Double Star

by Cindy Saunders

  Half of the fourteen stalls in the barn were already occupied. More than a few chickens and at least half a dozen cats scattered before their approaching footsteps. Ally was about to remove her bedroll when David joined them, a pretty woman at his side.

  “I would like you to meet my wife, Jane,” he said.

  “Dinner will be ready in an hour. Do you need anything?” Jane asked.

  “No, thank you,” they replied at once.

  “Ally,” Jane said, “it would not be proper for you to sleep out here when we have an extra bed in the house. Please, follow me and I will show you to your room.”

  Ally smiled at Liam and shrugged. Sometimes being a girl has its benefits.

  She followed Jane up the stone steps and into the house. The smell of baking bread caused her stomach to growl. She really was going to learn how to cook when she got home. Everything here tasted so much better.

  Or, maybe everything in this world was better.

  Jane stopped in front of a closed door. “We might regret this.” She opened it a crack and peeked inside. “Not so bad.” They stepped into the bedroom. Toys and clothes littered the floor and Ally smiled. It was nice to know, no matter where you were, some things stayed the same.

  “It’s great,” Ally said, “but where will the boys sleep?”

  Jane shook her head. “This is not their room, although you would never know it. We have another son, Gabriel. He is a… special boy. He has been having terrible nightmares for the past week, so we set up a cot in our room. I am sure he will not mind sleeping with us for one more night.”

  Nightmares? Ally knew how frightening those could be. She followed Jane into the kitchen. “What have they been about?”

  “I do not know,” Jane answered. “He…” A boy, older than the twins, was at the table, hunched over a piece of paper, his face hidden by long, curly hair. When Jane gently knocked on the table, the boy lifted eyes that were dark brown and framed with lashes that would have cost a small fortune in her world. The smile that began to form was replaced by a look of surprise and, although he no longer looked at what he was drawing, the pencil in his left hand continued to move.

  Jane held out her hand. With effort, he gave her the pencil, and she wrote Ally on a blank piece of paper.

  When his smile returned, Ally had a feeling that “special” was an understatement. He was beautiful. “Hi,” she said.

  Jane handed the pencil back to Gabriel. “I do not believe he can hear you. We knew, shortly after he was born, that his hearing was limited. Time has not been a kind companion and I fear it will not be long before silence will be all he can detect. His speech never developed properly so, while he could try to communicate, he chooses not to. He can write well enough, can even read lips when they are in plain view. But, what he lacks in those senses, he makes up for in his ability to see things most of us take for granted. He is quite gifted.”

  Ally caught a glimpse of what he was drawing. “I can see that.”

  Jane began to pick potatoes from a basket. “At least today he is not focused on the macabre. His recent artwork has been a bit disturbing.”

  Ally looked at the drawing. A dark horse was running through a meadow, and Gabriel had captured every detail. Maybe all black horses look the same, but the one in his drawing had an uncanny resemblance to Pollux.

  Gabriel walked to the window facing the barn and pointed outside.

  “He wants to join the others,” Jane said, “and I cannot blame him. It is not often we receive such interesting visitors.”

  “Can I help you with something?” Ally asked. “I know you didn’t plan on cooking for six more tonight.”

  “We have plenty. I started a stew and it is easy to stretch that further.”

  “Does Gabriel draw in color?”

  Jane laughed. “Oh yes, but, since this is what he does most days, black is all we can afford.”

  There were some special ed students at Alhambra High but they were never allowed to mainstream. Whenever she saw them walking into school or down the hall, Ally had never gone out of her way to be nice, in fact, she’d probably avoided them. Why?

  Because I’d say the wrong thing and hurt their feelings.

  She looked at Gabriel and realized that probably wasn’t the real reason. More likely it was because they were a reminder of how fragile she was. A fact, if given the choice, she preferred to ignore. How sad.

  Yes, and how selfish.

  “You could do something,” Jane said. “Would you mind accompanying Gabe outside? He is eager to meet our guests.”

