Essence of Chaos

by Marie Andreas

  “My thanks, Karnia. Please set it down next to our guest Jenna.” The novice complied, and then stepped back. A second later, the nervous Ljasda reappeared bearing an intricate goblet of water. Wordlessly she handed it to the seeress.

  “My thanks to you as well, good Ljasda. You two may return to your studies.”

  The novices bowed low, and then disappeared into the building.

  “Now, Jenna, how would you like to be free of this old rogue for the evening?”

  Ghortin was still in charge, but Jenna sent him her answer with what she hoped was the proper amount of enthusiasm.

  “My apprentice is giddy with the thought. But we wonder how you can do such a thing,” Ghortin said.

  The seeress looked at him smugly. “Ha. For once I have knowledge that you lack. That vase near your feet is from a cuari archaeological find. It can hold your essence in a state that can still communicate for twelve hours. I thought that you and I could reminisce, while the children celebrate.”

  Jenna felt his surprise. The seeress had gotten one up on him. But he refused to let on.

  “What celebration, oh devious one?”

  “Has it been so long that you’ve forgotten?” She turned toward Storm with a smile. “Whenever the goddess blesses us with direct contact, for whatever reason, there is a nightlong celebration. I’m sure you will find it most intriguing, Prince Corin.” From the sly look on her face, Jenna wondered what this celebration was.

  “As for you, young Jenna, you will be free to enjoy yourself. With your companions, or others. Without Ghortin along for the ride.”

  Jenna had a brief flash of bacchanalian revels. Ghortin caught the thought and spoke directly to her.

  “Not that bad, I assure you. Yet you might want to stick close to Storm until you feel comfortable.”

  The seeress rubbed her hands together, looking for all the world like a conjurer preparing her favorite trick. “All right, first I need you to pick up the vase. Ghortin, when I begin, I want you to start thinking about pouring yourself into the vase. That’s all, nothing tricky. Corin, stand close to Jenna. When Ghortin leaves she’s liable to feel a little faint.”

  Jenna wanted to ask about the safety of such a thing, but Ghortin soothed her fears. He had nothing but respect and trust for the beautiful seeress.

  Jenna felt him brush her thoughts with a farewell, and then he was gone.

  Her vision faded, and Storm’s strong arms steadied both her and the vase.

  “I must admit, Sarisa, this is a most unique feeling. Can’t see much though.” Ghortin’s voice came from the vase. Storm tightened his hold on her briefly. It was rather odd hearing the mastermage’s voice coming from a small vase, but Jenna was too disoriented at that moment to dwell on it.

  The seeress patted the bench next to her as she sipped slowly from her water goblet. “Sit her down here; she’ll be fine in a few moments.” Her voice was weaker now.

  Storm sat Jenna down, and then turned his attention to the seeress. “Are you all right? Should I send for some help?”

  She waved a hand at him vaguely. “Thank you, but no. I’ll be fine. I underestimated the amount of Power involved, that’s all. You’re heavier than I suspected, old man.” She directed the last at the vase.

  “Three thousand years of clean living will do that to you.”

  Jenna’s vision started to clear, and she had to admit the sense of freedom of not having Ghortin in her head was fabulous. “This is kind of you, but how will he get back?”

  “Oh, don’t you worry. In twelve hours his presence will revert to where it was.” She fluttered her hands at the two of them. “Now you two scoot. Go have a good time. I’ve told my people to bring you celebration robes, and I’m sure your red-haired friend is dying to know what’s going on. Go, be happy.” With that, she turned back to the vase and began conducting a rather strange conversation with the piece of cuari pottery.

  Storm helped Jenna up and they went back to their rooms.

  “Are you sure you feel all right? Because we don’t have to go to the celebration if you don’t want to.” Storm stopped in front of their door.

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of that lovesick novice.” Jenna looked up at him with a wicked smile.

  “No, not at all. I’m concerned for you. The clerics of Irissanta are the kindest, gentlest people you will ever meet. They also are friendly about their affections when celebrating. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

  Jenna caught something different in his voice. “So you’re concerned about me, for my own comfort? Nothing else? Keanin will be there, you know.”

