by Jeff Gunzel
She watched him disappear back into the trees. He’s right, Athel is gone forever. At least...as far as the way we knew her. By now her instincts have become more animal than human, and still Jacob pushes on like the soldier he has become. He’s changed so much right before my eyes, and I hardly even noticed until now.
Following but keeping some distance, she watched him enter the circle’s hut. A minute later, she slapped aside the hanging beads and stepped through. “Well, glad someone was able to find you,” said Wara, glaring angrily. The thin woman always looked angry these days, but this time was more intense somehow.
“That’s enough, Wara,” said Kelus, stepping between the two. “I’ll fill her in, you do what you can for Kikuro.” For the first time, Jade noticed the twins seated in the corner. With their eyes rolled back, they rocked side to side, moaning softly as if possessed by something.
Kelus led Jade away from the spectacle, glancing over his shoulder at Wara as she dabbed their sweaty brows with a damp cloth. The look of concern seemed odd on the leathery woman who rarely showed much emotion. “They fell into this trance about an hour ago,” said Kelus, also sharing Wara’s concerned look. “Physically, they seem to be in fair enough health. We’re not sure what to make of it just yet, but somehow you seem to be involved.”
“Me?” said Jade. “Why would you say that? I wasn’t even here.”
“Which is exactly why Wara is so angry with you. It’s not your fault, Jade. It’s just that someone or something was trying to contact you through them.” Unsettled by such news, Jade took a step back.
“How do you know they were trying to contact me?”
“When it first started, they said your name in a foreign voice, a female voice it sounded like. We tried to communicate through Kikuro, but the foreign presence, whatever it was, wouldn’t respond to any of us. Our best guess is that it only wanted to speak to you, but you were nowhere to be found.”
“Well, I’m here now,” Jade replied, clearly still shaken but determined to help. “Let me see what I can do.”
“Whatever was there is gone now,” said Kelus regretfully. “Its presence has fled, leaving them in this enfeebled state.”
Jade nodded her understanding. “Well, at least let me try,” she said softly. “Perhaps I can call it back.”
Jade stepped over to the twins, ignoring Wara’s icy glare. It was clear she held resentment towards Jade and was doing little to mask it. “Please step aside, Wara. I’ll see if there’s anything I can do.” Wara’s angry glare melted away as she touched one of the twin’s cheeks. She was more concerned than angry. She nodded, then turned to step away. “Wara?” Jade added. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me. I promise, it won’t happen again.”
“Just make it right, dear.”
Jade reached for her pouch and retrieved her green-jeweled dy-chita, then strung it across her forehead. She leaned in, placing her fingers on the temples of the first twin. He cried out, as if her touch had caused him pain, somehow.
Instinctively, Wara made a move towards her friend and partner, but Kelus held her by the arm. “Leave them be,” he warned. “If things get out of hand I promise to put an end to it. But for now...” Wara wrenched her arm free but said nothing.
With Jade’s eyes closed, the dy-chita began to glow a soft green light. She slid her fingers away from his temples and grasped both twins each by the hand. Instantly, all three threw their heads back as if struck by an unseen force. The glow of her dy-chita intensified, now radiating a bright green throughout the hut.
Amoshi and Nima entered. They appeared to be arguing, but stopped when seeing this spectacle unfolding. “We heard something was happening here,” said Nima, eyes wide with awe. “What is this black magic? What is she doing to them?” Kelus pulled them aside, giving a quick explanation without much detail.
“Jade,” came the shared voice from the twins, but the voice was indeed that of a female. “Jade, you must return. Your people need you.” The twins dipped their heads down and up with a crack, then released Jade’s hands and rose from their seats. Their movements were puppet like, as if moving by the will of some other entity.
They touched their hands together, then backed away step by step. Between them, a golden ball hovered in the air. It glistened with golden sparkles, growing in size as they parted. Jade gazed into the shimmering doorway, bracing for anything. The images of several dark outlines began to form, slowly taking shape bit by bit.
