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

by Lisa M. Wilson

  He glared at her. “What?”

  “Ammunition…where is it?”

  He reached around her and grabbed a box of bullets.

  She snatched a small duffle bag hanging from a closet hook. “I left my country behind,” she talked while packing the gun and bullets in the bag, “my uncles, and my son.”

  “Your son?” Sophia had just entered the room. In her arms were an assortment of shirts and pants, both Jessica’s and John’s. “You left a son in Esparia?” She deposited the clothes on the table.

  “I never told you, Sophia. It was too painful to talk about. Haesom. My little boy.” Gaylee plucked two shirts and a pair of jeans from the pile and stuffed them in the duffle bag.

  John was at a loss. “Haesom? But Jessica…”

  “…thought he was made up.” Gaylee finished the thought. “She assumed her dreams were in response to her mom’s death, but they were very real. Haesom was her uncle, Shallenon’s older brother.” Gaylee stopped packing. “And two nights ago she saw them murdered.” Her shoulders drooped and she took a long, deep breath. “Which of these shirts do you want?” She held up a button up and a pull-over.

  John ignored her and turned on Sophia. “What’s Esparia?”

  “Her country…Gaylee was a Protector.”

  “Since Shallenon’s dead, and now Haesom and his family are gone, the birthright falls to Jessica. She’s the last of the Saylon blood line.” Gaylee managed to cram both shirts into the bag. She zipped it and thrust it at John’s chest. He instinctively caught it. “Will you sign that paper already? We need to go now.”

  John had never seen his motherin-law so agitated. He slung the bag’s strap over his shoulder, grabbed a pen lying on the counter top and scribbled his name on the legal document.

  “Okay, I’ve signed.” John put his hand on Gaylee’s shoulder. “Where do you think we’re going?” His voice was calm, quiet. He knew she had snapped.

  “To Edia…To Esparia…To where ever my uncles took Jessica. We’re going to follow her. I’m going home.” She looked around the kitchen. “Where’s your first aid kit?”

  John pointed to a kitchen cupboard. He looked to Sophia, hoping for some help, but she was weeping into a dish towel.

  “I’m going to miss you Gaylee,” the smaller woman sobbed.

  Gaylee paused after retrieving the small pack of medical supplies and put her arms around her friend. She kissed her forehead. She too had tears in her eyes. “Tell Jacob goodbye.” Sophia silently nodded.

  Gaylee walked out the open kitchen door, down the path to where the cars were parked in the driveway. John watched from the bay window as she retrieved a hooded cape from her auto.

  Sophia stood beside him. “She’s telling you the truth. I know her whole story.”

  “Hey, you two,” Gaylee called. “Come out here, and Sophia, be sure to close the door behind you.”

  John shook his head, feeling completely bewildered, but decided to humor the woman. He would go along with her delusions, only to prove them false, before calling a psychiatrist. Sophia closed the door behind them and scurried to safety behind John’s car. There was fear on her face as she crouched behind the vehicle.

  John poked the first aid pack into the duffle, then he and Gaylee walked from the cars, up the brick path to the kitchen entrance. At the door, Gaylee felt around the trim, the deadbolt and the door itself. Nothing happened.

  The brass handle remained the only hardware untouched. “How appropriate,” she murmured, “a doorknob is the link to another world.” She stared at the latch, her body rigid. She gripped her cape so hard her knuckles turned white.

  “So, what now?” John was losing patience. He really wanted to make that 911 call.

  “Jessica didn’t tell you about all of her dreams from the other night, did she?”

  “More dreams than Haesom’s death?”

  Gaylee nodded. “My uncle said that he set the mechanism with his own life force, so only family could activate it. If he hasn’t shut it down yet, then this should work.” Reaching out, Gaylee touched the metal knob. The moment her fingers connected, a small arc of electricity jumped from the metal to her hand and from her hand to John’s leg. His muscle involuntarily contracted when the shock connected with his body.

  A low rumble came from the other side of the door, like the soft purr of a contented kitten, but within seconds it increased in volume and intensity. The door trembled. John thought an earthquake had hit, but then the door dissolved away. Each molecule was drawn backward with such rapidity that it took only a few moments for the entire wooden structure to disappear.

