The Protector of Esparia (The Annals of Esparia Book 1)

by Lisa M. Wilson

  “When you explain it like that, it certainly does seem simple, but Anton, do not minimize your part. Deciphering the writing code was brilliant, and then perfecting the transport system…well, as you said; it has all taken fifty years.”

  “Yeah. I’ve pulverized more logs of wood than I’ll admit to in testin’ this out.”

  “But everything works now, right?” Concern crept into Larone’s tone.

  “Yep. The first rabbit I used came back safe and sound, so Varnack volunteered to go next.”

  “Varnack! You kept that a secret.”

  “It was a quick trip, but he came back in one piece. Um…he was unconscious for a day or so, but I’ve adjusted the amount of persite so’s the tidal pull won’t be as strong.” Here Anton paused. “That persite is powerful stuff, ’specially the white. I remember the last time we did this. We just about killed everyone.”

  “As I recall, we had little time. The Demarian army crashed in moments after we left. Sending them off-world saved their lives.”

  “Yeah, too bad I didn’t understand the persite better. I could’ve sent them somewhere closer.”

  “All ended well, Anton…As well as could have been hoped for. Your incantation controlled the persite long enough to create a spiral, while Graesion bought just enough time to test it. What you did was incredible, opening a Transmirian spiral and holding the portal long enough to transport two people through it.”

  “Well, I… Never…I…Graesion.” Anton cleared his throat, “I’ve thought of him a lot. He was as fine a man as I ever did meet. Too bad we couldn’t have sent his boy through too. He’d still be alive.” He cleared his throat again, much harder this time.

  “Haesom chose to stay, fully understanding the dangers. He was an outstanding Protector, giving the people security and hope, and rebuilding the country after Segal’s defeat. He will be revered as one of the finest Protectors Esparia has ever known.” Jessica was stunned. Haesom had been someone she’d dreamed up, a subconscious response to her mother’s death. These men spoke of him as a real person. But wasn’t this also a dream?

  “That doogeroot! Segal!” Anton choked out the name. Jessica jumped. “Segal began all this with his lustin’ for power ‘n his self-appointed godhood.”

  “Yes, and now the son is more malignant than the father. Daenon’s strength grows daily.” Jessica felt a cold lump in her stomach. She shivered, but not from cold. “As the news of Protector Haesom’s death spreads, the people will start to lose heart. They will rally to us for a time, but without a true heir of the Saylon family to lead them, they may lose their resolution.” Larone sounded grim.

  “I agree we need a true heir. A power vacuum right now would be disaster, but,” Anton faltered, “but have ya considered how the family’s goin’ to feel? I’d be killin’mad if someone took my kid.”

  “Of course I have! Do you not think I have gone over this a hundred times trying to find another way? Another solution? I’ve weighed the heartache of a few against the welfare of a nation. I feel sick inside, yet I know, nothing doubting, that this is what we must do.”

  “I’m sorry, Larone. Yeah,” he sighed heavily, “this is the only option, I just wish there was some way of giving a warning.”

  “Yes. It would be nice to lay all the facts out in the open. And, I will still do that. No one will be forced to take on the role of High Protector, but the invitation, with all of its ramifications, must be made in person.”

  Anton’s voice was softer now, “I’ll begin working on a return trip, just in case the answer is no. But for now, I’ve set up the trigger mechanism so’s it activates when someone with the right life force touches it. Since I didn’t have an exact sample, I set it to any variation of my own. Just family can set it off. We don’t need any accidental day-trippers showin’ up here.”

  “Well done.”

  “I haven’t been totally unsuccessful in fifty years of tinkerin’.” Talking about his project rekindled the enthusiasm in his voice. “I’ve been workin’ on the fine details, like the size of the spiral. Don’t need to fill a whole room. So where do you want the key turned?”

  “Someplace away from Daenon’s spies. Ramadine is not safe. I cannot explain it, but something is not right here. We need time to better secure the city.”

  Jessica stood transfixed. This was too crazy. She must be hallucinating. Graesion. Did she recognize that name? She wished she could remember.