Jade gasped with recognition. It was Addel, eyes closed, her face strained with concentration. Shantis stood by her side, hand in hand with other crytons as they lent their power to the circle. “Jade,” Addel repeated, this time her voice coming right through the doorway. “You must return immediately. Hurry, we can’t hold it open much longer!” Shantis gazed through the portal, hands flailing urgently, begging her to step forward.
With mere seconds to think, Jade briefly turned back to Kelus with a pleading look in her eyes. “Go,” he whispered. “Your friends need you.” She turned and leapt towards the doorway, splashing through in a bloom of golden sparks.
There came a distinct yell from behind, but she had already committed to her jump. It was already too late to heed any sort of warning that may have been called to her. Yet those final words had sounded urgent, and tugged at her mind as she soared through the doorway.
Jade landed in the grass right at Addel’s feet. Dizzy and disoriented, she stayed down on all fours making no attempt to rise. But then another form splashed through and spilled down next to her. Startled, Jade rolled to the side as a third figure came bursting through. The doorway snapped shut with a loud pop and a spray of sparkles. Addel dropped to her knees, completely fatigued by the gargantuan effort it took to hold it open that long. The crytons helping didn’t fare much better, each stumbling back before dropping down into the grass. Transporting anything over so many miles was incredibly taxing.
Addel looked up, one hand on the ground and the other on her hip. “I see you brought some friends,” she said breathlessly. “It’s good to see you again, Jade.”
Jade glared at Nima and Amoshi as they lay on the grass side by side, too disoriented to sit up yet. “What have you done?” Jade gasped. “Why did you follow me through?”
“Because there was no reason for me to stay, dear,” Nima groaned, slowly rising to her feet, brushing grass and leaves from her dress. “The Gate Keeper is in the final stages of his training. The young Palins are ready and willing to go to battle at a moment’s notice. There is nothing more I can do in Shangti. If your friends are in some kind of trouble here in your home lands, I’m sure I can be of some assistance.”
Jade sighed, then smiled at Nima. “Thank you. But understand, I’m not exactly sure what’s going on.”
“Don’t thank me just yet, dear. I admit, I also have some personal reasons for being here. An opportunity to study the ‘old world’ doesn’t come along every day, you know.” Amoshi groaned, rolling over onto his back. “Now, I’m not sure why he is here, though,” Nima added, pointing down at the dizzy warrior. “Is there any particular reason you followed me, Amoshi?”
“Ouch, my head,” he groaned.
Chapter 6
Amoshi slowly sat up with his eyes still closed, fingers circling his temples while he groaned in agony. “It won’t stop spinning,” he groaned. His eyes jetted open, cheeks puffed out as if he might be sick, but all that followed was a forced swallow followed by some intermittent spitting. “That was close,” he muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“You think the world is spinning now, wait until I crack you upside your head!” Nima shrieked. “What were you thinking following me here?”
“I don’t know,” he said, holding out a pleading hand to shush her. Her yelling was making his head even worse. He wobbled up to his feet, his legs still shaky. “I really don’t know,” he repeated. “You yelled for Jade to wait, then I watched you jump in after her. What was I supp
osed to do?”
“You weren’t supposed to do anything other than stay put!”
“Well, my feelings don’t work that way!” he blurted out. “I watched someone I care deeply about disappear right before my eyes. There wasn’t time to think!” Nima started to interrupt again, but stopped as his words sank in. “For a fleeting moment I wasn’t sure I would ever see you again, and I would rather be trapped here with you than trapped over there without you.”
Nima’s angry glare melted like snow, and she found herself speechless. “I...I don’t know...”
“Perhapsss our guestsss would like a drink,” said Shantis nervously, trying her best to defuse the tension. Both Amoshi and Nima looked up at the tall, dark-skinned woman with snow-white hair, only now seeing her for the first time. Her yellow-eyed gaze bounced back and forth between them. “I think we have much to discusss.” Not knowing what to make of the creature, they nodded in stunned silence.