  John stared, open mouthed, in disbelief. He heard Sophia call from behind the car. “Goodbye. I’ll take care of everything here.”

  A black oval materialized where the kitchen should have been. The shrill sound of rushing air exploded around them, immediately followed by a faraway whistle. Gaylee grabbed John’s arm, her nails dug into his flesh. “I nearly died the last time I was in this thing,” she yelled into his ear.

  “What? You never said anything about dying!”

  As the distant whistle grew in volume, an iridescent funnel of wildly spinning air appeared deep inside the hollow. The rotating cone hurtled forward until it reached the mouth of the opening. John glanced over at Gaylee. Her eyes were closed, her mouth was pinched tight.

  He stared back at the hole to see the inside of a wild twister. Together, they were sucked into the funnel. Side-by-side, the two shot through the long dark tube. A loud, high-pitched swishing sound filled the conduit. Nothing in his previous life experience could be remotely compared to the reality of the spiral. He closed his eyes. Now he understood why Jessica screamed. She must have been terrified! He gulped at the air, trying to push enough oxygen into his lungs to avoid passing out. It took every ounce of concentration to control the buzzing in his head. His muscles cramped, his ears rang, and he wanted to throw up. With each passing second, he felt the powerful, forward pull on his body, as if he were attached to the end of a tightly stretched elastic string, snapping back at lightning speed to its point of origin.

  The brief trip abruptly ended with a crash-landing on damp, mossy, ground. Over and over John rolled until a tree stopped his forward momentum. The spiral continued to spew air for a few seconds, then it collapsed inward and evaporated.

  John fought the dizziness that threatened to plunge him into unconsciousness. He focused on breathing and keeping his stomach contents where they belonged. He managed to gasp in adequate quantities of air, but lost the battle with his churning gut. He was suddenly grateful that he had only sipped part of the tomato juice and taken just two bites of toast, but once they were up and out, he felt considerably better.

  Unconscious, Gaylee lay on her side several feet away. Giving her a quick exam, he was relieved that none of her bones were broken, and her vital signs appeared strong. She would be coming around soon.

  He pressed his hand down nearly an entire foot into the spongy, aqua-green moss. It immediately sprang back when he withdrew the pressure, gently showering him with a watery mist. It was this thick, soft cushion that saved them from being hurt on impact. He surmised it had recently rained. If Jessica had been here, all traces of her were long gone.

  His head ached. He combed his fingers through his hair. The sun rested high in the sky, yet its warm rays did little to relax him. Jessica…Jess…where could she be? He tried to keep his frustration and fear in check. Hopefully, when his headache faded, he would think more clearly.

  A gentle breeze rustled through the high forest canopy at the edge of the meadow. The trees were tall, thin yellow poles with thick foliage mushrooming out at the tops. From their underside the leaves were deep green, with a thin, white cotton-like puff at each tip. A few of the white puffs had ruptured, and blue bell-shaped blooms hung from them. The leaves were translucent, like stained glass, allowing the sun to radiate through to the forest floor. Each tree trunk was waxy smooth to the very top where th
e umbrella-like greenery intertwined with neighboring trees.

  The circular meadow, just a few yards in diameter was the only place where unfiltered light touched the ground. It was only here that the moss grew. It stopped at the very edge of the woodland shade. Scattered clumps of dwarf purple bushes ringed many of the trees. They were loaded with plump, lavender berries that emitted a sweet, inviting fragrance. When his empty stomach rumbled, John wondered if they were edible. Squinting up at the sky, he thought the sun seemed normal enough, but seeing a second, enormous celestial orb at mid-day gave him quite a shock. A huge, gaseous ball shimmered green and purple in the blue sky.

  Gaylee groaned. Her eyes fluttered open. She brought up a trembling hand to rub her head.

  “How are you feeling?” John helped her to a sitting position.

  “I hate this form of travel,” she moaned and massaged her shoulder. “Any sign of Jessica?”

  “No sign of anyone. This moss doesn’t hold a shape. So where do we start?” He wanted to go.

