by Jamie Murray
"No," Jameson said immediately. "I didn't mean to seem that I was. And… if the two of you did have a relationship, then that would be fine."
"Why would you even say that?" Baloric demanded, raising his voice slightly.
"Sorry," Jameson said, slapping his forehead. "That came out all wrong."
"You're completely without tact," said Baloric, shaking his head.
"I don't mean to be," Jameson said as the feeling of increasing stupidity grew inside him and spread outward. "Everything I've said, especially to you, just isn't sounding right. I wish what I wanted to say would just come out, instead of all this other stuff."
"That's your problem," Baloric said, rolling his eyes. "You just say the first thing that pops into your head and hope it's the right thing. How about you think about things before you say them and make sure it's the right thing?"
Jameson leaned his elbows on his knees and considered Baloric's observation as they went back to awkward silence.
"Who do you think is the Life Spirit?" Jameson inquired in an effort to quell the silence. "The Resurrected one, I mean."
Baloric appeared wholly unimpressed with Jameson's lame attempt at a conversation starter but turned to him to respond anyway. "Someone from your past, perhaps," he said. "We should ride with the idea that the Resurrected Spirits are all people you encountered ten years ago during your original trip to acquire the stones. If destiny has indicated anything to us, it's that nothing happens by coincidence."
Jameson reconsidered his trip to Ivilia when he shut the door to the Life Shrine. "Iris," he inferred. "She's the King's daughter. She shouldn't be difficult to find."
"Why is that?"
"We just have to go to the city. I know they don't like outsiders, but they might make an exception. Have you been there recently? Do they have problems with keeping Forces out?"
For a moment, Baloric was totally quiet. "The Ivilia nation has been abandoned for many years now, Jameson," he said. "Haven't you seen the Ivilia around Market City and Miner Town? I'm surprised you haven't made that observation on your own."
"Abandoned? Why? What happened?"
"The lake dried up and all the Forces overtook the city. The Ivilia had to evacuate, just like what happened to the villages in the Forest."
Jameson looked straight ahead again. "I feel like I heard about the lake drying up," he said at last. "But I never really thought about it, or what it would mean."
"I did speak with the princess about four years ago, however," Baloric said. "She was attempting an effort to build new doors for the underwater Shrine. She was convinced that reinforcing the doors to the Shrine would bring the water back to the lake, because Forces crashed through the original set. She quickly lost support for that theory, though she originally did ask for my help."
"Did you help her?"
"No. It was unheard of to even pass though the barriers surrounding the Shrines, so it was pointless to even try."
"I think she's right, though," Jameson admitted, trying not to sound confrontational. "When I went there ten years ago, the water had started to dry up. When we closed the doors, things went back to normal. I guess that doesn't matter, though, since no one could get to the Shrines. Do you think the water drying up is connected to the Shrine at all?"
"Of course it's connected," said Baloric. "All the bad things in this world are connected back to the Shrines."
"Do you know where Iris is now?" Jameson asked.
Baloric appeared thoughtful and chose his words carefully. "There was a small band of Ivilia living outside the city. Their goal was to eradicate the Forces in the city in hopes that other Ivilia will join them. It's not unlike what your friend, Luke, was originally attempting on his own."
"So you think Iris will be part of that group outside the city?" Jameson assumed.
"She was, the last time I saw them," Baloric answered. "But, like I said, it's been a few years. For all I know, they've all been killed by now."
"It can't hurt to check."
"I suppose not," Baloric agreed.
"What about the other Spirits and the other Shrines?" Jameson wondered out loud. "The Soul Shrine. None of us have even been there before. Do the Cyanyanka still live in the fortress?"
"That seems to be one of the only places the Forces can't penetrate," Baloric replied.
"It was no trouble for us back then, right?" said Jameson, trying to laugh as he recalled how much work it was to sneak into the fortress, but Baloric would have none of it, so Jameson trailed off self-consciously. "Have you been there recently?"
Baloric nodded. "I am generally well received," he said.
"How about…uh—Natalie?" Jameson tried.
"Lee Teak," Baloric elaborated for him. "She's a lost cause."
"What? Why?"
"She was captured by Devin several years ago," Baloric replied. "No one has seen her in a long time, so we all assume she's been killed." His set frown deepened. "You don't suppose she was the Resurrected Soul Spirit, do you?"
"That's kind of what I was getting at when I asked about her."
Baloric groaned softly, mostly out of frustration. "Well, it has to be one of them," he decided finally.
"One of who?"
