The Spirus

by JB Trepagnier

  “I knew you would wake up,” she said, putting her hands in her hair again. Soryn shook her hands loose and sat up gingerly.

  Leodos immediately crouched next to them by her side. “Can you fix this like you fixed the arrow or do we need to stay here and continue with the poultice. We were worried you weren’t going to wake up.”

  “I just needed to sleep. I need food and something to drink.”

  Bastan was still by her side and handed her his hip flask. “For the pain,” he told her.

  Esylle watched as she must have thought it was water, then watched her eyes widen and she made a face as she swallowed when she realized it was not. “What the frick is that?” she asked, wiping her mouth.

  “It’s strong, but it will help with the pain. Why did you risk your life and showing yourself to us saving Tollam? He’s been awful to you since we left.”

  “I slept off the worst of the pain. I couldn’t feel it while I was asleep. I need food to make it go away.” Esylle didn’t know why she avoided answering about Tollam. She didn’t know the answer either. The guards knew they were risking their lives coming and Tollam put himself in danger, from what Leodos whispered to her while she was trying to sleep.

  Mafir told her the stew he was making was almost done, but it had rabbit in it and she wouldn’t eat it. She didn’t even notice Frog a few feet away with his own stew pot. Frog called over he would be done in a minute and would bring it over to her. Now that she was awake, Esylle saw Leodos stand up, furious.

  “How could you be so careless and stupid to expose yourself like that? You nearly got yourself killed and no one knew what to do with you. We didn’t know if you were dying and we didn’t know how to treat you. I told you before we left to let the guards and myself handle everything.”

  “You weren’t doing a very good job of handling it. You ran straight into a bear on a simple outing to hunt food. Tollam was lying on his sword and none of you had time to get an arrow ready to save him.”

  “Every single one of these guards is prepared to die in the service of the king. You shouldn’t have exposed yourself. That bear could have killed you. How would Esylle get to Idric to get her message with you gone? What do you think it would do to her to lose you?”

  “Why should any of you die going back to Idric with me here?”

  “The fact that you nearly died doesn’t tell you that you can’t protect everyone?” Leodos yelled. “How can you be so foolish?”

  “I wasn’t dying,” she said softly. “I just needed to sleep while the pain was the worst and now I need food to get rid of the injuries.”

  “What if someone else was watching and saw? You can’t keep exposing yourself like this!”

  “Then tell your men to stop charging into bears!”

  Esylle could tell that Leodos wanted to shake the girl, but he wasn’t because of her injuries. She could tell because she had known him so long. She could tell Leodos was about to snap at her, but Frog brought her a bowl of food. Soryn dug into the food and was eating very quickly. She had been very pale all night and since she woke up, but Esylle noticed color coming back into her cheeks the more she ate. Frog was waiting with a new bowl of food as soon as she finished the first one. Esylle watched, amazed, as the more she ate, the deep gashes in her body started to slowly close up. It took three and a half bowls of the stew Frog made before she was completely healed. Esylle reached out and tried to touch where the claw marks had been because there wasn’t even a scar, but Soryn danced away from her.

  Alirak, Mafir, Bastan, and Kibal were all sitting around her asking questions all at once. Tollam just sat away from them glaring at her. Esylle wondered if they would have to make sure he disappeared before they got back so he didn’t say something he wasn’t supposed to. Soryn asked them to slow down with the questions. Leodos looked at all of them and scowled like he didn’t think she should be answering any of their questions.

  “How did this not kill you? How did you manage to heal yourself?” Bastan asked once they quieted down.

  “I don’t know. You keep asking me questions and I’ve already answered them with Leodos. I don’t know why I am the way I am and I don’t have answers to any of your questions. I was pretty sure when I attacked the bear that whatever happened, I could heal myself if I got hurt.”

  “And if the bear had killed you? What then?” Leodos snapped. “I specifically told you not to reveal yourself no matter what.”

