?
"You will need the authority of a White, though, so that can't be put off any longer. As you know, the normal tests are due to take place next week, but this can't wait until then. I have arranged it so that you can qualify White tomorrow at noon. Please be outside the walls of Camelot in the usual place.
"If the pattern continues then in only one month's time another group of twenty or more will be denuded of their powers in Camelot alone, and about the same in each of the other two towns. The numbers are increasing each time. We must have you qualified tomorrow!"
Shaena had recovered enough to follow this conversation and took up the control she had relinquished, saying,
"Tomorrow then, at noon, and I'll ask Anghared and Francoise to delay their return to Midwitch and Argentcourt and attend with their husbands as witnesses.
"Qamar, perhaps you'd kindly invite Mattra and another of those who spoke against Tyana to represent Camelot."
Realising that no argument would sway the three magi from their decision, Tyana excused herself and rode Karim slowly towards her father's ranch on a hill overlooking Camelot.
Although in the shape of a castle, Tyana's home was a working ranch, supplying Camelot with milk, meat, and many other products for which the raw material was the thousand head of Texas Longhorn cattle Hondo Counter preferred to keep rather than a more modern breed.
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Tyana felt Karim merge as she had when they were annexed and realised that she now had at her disposal the awesome telekinetic power of Karim's brain, and since this was proportional to body weight it seemed likely that Karim's dame had been right. She also realised that keeping their strength secret as demanded by Karim would prove useful to say the least.
> asked Tyana.
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Each was lost in private thought as Karim trotted the remaining four miles home. For once she did not even inspect the cattle roaming the plains near home and hoped her father would not ask any questions about them.
Any ideas Tyana had of avoiding questions from the family vanished when she saw her two brothers walking towards her each with an arm round the waist of the pretty girl between them. It was obvious that she was being given no option but to come with them to greet Karim and herself.
Dustine, older than Tya
na by three years, fair haired and always smiling, looked a typical ranch hand from head to toe. A tartan shirt with open neck and bandanna covered his heavily built upper half, tapering to a narrow waist and denim jeans and leather boots. All that was missing were spurs. With horses as familiars neither of the brothers would ever need them.
Darryl was a year younger than Dusty, and at six feet tall was one inch shorter but no lighter. Like Dusty, he was usually to be found in the saddle.
Obviously this was a very special girl to get both of them walking. Dusty spoke first. "Hi, Sis, welcome home, come and meet Megan, fresh in from Wales."
"Wales? I don't think I know it."
Darryl took pity on her, saying, "He's teasing you. Megan does come from Wales - Wales not far from the original Camelot on Earth. We found her with her brother Thomas yesterday morning just outside our Camelot, and brought her home. Before you say it, yes, we have sent word to Merlin and he has given permission for the usual week's rest before meeting the Council."
Tyana realised this must have been what had been under discussion whilst she was reminiscing and looked more closely at Megan. She was about seventeen, five feet tall, hair as black as Tyana's own, and with a figure guaranteed to keep Dusty and Darryl within viewing distance.
"Hello, Megan. Thank you for coming out to meet us, not that it looks as though you had much choice."
There was no answer.
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Suddenly Megan collapsed and would have fallen if not supported by Darryl and Dusty. Tyana was issuing orders almost before her brothers had realised there was a problem.
"Carry her back to the house, Darryl.
"Dusty, you support her head. Which is her room? I'll go ahead and warn Mother."
As soon as she had that information, Karim galloped the hundred yards or so to the ranch house, calling ahead to appraise Lindsey Counter of the situation and have the doors open ready.
Megan was soon resting on Lindsey's own bed, that being the most accessible, and the men were being ushered out, very much under protest. To give them something to do, Lindsey called after them, "Find Thomas - I believe he's out in the livery stable with some of the hands and keep him occupied for a while. The poor child has enough to worry about without this."
"What do you know about her, Mother?" asked Tyana. "I had only just met her when she fainted, and all I know is that she comes from Wales on Earth. How did she get here?"
"How did any of our ancestors get here? This is the first time you've had the chance to meet one, but people just turn up from time to time. Surely you remember that from school? All we know is what they can tell us, and usually it's not much. Their lives were almost always in danger. Sometimes a complete family will arrive when one of them was about to be killed.
"Your brothers found Megan and Thomas near Camelot. Thomas was crying, and they obviously needed help so they rode double and brought them here. Thomas is only six and just accepts that he is here. As long as he's with Megan he'd be happy anywhere.