  Storm looked down at her, then away quickly. “No. I mean, I’m sure he’ll be off somewhere and not watching out for you.”

  Jenna raised an eyebrow as he fumbled. She tugged on his shirt. “You’re certain there’s no other reason?”

  He did another quick glance down, then looked away. “That’s all. Since I found you, I feel responsible for you.”

  His tone annoyed Jenna. If he had feelings for her, why didn’t he say so? It wasn’t like his engagement to Mikasa was real; Keanin said as much. And for once Ghortin wasn’t around. She certainly wasn’t going to figure out her feelings until he resolved his engagement situation. But it would be nice to know if he felt the same.

  She abruptly let go of his shirt. “I don’t need a protector. I’m going to the celebration with or without you, or Keanin.” She spun around and pushed open the door to their rooms.

  Storm sighed, then followed her in.

  Keanin wasn’t in the rooms, but the robes were. They were of a thin, gauzy material, and rather short. Jenna held one up cautiously, and then looked down at the layers of winter clothes she was presently wearing.

  “Just where are they having this celebration? We’ll freeze in these.”

  Storm slowly picked up a deep blue robe. It was larger than the one she held, but wouldn’t cover all that much of either of the two long-legged kelars. The matching shorts would at least give them a modicum of modesty. “More than likely, in the main hall. From what Kaytine has said, they’ll keep it warm.” He looked at her again. “Are you sure you want to go?” Storm sounded forlorn. From the look on his face, his reasons now had as much to do with the costume as with her.

  “What, and pass up a chance to see you in that? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She took her bright pink robe and matching shorts and sauntered to her room.

  Storm looked at his robe with a growing sense of unease. He didn’t like this sort of thing, and even less when there wasn’t much of a costume involved. He continued muttering under his breath until Keanin finally came back to the room. He was much more at ease than when he’d left the seeress.

  “Corin. You won’t believe what they’re doing tonight.” He pointed to the robe in Storm’s hand, noted the look of apprehension on his face, and burst out laughing.

  “You already know. What did she say?”

  “Yes.” Storm tossed down the robe. “She told Ghortin that his body lies in the Cave of Sorrows, someplace in the Scareani. And because of that, we have to dress up in these.”

  Keanin rushed forward and scooped up a dark green robe and shorts. “And for this you are upset? Think about it, if ours are this short, think of what the women’s will be like and Ljasda told me there aren’t that many handsome young men in the temple at this time of year.” He poked Storm in the ribs.

  Storm shot him a look of pure disgust. “I’m supposed to be engaged you know.”

  Keanin shook his head. “You and I both know that you will find a way to break that.” His eyes opened wide and he smacked himself in the head. “My stars. How could I have forgotten?” Motioning for Storm to stay where he was, Keanin rushed down the hall. Moments later he returned bearing a tattered parchment.

  “Edgar gave this to me last night, he suggested I wait until we were over here to give it to you. He wasn’t sure the best time to g
ive it to you, and he wasn’t happy about carrying love notes.” He flashed an evil grin. “It’s from Mikasa. She made him promise to bring it to you when he and Tor Ranshal were leaving Lithunane.”

  Storm stopped his hand in mid-reach. “She made Edgar carry a note to me?”

  “I was hoping that if she annoyed you anew, you’d relax and take a look around you. Maybe even enjoy yourself.”

  Wearily, Storm took the tan envelope. It had Mikasa’s wax seal on it. Love birds and flowers. It was almost as annoying as the woman herself. He turned away from Keanin, then slit the envelope open. It began with her usual sappy self. She loved him more than life itself, and the recent tragedies made her realize how vulnerable such a gallant prince truly was. Since she loved him so much, and since she would die if anything happened to him, she was finding it necessary to break off their engagement. She went on to add that he would always live in her heart, but she needed to find someone safer to marry.

  As Storm re-read the letter to make sure it was saying what he thought it said, he began to laugh.