  “They don’t want to hurt me. Only Tollam wants to hurt me and he hasn’t liked me since we left.”

  “You just gave him every reason to distrust you!”

  “He was never going to like me!”

  “I realize you haven’t spoken to many people, but did you really not notice the way he was staring at you?”

  Soryn just looked at him, confused. Tollam finally stalked over and sat down. “I may have thought she was attractive at first, but now that I know what she is, I think we should just kill her and be done with it.”

  Soryn looked even more confused when he said he thought she was attractive. “I should have let the bear eat you,” she told him.

  “I didn’t need your help, little girl. I could have handled it myself.”

  While they argued, Esylle pulled Leodos away. “What are we going to do about him? You know he’s not going to keep his mouth shut when we get back home. What if he decides to hurt her while we are sleeping?”

  “He may have to have an accident on the way home if this continues. He’s not going to hurt her while we are sleeping. Can’t you see how he’s looking at her? She petrifies him and he doesn’t want to be anywhere near her.”

  “We need to get going,” Soryn finally said. “The weather around Idric will be changing soon and I don’t know what is going on with Belisarus’ health.”

  “Are you okay to travel?” Esylle asked, surprised. She had only woken up about thirty minutes ago.

  “I’m fine. I just need to change clothes and we can leave.”

  Volaris

  Volaris paced, waiting for any news. The spies he had around the castle had come back immediately with word about the girl. He sent more to find out whatever they could about her. One had been in the forest when she first appeared as a swan and had seen everything that happened. He followed them into the dungeon and witnessed everything that occurred. He couldn’t get close to the girl, as a fly, to really see what she was, or risk being swatted, but he saw the other tribe’s reactions to her and as soon as he heard them repeat part of the prophecy after touching her, he immediately flew back home and told Volaris.

  Volaris knew the prophecy because not only was he the Farkhi king, that prophecy had been taught to every tribe member as children. When he heard that Belisarus had her, he wondered how that old fool had managed to find her and why he kept her hidden on Idric so long. Volaris wondered why he was just now exposing her to people. His spy told him she knew nothing about herself or how she came to her powers. Could she be the one they had been waiting so long for? She seemed to be, but he would have to touch her to be sure.

  He knew, from his spies, that the tall man was protecting her and didn’t want the tribes to know where she was. He knew she had been taught to fear all of the tribes and humans as well. He didn’t know what that old fool Belisarus was thinking, teaching her to fear the tribes if she truly was the one. He needed more information. He knew she had been told not to expose herself on the journey, but the girl was young and reckless. If she had been properly taught instead of just being told to fear everything, she would have found a better way to get out of the situation when the tall man showed up after she revealed herself as a swan besides attempting to fly off as a hawk. He knew her weakness was the strange man she traveled with. He also knew, if she was able to create him, even if she didn’t know how she did it, if she wasn’t the one, he didn’t know what else she was.

  She should have been raised by kings of all three tribes and they could have eventually told the Tempris family
about her once they got close to them. She had all of these gifts, but he wasn’t sure Belisarus taught her how to properly use them. As soon as she created her traveling companion, a tribe king should have worked with her on developing that talent, if the prophecy was true. He knew Belisarus didn’t teach her anything after that and wouldn’t tell her why she had that gift.

  He paced, his muscles flexing under his yellow robes. He had sent someone to replace Tropos and expected him back soon to tell him what he had learned so far. Volaris wished he could just watch her himself and learn about her. He needed to get her away from the humans and properly train her. But since he was a king, he transformed into an eagle, like all of his family members before him had.