  “Oh…I’m dizzy.” She lay back down and closed her eyes. “Let me rest, just a little longer.” She made a slight smile. “So I’m not as crazy as you thought, am I?”

  John grunted and idly pulled at the moss. “Did Shallenon know?”

  “That she wasn’t from Earth? Yes. She eventually figured it out. I tried to raise her as a normal earthling, but her link to this place, especially to her brother, was too great to be dismissed. She dreamed about him a lot more regularly than Jessica does…did. Their dreams began at about the same age, ten.” Gaylee opened her eyes and turned her head toward John. “You need to understand,” she said emphatically, “that it wasn’t my decision to keep this from you, it was Shallenon’s. From the moment she met you, she wanted you to think her a normal woman, and she desperately wanted Jessica to have a normal life. Think about it John, I’m an extra-terrestrial, so was Shallenon. Do I need to say more? She wanted it left alone.”

  John shook his head. “I knew there was more to your history than you ever divulged, but I’d always thought it had happened in Soviet-occupied Poland.”

  “When we came to earth through the spiral—it’s called a spiral transhifter— we landed right in Jacob and Sophia’s living room. I’d broken several bones on landing. Luckily, Shallenon was unhurt. Anyone else would have turned us into the authorities, but Sophia had lost her brothers, sisters, and everyone she had loved. She needed someone to care for…someone to love, and she took us in. Jacob went along with it.”

  John stood up and stretched. His headache was finally at a low throb and he was anxious to begin his search for Jessica.

  “John, I know you’re worried about Jess, so am I, but really, I need just a little more time to rest, or you’ll be carrying me the whole way. Besides, I need to tell you about the two other dreams that Jessica had.” Gaylee briefly related the first mist experience confirming Haesom’s death to Larone and the second one detailing the spiral plans. “You’re not going to like this, but I don’t believe my uncle Larone induced either one of these visions. I think Jessica brought them on by herself.”

  John listened to his motherin-law in bewildered silence, not knowing what to make of her stories, but this last statement brought his irritation to the surface. “What do you mean?” He stared down at her.

  “When Haesom died, it triggered something in Jessica…turned something on. Maybe a dormant gene, or a latent power. I don’t know. Like it or not John, Jessica’s heritage is half Esparian, and as she grows older, the Esparian part, and all that goes with it, grows stronger.”

  Anger flooded through him. He jumped to his feet. “This is crazy Gaylee…all of this.” He gestured to the foreign sky and the alien forest. “I’m worried sick. How dare your uncles steal her away! She’s been dragged, completely unawares, into, from what little I know, an extremely deadly situation. Her life’s in danger, and she’s all alone.” John’s voice rose to a yelling pitch.

  Gaylee’s face flushed red. She sat up. “Do you think I like this? Do you think I wanted this?” she yelled back. “I’m just as worried as you are, just as appalled. You’re not the only one who loves her! She’s all I have left too, besides you.” She took some deep breaths. “She’s not alone. Larone sent someone named Varnack to protect her. This Varnack must be a great warrior for him to be sent instead of Anton. I don’t know what’s happened, but I do know my uncles and they would never have done this without thinking it through and weighing all of the dangers.”

  Gaylee raised her hands toward John. “Help me up.” He grabbed her hands and pulled. She drew herself erect and stared him in the eye. “My name is Gayleena Liedia of the House of Saylon. I am the High Protector of Esparia, the largest country on planet Edia. When Shallenon died, the birthright of the Protectors went to Jessica. I was born to the house of Liedia, and married Graesion Saylon. My status as High Protector came by virtue of that marriage, however Jessica is a true Saylon, a Protector by blood. I wanted to explain all of this to Jess this morning. She knew I was coming; we talked yesterday.” Gaylee shook her head. “I thought I had more time, but when I woke up, I knew she was gone. I felt it and came straight over.”

  “And now we’re here.” He scooped up the duffle bag.

  “Yes, we’re here. She looked up at the gaseous planet above. “I’m home.”