"She's the only family he has as their parents were killed in a fire last year. Megan was able to tell us that she was looking after him and an English child in a cottage owned by the other boy's parents when they found the place on fire, together with the cottages either side. It was obviously no accident and the last Megan remembers is being trapped upstairs by the flames, seeing Thomas refuse to jump and leave her when she was overcome by smoke and collapsed on to the floor.
"Her next memory is waking by the side of the road near where Darryl and Dustine saw them. From what she said earlier, and I didn't really take it in then, she thought all this was just a dream and she expected to wake and find herself in a hospital. Possibly realising that Karim was a unicorn made her accept that she was here, and it was suddenly too much for her. I think she'll be alright when she's rested. - - Look!"
As if on cue, Megan began to stir, turned her head towards Tyana and said, "So, it's all true. We weren't burned and we really are on a ranch just outside Camelot. Was the rest of what Dusty told me correct as well? Is your mother really a witch? Are you? Was that lovely animal really a unicorn? Please help me understand." she pleaded, fighting back the tears as the reality threatened to overwhelm her again.
Tyana noted the use of Dusty and smiled to herself, then placed a comforting hand on Megan's and told her, "I can answer some of your questions, and after you've had a few more days to get used to being here you'll meet some kind people who can answer most of the others. What none of us can do is explain how you got here.”
"Yes, what Dusty told you is essentially correct, but it sounds as though he gave the impression that only the women-folk can use magic."
"No! He showed me some himself and told us about Bronze, Silver, and so on, but will you run through it again, please?"
"Everyone living on Refuge as we call it has the ability. Some are more powerful than others and are respected because of it. There is a grading system through Bronze, Silver, and Gold to White.
"Eventually you'll have the opportunity to be tested, as will Thomas, but it's not compulsory. My parents are both Gold, as I am, and my brothers are Silver. Anyone Bronze or over is paired with an animal familiar. All my family chose horses, but I have my lovely Karim, and I warn you she has another surprise for you. Would you like to meet her?"
"Yes, please. I think she's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen."
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"Let's go downstairs then, Megan, I think you're recovered enough now."
Megan allowed herself to be walked slowly down the curving staircase to where Karim waited.
"Scratch her behind the ear, Megan. She loves that," called Lindsey, and Megan reached up to comply.
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Megan snatched her hand away as if it had been burned and turned to Tyana. "You might have warned me!"
Then she turned to Karim and looked into her eyes, saying, "And you have a sense of humour as well. I hope we can be friends, Karim."
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By this simple action Karim removed the last fears Megan had about what the future held for her and her brother. She had accepted that she was on Refuge, and, thought Tyana, may well become a close friend or even sister-in-law if her relationship with Dusty continued to develop as it appeared to have started.
Over dinner Megan told the family what she could remember of life on Earth. Like her mother, she had the power of healing and was always in demand when children or animals were hurt.
She could remember several times when her mother had been branded a witch when she had saved someone's life. She had even wondered if the fire that killed her father and mother had been started deliberately. It was certain that the one that had nearly killed her and Thomas was no accident, but whether the target had been herself or the holiday cottage of the English couple she couldn't be sure.
A lot of what she told made no sense to Tyana at all. Tales of petrol engines, electricity, radio and television, and the general concept of using tools and machines to do what could be accomplished with a thought made no sense at all to her.
Even the use of electric lights seemed strange.
She said as much, then followed with, "Why not sleep when it's dark and wake when there's light?"
Hondo explained.
"If everyone was to become like your friend Darren how would we till the ground to grow crops? Certainly not by hand - it would take too long. How would we weave cloth if there was no magic? If there weren't enough horses to pull the carts how would we move goods to where they were needed?. You must remember also that whilst the total population of Refuge is about 50,000 the population of Earth is what, Megan?"
"Several thousand millions, I think it's about six, and almost all are just like Dusty explained Darren is. Now, may I ask a question, please?
"What do you do for entertainment with no radio or television?"
A
gain it was Hondo who answered.
"There's so much to do that we've very little time for entertainment, but when we do relax we play all the games you are used to. Everyone here prefers to play, and you will only find people watching if the players are friends of theirs, or if there is a knock-out competition, in which case it's considered bad manners not to watch to the end. "Everyone on Refuge seems to have musical talent of some sort, and it seems to go with magical abilities. Poetry and acting are also very popular. Do you play an instrument, Megan?"