Over the next twenty minutes or so, chairs were arranged around the center of camp. During that time, Jade kept pressing Addel for more information as to why she had been summoned. Addel remained silent, clearly not wanting to speak until it was absolutely necessary.
Food was put out on two tables pushed together. Mushrooms, wild carrots, and more berries was the bulk of what the forest provided. Beside those were a few plates of fire-roasted poultry, small birds that had little meat on them, but were still an adequate source of protein. The crytons had been eating like this for some time now, and had grown used it.
While the rest of the camp went about their business, the four of them sat down together. After a brief but awkward silence, Addel lifted her water glass. “To our friends, both old and new. May we cherish these moments—”
“That’s enough,” Jade interrupted, prompting her to lower the glass. “We all know the darkness is coming, yet you pulled me away from the field of battle. This war could begin any day now, yet here I sit hundreds of miles away, not even sure how I will return. Eric pushes on without my guidance, and Jacob has grown cold and unstable in the wake of all that has transpired. And still, I don’t know why you’ve summoned me. I trust you Addel, as well as you Shantis, but one of you needs to start talking. Tell me what I’ve risked everything for.”
Shantis swallowed hard, then turned her eyes towards Addel. Jade followed her gaze and watched as the witch shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Oh child,” said Addel, “I have horrible news and I have no idea how to present it to you.”
“Then just say it,” Jade said, her icy tone adding to the painfully awkward conversation.
“Queen Ilirra is dead,” she replied, eyes low and unable to meet Jade’s.
Jade felt her stomach drop. All her frustration vaporized into smoke as white-hot crushing pain, filled her from head to toe. “H-how did sh—” She whirled to the side and threw up, heaving violently over and over. Shantis stood, went around the table, then began rubbing her shoulders.
Jade heaved and heaved until her stomach had nothing left to offer, her shoulders jerking with sharp convulsions. She sobbed heavily between her body’s jerking motions, all the while fighting hard just to take in air. How could this be real? Ilirra was a rock, a voice for the people that could never be silenced, not even by the gods themselves. She couldn’t be gone.
Nothing mattered, not the Gate Keeper, not the war, not even her own life. In her blurred reality spinning out of control, none of those things were real anymore. Pain...now that was real. Pain a human mind was never meant to withstand. Pain that assured her there was no going back to the life she remembered. Time didn’t heal wounds like these. They festered and spread like a growing infection...but never healed.
“Her death was noble,” Addel whispered, approaching Jade cautiously. “She gave her life so that hundreds may live. A proper end fit for our queen.”
Suddenly, Jade sat up throwing her hands towards the sky. With a click, silver flashed into her palms. The act of aggression was one of instinct, not conscious thought. Her tear-streaked face was unrecognizable, eyes bloodshot, features contorted with savage rage.
What was once a clear sky only moments ago, suddenly began to boil with oily black clouds. Unnatural thunder rumbled about, completely out of sequence with the sporadic flashes of lightning—bizarre flashes with eerie colors ranging from sickly yellow to blood red.
“No!” yelled Nima, reaching for Jade. “You can’t lose control of the power. You’ll kill us all!” She grabbed Jade by her cloak as strong winds began to whip across the camp, sending leaves and debris spinning high into the air. She looked into Jade’s eyes and saw nothing but emptiness, a husk of a body with a blank expression as if the soul had already left.
A red bolt streaked down from the boiling darkness, turning a nearby tree into dust with a single blast. A second white bolt pelted the ground, sending soil thirty feet into the air.
Nima continued to scream into Jade’s face, her open mouth working soundlessly against the deafening noise of the howling winds. “Don’t let it control you!” she mouthed several more times, shaking Jade violently. Drawing back her fist, she struck Jade across the face, then struck her again on the backswing. The daggers slipped from Jade’s outstretched hands as she dropped to the ground. She doubled over and covered her head, screaming at the top of her lungs.