  There was silence. Were the men still there? She took a tentative step forward, her body so tense, that when Larone finally spoke again she jumped half a foot.

  “I think the Southern Greenwood, close to Ider Hoffle would be the best location. How long will it take you to go there?”

  “Hmmm. Several days to Greenwood, but if I turn a half spiral, I can get there t’day. There’s a meadow south of Ider Hoffle where lots of soft moss grows. Enchant me a map and I’ll have everythin’ in place by midnight.”

  “Half spiral! You really have been tinkering.”

  “A weaker spiral goes short distances. Once ya get used to it, it’s kinda fun. Do ya want me to stay ‘n wait? Someone should be there.”

  “Agreed, but not you. We do not know when the spiral will be activated. It could be several days and, given the current state of national affairs, your presence here is mandatory. No arguments. Take Varnack with you. He is quite capable of taking care of himself, and other than you, he is the only one I trust as guide and guardian. He can wait as long as necessary. Besides, my dear baby brother,” Larone added with a low chuckle, “the sight of you could frighten anyone back into that black portal.”

  “Jessica…Jessica dear.” Sophia’s voice came from worlds away. Instantly, the mist stopped swirling and a blast of warm air hit Jessica full in the face. She closed her eyes against the onslaught. When she opened them a moment later, she found herself standing in the small home sauna.

  “Jessica, are you still down there? Are you alright?” Sophia called from halfway down the basement stairs.

  “Yes, I’m here,” Jessica called back. She fumbled to open the sauna door. “I’m fine.” No she was not fine. She was losing her mind!

  “I’ve been calling you. Why didn’t you answer? Do you need some help?”

  “No, I’m fine…really. I was day dreaming…I didn’t hear you call.” Standing just outside the sauna, Jessica took some deep breaths.

  “Are you sure? Do you have that thing turned up too high?”

  “No. I…I was just off in a fog.”

  “Well, all right.” Sophia sounded unconvinced. “You’re wanted on the telephone.”

  When Jessica turned the sauna off, Sophia’s light footsteps receded back up the stairs. She swiped the perspiration from her face then reached for the telephone on the wall opposite the sauna.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Reddica, it’s Mark.”

  She paused before responding. She hated that nickname and he knew it, but she was too rattled to argue with the friendly tease.

  “What’s up?”

  “I decided to have a party after graduation tonight, my house around nine. What do ya say?”

  She was annoyed. This was so typical of Mark, always last minute. In the eleven years they had been friends, she never knew him to plan ahead. “Maybe. I’ll have to work it out with my family, but…yeah…I think so.”

  “Heads up…I’ve invited Thomas Banks. He’s off on a huge summer vacation tomorrow, but I convinced him he couldn’t miss my party ‘cause you’d be there.”

  “Whatever. Fine.”

  “Cool. See ya later.”

  Jessica had butterflies. She had kept it to herself, but Thomas Banks was someone she had been attracted to for years, though from a distance. She had her group and he had his, and except for her buddy Mark, who was friends with everyone under the sun, the two groups seldom interacted.

  For a full minute after hanging up the phone, she leaned against the wall. She had a headache. Was she losing her m
ind? She groaned. Maybe she should call Grandma. Grandma always had answers. But then it hit her. “I don’t have a thing to wear!”

  *

  Jessica glared at her open closet and the frustration mounted while the minutes ticked by. The normally neat row of clothing was now a jumble of skewed hangers and dangling garments. She had already been through everything twice, and a third pillaging would be needed before a final decision could be reached. Glancing at the thoroughly ransacked chest-of-drawers, she knew Sophia would cringe if she saw the room, but she just had to find something to wear. She couldn’t concentrate.

  The vision of a kneeling man, with an executioner’s sword poised above him, and the faces of his two sons helplessly looking on kept propelling itself into her mind.

  The sauna experience, as well as the dream paralleling it from the night before, weighed her down with an almost physical force. She could explain neither how they occurred, nor what they meant, but one thing was clear in her mind…they were very real.