  He had worked himself into a state before he saw the air in front of him vibrate and Tropos changed back from a gnat into his human form. He had his yellow robes on like Volaris, but his face was painted differently because he was a spy and not a warrior king. He sat there, while Tropos filled him in on everything that had happened since their group had left for Idric. Volaris was surprised that all of the humans, save one, that she had exposed herself to so far, did not want to hurt her. They were curious and seemed to want to help and protect her. He knew he had to get close enough to her to convince her to leave with him so that he could bring her back and introduce her to the other tribe-kings so that they could properly teach her. Clearly, they needed to train her to control her emotions. It was rash and irresponsible of her to expose herself to save a human. If she could heal herself from fighting a bear, she had to be something special even if she wasn’t the one they had been waiting so long for.

  He knew she had the Vudos flute and wondered when she would play it. It would summon the tribe-kings and all the tribes. The only reason it hadn’t so far is because the only place she played it was Idric, where it’s magic couldn’t call to them. The fact that she was powerful enough to have magic even on Idric had to mean something. He wondered how Belisarus managed to find the flute, since all of the tribes thought it was lost to them. He didn’t know why Belisarus gave it to her and didn’t tell her what it meant. He didn’t know why she was told to only play it on the journey back, nor the fact that she wasn’t told that when she did play it, she would be summoning the tribes. It could possibly be dangerous for them to come when she summoned since the tall man heard the prophecy repeated when they touched her. He had no way of knowing what it meant, but he assumed it was bad. The humans had always been mistrusting of the tribes and the tribes had always been mistrusting of the humans.

  Volaris wondered what it meant, that the tall man and four of the humans he had brought on his journey with him, were now aware of some of what she could do because she let her emotions get the best of her and revealed herself to them and they weren’t afraid of her. They didn’t mistrust her. They thought she was special and she made them curious. They seemed to want to help and protect her. He knew he may have to step in and have someone take care of the one human who kept saying they should kill her. She couldn’t be harmed.

  He knew he needed to get close to her and talk to her, but he was unsure how with the human guards around her all the time. Tropos told him she had been left alone to go gather her own food since she ate differently than the humans, but she also stayed close enough to the guards to expose herself. He didn’t know if he should wait until she summoned him with her flute or do it before.

  Since it was mostly the job of the Farkhi to spy for the tribes because they could become small enough to do so, he needed to let the other tribe-kings know about her. He hadn’t yet because at first, he was so surprised that she was here after so long. The Spirus had been promised to them for so long some of the tribe members were starting to think it was a myth. After he got over his surprise, he waited to call a meeting because he wanted to be sure she was really the Spirus. It would have been easier if she knew who she was and had been raised with the tribes to fulfill her destiny.

  He decided to wait to call the meeting and see if he could get close to her or if she played the Vudos Flute to be sure.

  Soryn

  Soryn didn’t speak for the rest of the day. She knew the humans had questions, but she kept telling them she didn’t have answers. When she left to forage for lunch, she stayed away from the four men who went hunting. If Tollam got himself into trouble again, he could get himself out of it. She was tired of his comments towards her, which had gotten worse since the first day, now that he knew what she was. She could smell hatred and fear coming off him strongly. She knew Leodos was angry with her for exposing herself, but she didn’t know why he expected her to let someone die. He refused to talk to her today, even if she had been speaking.

  The stares she was getting from Esylle had only gotten worse since she had to sleep off the pain. Esylle must have thought she was dying and that thought made look on her face when she stared even worse. Soryn knew the only reason she worried when she was sleeping was because she still thought she was Lisana. Esylle didn’t know anything about her to care about her otherwise. She wished there was a way to convince her that she wasn’t her lost daughter so she would stop with the looks. She also tried to touch her when she finally woke up. Soryn never had any physical contact growing up. Belisarus raised her, but he treated her like a student, not a father. She wasn’t used to someone playing with her hair and was surprised she liked it. She shook her hands away because she didn’t want to like it. She knew the reason she wanted to touch her.