With blind energy no longer feeding the madness, the winds began to die down and the boiling blackness in the sky halted its rolling motion. Jade’s screaming had calmed to painful sobbing as she rocked back and forth, hands still covering her head.
“It’s alright, dear,” said Nima, holding her tightly and rocking with her. “You’ve regained control. Everything is going to be fine, I promise you.”
Shantis watched on, wide eyed at the incredible display of raw power. What had she just witnessed? “Find a tent that hasn’t blow over and get it ready,” said Nima, still cradling Jade’s head to her chest. “Please hurry. It’s imperative that she rest immediately.”
* * *
Many of the tents had collapsed but were not damaged too badly. It was just a matter of standing them up and patching the ones that needed it. The bigger problem was trying to convince the other crytons that these visitors were actually here to help. Such a chaotic display of black magic was not the sort of thing that could be easily dismissed.
“How is she?” asked Nima.
“She isss resting comfortably for now,” Shantis replied. “Jade is my trusssted friend, but I’ve never ssseen her do such a thing. Although you two are strangersss in these landsss, she seemsss to trust you. Therefore, I will trussst you. But tell me, how do I go to my clan and tell them you two are not dangerousss? What did my clan and I just witnesss?” Amoshi tuned to Nima, nearly as curious for an explanation as Shantis.
“Your friend is one of the most powerful palins the world has ever known,” Nima said bluntly, not sure how she was going to explain this to a being who may or may not have any understanding of the arts.
“Palin?” said Shantis, already confused, just as Nima feared.
“She means Jade has magical abilities,” Addel added. “Similar to myself, and similar to many of your crytons. It was something they discovered shortly after leaving Tarmerria.”
“Yes,” Nima agreed. “But not exactly like you, Addel. Your power is manifested from within, whereas Jade commands the elements of nature. Her abilities are far beyond anyone I’ve ever seen.”
“A wolf is not the same as a bear, but both can be extremely dangerous,” said Addel with a wink.
“Precisely,” Nima agreed, grinning back. She was already beginning to like this witch. “I’m glad you understand the differences between yourself and us. But the question was, why did she lose control?” Her smile melted and she hung her head. “The first problem was her emotional instability after you told her the fate of your queen. I’m so sorry to hear that. Jade spoke of her often. It was apparent to me your queen was like a mother figure to Jade.”
Sha
ntis and Addel glanced at each other. “Yes, they were very clossse,” said Shantis. “We knew the information would not sssit well.”
“Luckily, the second problem is one we can fix,” said Nima, eager to move on from the sad topic. “Her powers are still raw and untamed. Each palin wears a dy-chita,” she tapped the jewel strung across her forehead, “in order to help control the flow of her chi. Had Jade been wearing hers, the force of nature would not have overwhelmed her so easily. To be honest...it could have been much worse. She is under control now, and I don’t imagine this will happen a second time.”
Shantis nodded. “Very well then. I’ll ssspeak to my people and try to put their mindsss at eassse. I don’t think it will be that hard. Jade hasss always been held in high regard here, and there are more pressing mattersss at hand.”
“Which leads us to a question of our own,” said Amoshi, sick of all this talk about magic when he really only wanted to know one thing. “Why did you summon Jade to come back? And don’t tell us it was news of your queen’s fate. That’s a horrible thing indeed, but it was no reason to pull her back here. There is something else going on.”
Shantis glanced over her shoulder to the tent where Jade was resting. “You are correct. There isss more to tell, but I don’t think she isss ready to hear it yet. She has been through enough for one day.”
“Planned or not, Nima and I are here with you and are willing to help,” said Amoshi. “If you don’t want to burden Jade with more than you already have, so be it. But we insist on knowing what’s going on here.”
Addel followed Shantis’s gaze towards Jade’s tent, as if pondering whether or not she might hear them from this distance. “You two want to know why we summoned Jade? Do you really want to know what her presence means to the city of Taron, and possibly in all of Tarmerria? Then I think you two better sit down.”
* * *