  Rubbing her eyes, she tried to rid herself of the memories. “Stop this, Jessica,” she commanded out loud. A telephone ring intruded on her thoughts. Snatching up the cordless she answered a little too loudly, “Hello?”

  “Happy graduation day, Jess!”

  Relief swept through her. “Grandma Gaylee, I’m soooo glad you called.” She flopped down on the edge of the bed. “I’ve been wondering if I should call you. The weirdest things have been happening to me and I think I’m going crazy!”

  “Jess, tell me what’s going on.”

  Jessica talked for nearly forty-five minutes. She recounted her two dreams from the night before and her strange experience in the sauna, followed by the phone call from Mark with the party invite and how excited she felt about Thomas Banks being there. She did not leave anything out, for Grandma always seemed to know when she did. At last she ended with, “and Grandma, I just don’t know what to wear!”

  The silence from the other end of the phone lasted for so long that Jessica wondered if her grandmother was still on the line. “Grandma? Are you there?”

  “Yes, dear. I’m…still here,” came the slow reply.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Jessica, there are many things I’ve never told you about myself.” There was another long pause. “I understand the dreams and I can unravel each one. I do have answers for you, but not right now. I need to digest what you’ve told me. Besides, today is your day and I won’t do anything to spoil it. I think we have a little time, so first thing tomorrow morning I’ll come over and tell you a fantastic story about devotion to duty, bravery beyond self, and a lust for power that almost destroyed a nation. We’ll sort everything out together so don’t worry anymore.”

  “Grandma, you’ve really got me going. Can’t you tell me now?”

  “Jess,” there was a catch in the woman’s voice, “not now.”

  Jessica knew not to push her grandmother. “Okay,” she resigned herself, “but, you really do understand this stuff?”

  “Yes, dear, I really do. Everything’s going to be alright, I promise.”

  “You don’t think I’m losing my mind?”

  Grandma gave a slight laugh. “No. In fact, I know you’re not. Now let me help you with that outfit.”

  *

  Jessica paced back and forth in the kitchen. Her high-heeled shoes echoed on the tile while her graduation gown swished with every turn. The microwave clock showed another minute had ticked by. “Eight minutes after four. He’s late.” she complained to Sneakers, stretched out on the cool tile floor. A persistent flutter in her stomach made her feel especially edgy. “Why am I so jumpy?”

  Sneakers lifted his head and meowed.

  “I know you don’t know.”

  Shifting to his belly, the cat meowed again.

  “Yeah, I know I worry too much, but it’s more than that. It could be graduation, or even this Thomas thing, but that should make me excited, not…scared.” She stopped in front of the large bay window located next to the kitchen door. Only her car, bathed in bright sunlight, was in the driveway. A few rosebuds peaked above the sill from the bushes underneath. Jessica always worried when her father was late. She realized long ago this was a reaction to her mother never returning home, but no matter how hard she tried, she could never stop the anxiety. Finally, her father pulled into the drive.

  He dashed from the car, almost before it stopped moving, and ran up the walkway that led to the kitchen. A second later, he flew through the door. Checking the clock on the microwave, he panted, “Not bad, not bad at all. I made it in fifteen minutes.” He offered no explanations for his late arrival and Jessica knew not to question him. “You look beautiful, just like your mom.” He gave her a huge bear hug.

  “Dad,” she squeezed him back in relief. “Thanks for trying.” She let him go, then grabbed the camera on the table. “Let’s go.”

  Sneakers followed the two out the kitchen door and around to the front yard. When Jessica posed in front of the weeping willow for the first picture, the animal sat at her feet.

  “Jess, tell the cat to move.”

  Looking down at her pet she responded, “He just wants to be in the picture with me.”

  “Well, this isn’t a family photo.”

  “Sneakers,” she called.

  The cat stopped grooming. His yellow eyes met her sapphire blue ones.

  “Dad says this is not a group opportunity, so will you please go over and sit by him?”

  Sneakers looked at John for a few seconds.

  “Now, please.”

  He obediently scampered to John’s side.

  “As usual, Jess, I’m amazed. You and that cat have quite a relationship. It’s uncanny how you two communicate.”