  “Sure,” Ally said, hoping she was ready to confront her fears.

  Jane touched his shoulder, pointed to Ally, and then out back. He nodded, put his pencil in his pocket, and grabbed some paper from the table.

  Ally followed him through the barn doors. “Gabriel, wait up.”

  What an idiot I am.

  She caught up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He swung around and she held up her finger.

  While at Stearns’, she had picked up something for Liam, as a surprise. But the gift for him was better shared with another. She reached into her bag and pulled out a set of four colored pencils. She returned the blue and the green, she could still give those to Liam, and handed Gabriel the red and the gold. His eyes widened. She patted her chest and pointed to him.

  It was a lame attempt at sign language but he seemed to understand. He hesitated and she nodded. “Please.” He took them and bowed. “You’re welcome,” she said. “Come on.”

  Within the enclosed riding area, one twin was riding atop a white bear while the other was being chased around by a wolf and a panther. Corm sat on the wooden rail fence, and jumped to his feet when he saw them. “Hi, I’m Corm.”

  But Gabriel was too engrossed to notice. Ally touched his arm and redirected his attention.

  “Corm,” she said, enunciating each letter.

  Gabriel pointed to Corm’s neck and Corm revealed the tiny hawk beneath his ear. Gabriel smiled and looked to the sky.

  “Why not?” Corm said. “Once we depart the forest, I will leave this part of me behind.” He took a few steps and, in an instant, a hawk was in the air. Gabriel stared intently, his fingers tracing Corm’s every move.

  The scene reminded Ally of a circus. All that was missing was the ringmaster. Where was Liam?

  The sound of an axe from behind answered her question. Liam picked up two pieces of split wood and added them to the pile at his feet. He wiped his forehead with his arm and, when he saw her, leaned the axe against the chopping block.

  “I trust the accommodations meet with your approval?” he asked with a smirk.

  “Hey, it wouldn’t have bothered me to sleep in the barn but, yes, they’re fine. As a matter of fact, I’m sleeping in Gabriel’s room.”

  Gabriel’s eyes stopped following Corm and fell upon Liam. Liam held out his hand. “I am Liam Cheveyo.”

  Gabriel raised his eyebrows and grabbed Liam’s arm, trying to see his neck. When he saw the sword, his mouth dropped. The pencils and paper fell from his hand and he ran to the house.

  “Gabriel, wait!” Ally shouted. She started after him but, when he was safely inside, she returned to the others who were standing around Liam.

  “That is quite an effect you have on folks,” Shane remarked. “What did you say to him?”

  “I did not say anything, although I suspect he would not have heard me,” Liam answered.

  Gabriel returned a moment later, handed Liam a drawing, and knelt on the ground. He picked up a blank piece of paper and began to sketch.

  Liam smiled, but it was replaced by a look of confusion as he looked at the picture in his hand. “What the…?”

  Ally looked over his shoulder. In the center of the picture was a perfect likeness of Liam, a sword in his hand. A hawk was overhead—a bear, a panther, and a wolf stood around him.

  “When did he draw this?” Corm asked.

  “I’m not sure, but he ju
st met Liam. He just met all of you,” Ally said. She sat on the ground next to Gabriel. He was drawing the same picture… almost. But next to the hawk, in the air, he sketched… a likeness of her?

  Gabriel pulled a knife from his belt, sharpened the gold pencil, and drew a half dozen lines beginning at her outstretched arms and ending on the ground. With his black pencil, he drew another wolf, but this one was more menacing than Oisin. Long teeth protruded from a mouth that seemed to smile. He sharpened the red pencil and brought the animal to life with two large eyes.

  Liam took the drawing from Gabriel and touched the gold lines. “What are these?”

  Gabriel pointed to Ally.

  “It looks as though you are protecting us,” Ian said.

  Ally stifled a laugh. “Please.”

  Gabriel grabbed a blank page and began another. He drew Ally peering into a dense thicket. The ends of the branches looked like snakes and then, he sketched two hands reaching through the bushes, toward her.