  She sat a little further away from the humans with her roots and tubers in a pot making a stew while they made their own meal. She didn’t feel all that comfortable with them yet since they knew about her. Tollam had the reaction she was expecting. None of the other humans reacted the way she had been taught they would react to her. One of them treated her wounds before she woke up and Frog told her where the rest of them couldn’t hear that one of them nearly fought with Tollam when he suggested killing her while she was asleep. She understood Tollam’s reaction because that’s how she had always been taught humans would react to her. She didn’t understand the other four men’s reactions. She and Frog served themselves and were eating when she noticed Esylle get up, bring her bowl over, and sit with them.

  “You don’t have to sit away from us. No one wants to hurt you. Tollam is just scared of you and Leodos is trying to talk to him.”

  “I’m tired of being asked questions I don’t have the answers to.”

  “It’s five more days to the coast, a day’s boat ride to Idric, then however long it takes to get to your house. You’ll have your answers soon. I know you don’t want to come back, but I was hoping the other four men’s reaction to you would make you want to come home with us.”

  “What are you going to do when we get there and you find out I’m not her? I see how you look at me and I don’t know how many more ways to tell you I’m not.”

  “I can’t help how I feel and what I think. Even if you aren’t her, you could help me by coming back with me. I don’t want to remarry and we need an heir. You could be that heir.”

  “Just because these four humans aren’t afraid of me doesn’t mean they would accept me as a ruler. I don’t want to go back there and hide like you do. You don’t know what it’s like to fly, breathe underwater, or run freely. I don’t want to give that up just because you don’t want to remarry.”

  “Who says you have to? When you come back, maybe we can finally be honest about who we are. We can tell them about you. Maybe the tensions with the tribes and the humans would cease with someone who can do what you do ruling.”

  “I don’t want to rule. I know nothing about it. I’m sure you were taught from the day you were born on how to be a queen. I haven’t.”

  “It would be a few years before you were queen. My father has to end his rule and I would have to end mine before you would take the throne. That’s plenty of time to prepare you.”

  “I don’t want to rule and I don’t want to come back with you.”

/>   “Even if you aren’t her, you’re still a part of my family. Only my father and I are left. You belong with us.”

  “I don’t belong anywhere. Don’t you get that?” she snapped setting her bowl down and stalking off. She needed to be alone. She saw Leodos get up to tell her she shouldn’t be leaving in the woods in the dark alone. She just shot him a look and he sat back down. She heard Esylle ask if he was just going to let her leave and not go with her. She didn’t stay to hear the answer, but he didn’t follow her. She thought she was alone as she angrily slapped a tree limb away from her face, then she realized Frog was behind her.

  “Frog, go back. I just want to be alone.”

  “I don’t want to leave you when you’re upset and that man dislikes me as much as he does you and he doesn’t know anything about me.”

  “Just ignore him, Frog. He doesn’t know about you. I want to run and you know you can’t keep up with me.”

  Frog never wanted to leave her when he knew she was angry or upset, but he knew running calmed her and turned to leave. Soryn blew out an exasperated sigh when he turned to go and ran straight into Esylle. Why couldn’t Esylle just let her be? The tall man knew she needed to be alone and didn’t try to follow her.

  “I didn’t want you to leave knowing I upset you. I’m not trying to and you shouldn’t be out here alone. What if you get hurt again?”

  Soryn turned away. If Esylle knew she was upsetting her, why did she keep doing it? “Frog, show her back to Leodos,” she called over her shoulder.

  She let herself turn into a large, sleek, ebony cat and just began to run. She didn’t have much space to run in the yard she grew up in. She mainly had to run in circles. Out here, she could run as she pleased. She ignored the branches and brush slapping her in the face and just charged through the forest. She hoped when they got back to Idric and Belisarus gave Esylle whatever message he had for her, he would also tell her Soryn was not Lisana and she would stop this nonsense about her coming back to the palace with her. Just because these four men didn’t want to hurt her didn’t mean everyone else wouldn’t have the same reaction to her that Tollam did. Even if she went back and Esylle and her father decided not to reveal both themselves and Soryn, she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life hiding. She didn’t want to rule like Esylle was suggesting.