"Yes, Sir, but there's not much chance of there being one here and I was certainly in no position to bring mine with me. My favourite is a harp, but I'm also fairly good on a guitar."
Hondo looked pointedly at Tyana and said, "Nothing's impossible here on Refuge. I'm sure we'll find one or the other for you. I play piano and my wife violin. Believe it or not Dustine is an excellent drummer, Darryl plays violin or viola. Tyana's another pianist but she's also a pretty good soprano."
"Have you started learning an instrument yet, Thomas?" asked Dusty.
"I've only had three lessons on piano so far, Sir. Are there any teachers here? I'd like to carry on if I can."
Thomas answered many more questions and he turned out to be a delightful child who would have no trouble on Refuge, although his ability to light fires without touching them had already made him unpopular at school in Wales.
His appetite reminded them all of Tyana's brothers at the same age, and nobody had any doubt that he would blend easily into his age group at school.
Tyana had no wish to detract from Megan's first dinner at the ranch, so decided to keep her own news until breakfast next morning, and as soon as was politely possible, excused herself and retired to the West Tower which had been hers since her thirteenth birthday.
It had been a gift from her father to acknowledge her Gold status, and had a luxury stable in its base which Karim used or didn't as she chose. This evening Karim climbed the spiral staircase and stood at the side of the bed. Just like horses, unicorns could sleep standing, and within a minute Tyana felt her go.
She thought back to when she'd beaten two Bronzes to become Silver and later two Silvers to become Gold. The days before each of those qualifying sessions had been filled with last minute practising, unlike today. She had always believed that some day she would challenge two Golds but had expected to choose the time herself.
Why was Mattra so against her? Could she be in league with whoever was causing the losses? The only previous occasion they had even spoken was the night she became Silver.
Pettra, a new girl at the school who had just arrived from the North with her mother, Mattra, to live in Camelot, was one of her opponents and Rufus, the other. The first contest was Tyana's choice and she had picked what was at that time her favourite, table tennis without bats. She had slaughtered them, mainly because at Bronze level the cooperation demanded by two people 'porting one ball was such that the double team had no advantage. The final score was 21-3.
For the next game Pettra had chosen a cannonball race. When this was used in Silver tests small cannonballs weighing sixteen pounds had to be moved up a slope of one in twenty a distance of fifty yards by mental will alone. At first, the double team had the advantage, then Tyana found she could draw more power and won easily. (She now realised where that power had come from.) There was no need for the third game.
Pettra had become Silver six months later, and she and Tyana had become quite friendly for the remaining time in school.
Defeating two Silvers to become Gold had been just as easy, but what of tomorrow? At least now she knew her strength when she combined with Karim. Perhaps she could use that. Would that be cheating? She was so mixed up.
Still pondering she eventually drifted into a dreamless sleep sometime in the early hours of the morning.
Megan found that for the second night running she couldn't sleep, and went to the kitchen hoping to find a drink. She thought she was being quiet, but suddenly all the candles in the room lit, and Dusty walked in carrying a length of timber, obviously as a weapon. He relaxed when he saw her, and apologised. "We're all pretty jumpy at the moment I'm afraid, Megan. There are some thieves expected, so when I heard the noise I thought the worst. Are you having trouble sleeping?"
"How did you guess? Thomas is fine, though, he went off in about two minutes.
"So much has happened in the last two days, I just can't stop thinking about it, and the fact that for the first day I thought I was dreaming! How silly can you get?"
"I don't think it's silly. It was just your way of dealing with a crisis. If it was a dream you didn't have to worry. Now you've accepted that you're here, you just have to face it!
"We're not so terrible when you get to know us, though!"
"Terrible? I don't remember ever meeting so many friendly people in one day before. Is everyone on Refuge like your family? And why is it called 'Refuge'?"
"You'll find that most, if not all, of the Bronzes, Silvers, Golds, and Whites are as friendly and helpful as possible. It must be something about being able to use what we call magic that makes them that way. I can't think of anyone I don't like, but Dad says there are a few to be wary of.
"We were told at school that this world is called Refuge as that's what it is - a refuge for Earth's magical creatures, both witches and unicorns. How they got here is the next question, and that I can't answer. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?"
Megan looked pensive, and murmured, "There is, but I think I should get to know you better first, before asking it."
"You can ask me anything!"
"No, I can't. But, Thank you for being so sweet, just like a big brother!"
She kissed him on the cheek and went off to bed much happier.