  “What says the lady fair?” Keanin asked as he held up the two robes, deciding which suited him better.

  “Here.” Storm tossed the letter at him. “Read for yourself. The lady has left me.”

  Keanin’s eyes flew wide as he quickly read. “She is sappy, isn’t she?”

  Storm nodded as he took the blue robe and shorts out of Keanin’s clutches. “Lamentably so. If I’m going, I might as well get dressed.” He left, smiling to himself. Jenna was probably going to look quite nice in that tiny robe, and now he could notice without feeling guilty.

  Jenna came out into the main room as Keanin finished re-reading the letter. “What was Storm laughing about? He certainly wasn’t in a laughing mood a few minutes ago.” She self-consciously patted down the edge of the robe. It was like a short Grecian robe; one that did little to conceal her legs, even with the shorts underneath. Thank goodness it wasn’t as see-through as it had looked.

  Keanin grinned and bowed. “Ah, my lovely flower. That robe suits thee amazingly.” At her blush, he went back to the letter. “Our royal friend has been dealt devastating news. His beloved Mikasa has called off the engagement.” He managed to keep a straight face through most of it.

  “What? Why?” Jenna told her hormones to calm down. She was glad that Ghortin was presently somewhere other than in her head or she would never hear the end of it. Surely a prince had many other important admirers, and another engagement would be made soon. Besides, she refused to throw herself at him.

  Luckily for her, Keanin failed to notice Jenna’s reaction. “It seems she has decided that the royal prince leads too dangerous a life.”

  “And I’m sure he’s just—” She stopped as Storm came down the hall. The short robe and shorts covered only a little more of him than hers did of her. His long muscular legs seemed quite at home on display though. Jenna admitted to herself that he was a damn attractive man. She was surprised to realize that she didn’t think of him as being so alien anymore.

  Storm did a brief walk through, showing off his new garment. “Did you tell her the news?”

  “Yes, he did.” Jenna found she couldn’t take her eyes off Storm. Rather than make him look feminine, the robe seemed to accent his maleness. Mentally kicking herself, she forced her eyes away. “I must say, you’re handling a broken heart well.” She looked back at him, giving him a raking once over. “And you actually don’t look half bad. I think you may give poor Ljasda fits though.”

  Storm did look awkward about that. “I think she’ll be okay, especially if she’s distracted by someone else.” He gave Keanin a pointed look.

  Keanin shrugged. “Who knows? It’s that whole brooding prince thing, makes it darn hard to compete.” As he spoke, Keanin disappeared down the hall, only to reappear dressed in his robe.

  Jenna let out a low whistle; Keanin was absolutely breathtaking.

  “Thank you, my lady.” Keanin held out his arm to Jenna then turned to Storm. “As for you, you rebel heartbreaker, I’ll thank you to behave yourself tonight.”

  Storm shot his friend an evil look, then rang for their escort.

  26

  Jenna awoke from the previous night’s festivities with a dull throb of a headache. Noting with dismay what sleeping in it had done to the thin temple robe, she bathed and slid into her normal clothing before wandering out to the front room.

  Storm looked up as she entered the living room where he was picking at a huge breakfast.

  “Do you know where Keanin is?”

  “He didn’t make it back last night. I’m sure he’s fine.” He stopped as the door opened.

  “Speak of the devil,” Jenna said, as a bedraggled Keanin stumbled in.

  “But do you have to speak so loudly?” Keanin whispered irritably.

  “You didn’t forget that we’re leaving today, did you? Retrieving Ghortin’s body is going to increase our travel time, so we’ll need to start at once,” Jenna said.

  Keanin collapsed onto one of the sofas with a groan. “Can’t you leave me here?” He forced his eyes open. “No, on second thought, don’t leave me here. I never thought I’d meet a religious order that could out celebrate me.”

  Jenna was about to say something snide, when a tingle overtook her. Storm reached out to catch her before she fell.

  “Ghortin?” She said inside her head.