  “That looks like a Gorgon bush,” Ian said. “I have seen pictures but they are not found within the forest.”

  “Gorgon bush?” Ally asked.

  “Yes, they are terribly poisonous. Their thorns can incapacitate with a single scratch.”

  Gabriel got to his feet and pointed to her neck. Ally stood, pulled back her hair, and shook her head. “Uh… sorry?” He picked up the gold pencil and nodded.

  “I think he wants to draw something on you,” Oisin said.

  “Okay.” But Ally doubted if the pencil would leave a mark. It tickled as the tip touched the spot beneath her ear. When he finished, he stood back to admire his work.

  “What’d he draw? I can’t see it,” she said.

  “You do not need to. You have seen it before,” Liam said.

  “What is it?”

  “It is identical to what I drew on the kite… the picture of the angel.”

  “How could he know about that?”

  Liam looked at the first picture. “How could he have drawn this?”

  Gabriel pointed to the sword in the drawing. “Aye,” Liam finally said and went into the barn. He returned with the sword and, when Gabriel reached for it, Liam put it into his hand. The final rays of sunlight reflected off the blade. Gabriel’s lips began to move and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he handed it back to Liam.

  “Were you aware that there is writing etched upon the blade?” Ian asked, watching.

  “There were symbols, but I do not recall any words,” Liam replied.

  Shane leaned closer to see. “What does it say?”

  “Take me up,” Liam said and turned the blade over. “And, ‘Cast me away.’”

  “Where did your mother get this?” Ally asked.

  Liam’s eyes didn’t meet hers. “Thea did not say. She only told me it was forged many years ago, and that we would recognize it as the sword of Nuada.”

  “The sword of Nuada? It cannot be,” Oisin whispered.

  “No, it can’t,” Ally said, matter-of-fact. “Those are words written on Excalibur.”

  “Excalibur?” The sword vibrated when Liam said the word.

  “Excalibur was the legendary sword of King Arthur,” Ally replied. “You know. The Knights of the Round Table? The Holy Grail?” They all stared at her with blank expressions. “Supposedly, King Arthur was the leader of England back in the fifth century.”

  “How did this King Arthur come about the sword?” Oisin asked.

  Ally squinted, thinking, then remembered. “According to legend, it was given to him by the Lady in the Lake.”

  “Nuada was thought to be a legend as well,” Ian said, his eyes still fixed on the sword.

  Chapter 23

  “Thank you,” Liam said when he finished dinner. “If you will excuse me, I need to attend to something in the barn.” He wanted to… needed to hold the sword again. It was as if it were calling to him.

  He pulled it from beneath the pile of hay in Pollux’s stall and drew it from the sheath. The lack of light made it difficult to see the inscription, but he ran his fingers down the blade and felt the engraving, felt the energy that surged through it.

  “That is quite a sword,” Oisin said from behind.

  Liam turned around. “Hold it. Tell me if you feel anything.”

  Oisin took the sword and assumed a fencing stance. “What exactly am I supposed to be feeling?”

  Perhaps it was his imagination. It was a piece of steel, no different from any other.

  “Tell me something, Liam,” Oisin said as he continued to spar with his invisible partner. “Do you hope Ally will find her way home?” He handed Liam the sword and took a seat on the dusty floor.

  “I am no longer sure of what I want. However, if that is what she desires, I will do everything in my power to see she does.”

  “I have to be honest. I have never looked upon a lass in the same manner you gaze at Ally. And, as true, no woman has looked upon me the way she does you.”

  Aside from Corm, Liam was unaware their feelings for each other were so obvious. He sat beside Oisin and placed the sword on the floor. “I know, before we met, there was something missing from my life. But now, I feel an inner strength I have never felt before. Does that sound crazy?”

  “No, my friend.” Oisin chuckled. “That is the way it is supposed to be. I sense, if given more time, I might have found such a bond with Ariana.” He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head into his hands. “I have not been able to stop thinking about her.”