  CHAPTER 6

  The Salupathic Gift

  The sun shone through the vines at the mouth of the cave when Jessica finally awoke for the day. She had just begun to tell Varnack about the mist-dream when a loud stomach rumble interrupted her explanation. “I’m hungry. You want something?”

  He nodded. She reached for the knapsack and dumped the foodstuffs onto her lap. After handing Varnack three strips of the dried meat, she sniffed a piece of dried green produce. She nibbled a corner. “Oooo, sweet.”

  Varnack never blinked while she finished relating her dream between bites of fruit leather, jerky and dark bread wafers. She ended her narration by asking, “Varnack, are we in danger?” A jab of apprehension made her shiver.

  “Not yet.”

  “Is that because they’re looking for my mom?”

  “Yes.”

  She picked up the still glowing lantern-jar, the extra food, and the now half-full water flask, then placed them back in the sack. After shaking the dust from her jacket and tying it around her waist, she was ready to go. To her surprise, they did not exit through the front, but followed a small tunnel at the back of the dugout, deeper into the hillside. It was a man-made passageway and reminded Jessica of pictures she had seen of nineteenth century coal mine tunnels. Reinforced on three sides with thick wooden beams, the dark conduit smelled musty and stale. Jessica retrieved the lantern from the sack and holding it high, gratefully noted it still contained an inch or so of combustible powder.

  “Who built this place?”

  “First Ones.”

  “Why?”

  “Don’t talk. Move.”

  She almost commented on his brusque manner, then thought better of it. Maybe this is how his species is. Maybe all of them hate talking. She considered the possibility for a while. How could she judge a whole species by one member? This must be who Varnack is…Probably a loner, definitely not a socializer. She must be driving him crazy. The thought made her smile.

  Much to her relief, the path was free from cobwebs and little crawling creatures. There were no branching pathways. They followed the straight, dank, chilly passage for half an hour to its end. Here Varnack rose up on his back legs and using his powerful front paws, dug at a crack in the earth where several slender beams of light peeked through. Jessica coughed when the dust swirled around her. “Can I help?” she offered.

  “No.”

  He created a small opening, barely large enough for them to squeeze through. A vast forest of tall, spindly trees and thigh-high lavender berried, red leafed bushes grew all around them. Each pale yellow tree rose nearly twenty feet. No outgrowth of branches interrupted the
waxen, smooth trunks. From every tree’s crown sprouted dozens of spoke-like arms, extending in all directions. They intertwined with neighboring limbs, forming an intricate lattice. Broad, translucent green leaves shot skyward from every point along the towering grid, while bell shaped blooms ranging from deep azure to delicate baby blue hung several inches below. Sun light filtered through the glassy leaves, bathing the forest floor in a muted green glow. Here and there, unfiltered beams of white light punched through the canopy above. Where it kissed the ground, thick velvety moss grew. After the musty tunnel, the forest smelled clean and sweet, with a hint of flowering perfume in the air.

  “Come.” Wagging his tail, Varnack led the way.

  They traveled at a brisk pace, skirting around the thicker bushes and squeezing between clumps of the pole-thin timbers. It did not take long for Jessica to become accustomed to the rhythm of Varnack’s gait and she easily kept stride with him. Still moist from the previous night’s rain, the moss squished down when they stepped on the infrequent patches, spraying their legs with fine mist.

  At length they reached a clearing. After the muted light in the forest, the brightness of the sun caused Jessica to squint, and she turned her face upward to catch a bit of the warmth. To her surprise, a large planet loomed high above, hovering in the cloudless, blue expanse. It reminded her of the many times she saw earth’s moon after sunrise, just before it disappeared beyond the horizon, hanging like a softly focused picture with the sun’s rays illuminating it’s white beauty. Only this was no small moon, but a massive planet, at least a thousand times larger in the sky, and streaked with soft green and purple pastel colors.

  “Varnack, what’s that!” she exclaimed too loudly.

  The immense hound dug his front paws into the ground and wheeled around, his fur on edge, his muscles tense. Seeing his attack position, Jessica winced and felt very foolish. “I…I’m sorry,” she apologized, “I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wondered about that.” She pointed skyward.