  “Yes, child, I’m back. Did you have fun?” He took in Keanin’s condition. “Well, I see that someone did. Are you going to give him something for that? Or are we going to have to listen to him moan for the next two days?”

  She turned toward the stricken kelar. Mentally she began pulling together the Power for a healing spell. She turned to Storm with a sigh.

  “Can you get some of the dried Salf leaves from my pack? Ghortin’s back and he says I have to make Keanin here travel ready.”

  Keanin’s eyes held a hopeful gleam. Storm, who knew full well the taste of Ghortin’s concoctions, smirked as he left.

  Within minutes, Keanin was presented with a swirling purple and orange beverage. The Salf leaves themselves were colorless, and so was the chaotic magic they were infused with. But Ghortin taught it to her with these colors added and she found they added something to the presentation. As long as she wasn’t the one forced to drink it.

  “Are you sure I’m supposed to drink something that’s still alive?” Keanin asked as he tried to focus on the swirling currents in the glass.

  Jenna masked the glass from his sight with her hand. “Then don’t look at it. Drink it all.”

  Keanin took a tentative sip and choked as the entire drink crawled down his throat. His reaction was similar to Jenna’s first, and fortunately only, experience with this concoction. He tried to spit it back up, and failing in that, threw the glass across the room and clutched at his throat.

  “What poison have you given me?” Keanin rolled on the floor in mock agony. The fact that he was able to do so was testament enough to the drink’s curative abilities.

  “Well, if this is all settled, I’m going to eat.” Jenna sat down, taking one of the chairs next to the food.

  Storm came over and took the other seat. Keanin meandered over, still looking a trifle green. He picked out a single hard roll, and then wandered back to his sofa. They ate in silence. For once Keanin wasn’t in a talkative mood, and both Jenna and Storm were lost in their own thoughts.

  Storm was at any rate; Jenna was trying to pass along the previous night’s events, in a censored manner, to her mental roommate.

  Within an hour they had finished eating, packed, and said their farewells to the seeress. Unlike the previous day, she had no visions for them. Keanin stayed at a distance nonetheless.

  Redge came to take them to the small boat to deliver them to the mainland.

  Their group was where they had left them. Crell, Edgar, and Captain Kern were arguing about which would be the safest and fastest way to get to Lithunane.


  Crell waved as they came closer. “Storm. Good to see you three are back. These two,” she pointed to the men with a derisive snort, “are being beyond idiotic in their plans.”

  Storm held up his hands to forestall another verbal battle. “We have to go through the Scareani Mountains. Ghortin can tell you exactly where.”

  “What happened over there? Keanin looks a little pale,” Edgar said, as he took in the condition of the usually flashy kelar.

  “Suffering the leftovers from his wild night of celebration. I think we’ll want to keep an eye on him; he didn’t get much sleep last night.” Jenna came up and dropped her pack. She went over to Edgar’s things and removed her bow, quiver, and dagger. The knives she had kept with her.

  Storm buckled on his long sword. He started to hand Keanin his throwing knives and long bow, then shook his head and repacked them with his own gear. Jenna glanced over at the auburn-haired noble. Keanin looked like he was in no condition to carry his weapons, let alone use them. She was certain her curative had more than compensated for his over-indulgences, but maybe it was better if he didn’t have anything pointed on his person for a while.

  “The goddess made a surprise visit,” Storm said in answer to the unasked question. “She said Ghortin’s body was abandoned in the Cave of Sorrows. I’ve never heard of it.”

  Crell and Kern let out low whistles at the name. Storm may not have recognized it, but they certainly did. Jenna wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “Are we certain this isn’t a trap?” Captain Kern asked. “That cave is not some place you go to without a good reason. We’ll be exposed to the elements, and worse, for the last day of it; there’s no cover at all.”

  Jenna felt Ghortin’s presence, so she mentally stepped aside.

  “I understand your concern, Kern. And it is well founded, let no one forget that. This is not some lark we go on. I can assure you that it was a true visitation. My body has been abandoned by those who took it. Once we get it back, we may have more of an idea of what we’re up against.”