  “Am I interrupting?” Ally asked. She was standing just outside the door.

  “Not at all. I am going for a run,” Oisin replied. He got to his feet and dashed from the barn. A high-pitched howl followed a few seconds later as he disappeared.

  Ally walked to her bag and turned to face him. She smiled mysteriously, both hands behind her back. “I know it’s not much. Actually, now it’s even less. Pick a hand.”

  His eyes went back and forth and then, he pointed to the right. She put it in front of her and opened it, revealing a blue and a green pencil.

  “I now understand how Gabriel came into possession of such fine colors,” he said. “Thank you.” He pushed her hair back from her shoulder. The outline of the angel was clear. “He sees you as I do. May I?” he whispered and leaned close.

  “Yes.”

  He put his hand on her cheek. His thumb traced her lips and he kissed them gently, then he took her hand and led her to a pile of hay in the corner.

  They sat side by side. “I have been curious about something,” he said, his fingers entwined in her hair.

  “What would that be?” she replied, a slight lilt in her voice.

  “What happened that day when you were in the barn with Jade?”

  Ally shook her head. “I’m not really sure. I wanted to help. This might sound silly but… she seemed to beg me to touch her. At first there was nothing, but then my hand was drawn to her leg and some sort of… energy traveled between us. It was difficult to break away. Do you know what I mean?”

  Liam nodded. He had felt the same when he held the sword.

  “Can I tell you something else?” she said. “The night I touched Pilotte, the night he’d been bitten, it was the same thing.”

  “I think you helped them both.”

  She looked at him with skepticism. “I couldn’t do that at home. Why would I be able to do it here?”

  “Perhaps this world is bringing out the magic in you.”

  The others entered the barn. Liam stood and helped her to her feet. “I will escort you to the house.”

  When they reached the kitchen door, he put his hands on her shoulders. “I will say goodnight to you here,” he said, and kissed her cheek.

  “I don’t think so.” She stood on her toes, wrapped both arms around his neck, and kissed him on the lips. “That’s more like it,” she whispered.

  ***

  The light of dawn was greeted by a rooster’s cry and the realization that s
he was starving. Ally hopped out of bed and walked into the empty kitchen. Another of Gabriel’s drawings was on the table. She picked it up and looked at it. Her hunger was replaced by a knot that began to form in her stomach.

  Gabriel walked in behind her. She held up the picture and he motioned toward the barn. “I know. It’s them,” she said. He repeatedly pointed to himself, and then to the drawing. What was he trying to say? She finally gave up. “Okay.” She nodded, unsure as to what she was agreeing to. “I’ll be right back.”

  Ally walked into the barn where Corm and Ian were rolling up blankets.

  “Where’s everyone else?” she asked.

  “Outside getting the horses ready,” Corm said. “What is the matter?”

  Ally handed him the drawing. The sketch was from a low perspective. Gabriel had drawn Ian and Oisin on the ground. She touched the paper. “They look… hurt.” Shane stood between them. In the center of the page, Liam was lying face down, and Gabriel had drawn Ally, on her knees, leaning over him.

  “Liam discovered a visitor in the chicken coop this morning, Corm,” Shane said from behind.

  Corm looked up at him, confused. “What are you talking about?”

  “It is Raya,” Oisin said, joining Shane. “She arrived during the night. Made herself right at home. She carries a mysterious communication.” He handed Ally a small piece of paper. She looked at Corm and then, squinting to decipher the tiny print, read the message aloud.

  The silence broken, the voice is new

  The message speaks of fortune true

  For the mute is cloaked within plain sight

  The joining of spirits which he drew.

  The mutant next will take a hold

  Of hearts and souls, his spirit bold

  The kindness shown will be returned

  With fortitude, his house will hold.

  She turned it over and continued reading.

  The betrayed exhibits an unkind heart

  But a metamorphosis will start

  Hope will lie within his hand

  Before his body and soul depart.