  After snapping thirty or so frames at various locations around the yard, the fashion shoot ended. Back in the house, Jessica grabbed a small bag with her party clothes.

  Picking up her wallet and car key, she headed for the door. “I guess I’m off,” she called over her shoulder. “You’re getting Grandma, right?”

  “Yes, I’m right behind you, just have to grab the video camera.”

  Jessica’s car stood next to her father’s. When she opened the door to throw her bag in, she remembered the party.

  “Hey,” she yelled, “There’s a party tonight at Mark’s house. It starts around nine. Okay if I go?”

  “A party, huh?” He locked the deadbolt behind him. “Sure. Have a great time; just drive carefully.”

  “Thanks…oh, and Dad,” she added.

  He paused at his car, parked beside hers.

  “Please, please, please…don’t leave every light on in the house for me. I’m a big girl now and just need a porch light…not afraid of the dark.”

  He smiled and nodded.

  *

  Downtown, Jessica found a parking place across from the Opera House where graduation ceremonies were held. As she left the car, a white pickup drove in beside her. Thomas Banks climbed out of the driver’s side with his cap and gown tucked under his arm.

  Jessica’s pulse picked up speed. “Hey, Thomas.”

  His face flushed a light red, but he smiled. “How’s it going?” he replied.

  “Fine.” Jessica felt awkward. She desperately wanted to say something witty, something to impress him, but her mind was completely blank.

  They stood together in silence. Finally, Thomas broke the uneasiness when he cleared his throat, “I guess Mark’s having a party tonight.”

  Relieved, Jessica nodded. “Last minute as usual, but it should be fun.”

  They started across the parking lot. “Maybe tonight you can show me some of those awesome kicks you did in self-defense class. I never knew a girl could be so intense.”

  Jessica laughed. “To be honest, I took the class for an easy ‘A’. I’ve studied martial arts since I was five.”

  Thomas gave a hearty laugh. “Five! No wonder I was constantly being thrown onto my back. My sisters all to
ok dance or piano.” They reached the traffic light at the corner and as they waited for it to turn green, Jessica glanced up at the large Opera House Marquee. ‘Ferris High School Graduation 5pm’.

  “My dad’s retired army, and I’m the first girl in a long line of military men. Mark said you’re off on a big trip tomorrow.” Jessica was vaguely aware they were crossing Spokane Falls Boulevard. Her attention was completely riveted on Thomas.

  “My parents have planned this summer vacation for a year. We head to Europe at six tomorrow morning. Mark’s party wasn’t a high priority, but to be honest…when he said you’d be there…I couldn’t say no.”

  She caught her breath at the unexpected comment and felt her pulse increase. They reached the backstage door. He held it open for her. Most of the three hundred seniors had arrived and were in various groups. The two of them would go their separate ways in a few moments, he to his friends, and she to hers; however, she wanted his company just a little longer.

  “Are you ready with your speech? Are you nervous?” she blurted out.

  “You should be on the program, not me. I’ve heard you speak, you’re good.” Shaking his head, he sighed. “I hate talking in public, but I guess I’m ready.”

  She placed her hand on his arm. “I know you’ll do great.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Jessica! Hey Jess, over here!” A pretty blond, already in cap and gown called and waved.

  “Looks like you’re wanted, Heather’s calling.” Thomas gestured to a group of girls at the far end of the room. “And there’s Mark.” He nodded at a group of guys off to his left. “I’ll see you later tonight then.”

  “Yeah, later.” Turning away, she strolled toward her friends. She did not know if Thomas watched her leave, but just in case, she wanted to look as regal as possible. She almost succeeded too, but as luck would have it, a trio of boys started a game of keep-away with a graduation cap. Within a few feet of reaching her companions, one of the boys, his eyes on the cap, ran headlong into Jessica, sending her sprawling in a most unregal fashion. Her wallet and keys went flying as she tried to save her dignity in heels and a dress. She managed to fall, as Heather later told her, gracefully. While she and her friends quickly gathered up her scattered belongings, she stole a glance in Thomas’ direction. To her utter horror, he and most of his friends were staring.