"One of the Cyanyanka. You'll just have to pass around the stone until it reacts to one of them."
"She didn't have a kid, did she? The destiny is just supposed to go to the next generation, I thought."
"The Cyanyanka aren't exactly like most other places as far as family is concerned," Baloric explained patiently. "It's much more of a community as a family. All the children belong to all of them, so they don't even really have a word for 'daughter' or 'son.' If Natalie did have a child, no one would know which one is it."
"Then I guess we'll have to line everyone up to see," Jameson decided. "What about the Sky Shrine?"
"Jameson, I really think you shouldn't be getting so ahead of yourself," Baloric advised. "Try to take things one at a time, or else you might find yourself overwhelmed."
"Right," Jameson said with a nod, making a personal promise to himself to push the rest of his journey to the back of his mind until they actually needed to start thinking about it. "So we're going to the Life Shrine now, then. Or at least to the place outside the city where there might be some Ivilia. Do you know the way?"
"First, we have to go back to the Angel's complex," Baloric said.
"Why?"
"There are slaves there. We have to free the slaves."
Baloric looked distinctly passionate about this course of action. In spite of his usual constant need to stay on schedule and hurry things along to move towards fulfilling the Prophecy, any attempt to bypass this short detour was going to fail.
"I also don't feel comfortable bringing along certain people," Baloric added.
"What do you mean?" Jameson asked.
"Ivilia is notorious for the amount of Forces in the city," said Baloric. "It's no place for certain people. This whole trip is no place for certain people."
"You keep saying 'certain people.'"
"The princess, for one," Baloric answered. "And…Johanna."
"She told me that she used to go with you to the mines to slay Forces."
"Very low threats. I'm sure you can see, she's not exactly level headed, and certainly not someone I would turn to in a pinch. As much as I enjoy her company, I can't put her in any more danger by taking her along. You have to see that, of course."
"I see that," Jameson said. "But I think it'll be tough convincing her to stay behind."
"She doesn't have a say in the matter," said Baloric simply.
"Where are we going to leave her?" Jameson asked. "What I mean is, where is possibly safer than with us?"
"With us is the most dangerous place either of them can be," said Baloric.
"We can protect them."
"We are traveling around to all the areas where the most Forces concentrate, not to mention the fact that most other Forces are trying to intercept
you. Frankly, Jameson, wherever you are is the most dangerous place for anyone to be just because that's where the Forces are trying to be too."
"I guess that's true," Jameson said, squinting at the horizon, as if that was a sufficient sweep of the area to make sure there were no Forces around.
"If I had it my way, I'd leave them all behind," Baloric admitted. "The smaller the group, the better."
Jameson knew Baloric was used to working alone, but he didn't think that would be a good way to go about anything. "We have to bring along at least the Resurrected Spirits," Jameson pointed out. "That's Luke and Raven."
"Naturally, you have to be there, since it's your destiny. Louisa, Cyrus and I all hold the Ultimates and are charged to protect you whether we are part of the Prophecy or not."
He added the last bit rather indignantly and Jameson nearly shouted out the truth of Cyrus's destiny right then, but held it in. He didn't think there was going to be a sound way for him to actually keep this secret for very much longer, and expected there was going to have to be a conversation between he and Cyrus to eventually tell the others.
"So there. The odd ones out are Erestina and Johanna. And William of course."
"William's magic is really strong."
"William's magic is average, at best," Baloric corrected. "You haven't met many Gislans, Jameson. And let's not bring up the fact that he might just kill all of us by accident if we're not careful."
"Fine," said Jameson, unwilling to argue on his own, and hoped Louisa's added words might be enough to convince Baloric otherwise. "Fair enough. So where are we going to leave them?"
"As much as I hate it, we'll keep them in the safest place," Baloric answered.
He looked ahead and Jameson paused a moment, then settled on what he assumed Baloric was referring to. Joy Angel's barrier surrounded her complex with steady strength, keeping the Forces outside and life inside, never flickering and never wavering.
51. Be Safe
Epilogue
The idea was to leave Gislan as soon as possible to give the Forces less time to zero in on Jameson. Louisa seemed in support of Baloric's idea to leave "certain people" behind, but she put him in charge of telling Johanna. She said she would have nothing to do with it.
So, while Cyrus pulled Erestina aside to inform her that she would be staying at the complex, Baloric asked to speak with Johanna privately. Johanna seemed nervous at this notion, but she nodded and followed Baloric away from the cart where they would be theoretically out of earshot.
They weren't: Johanna's enraged reaction to Baloric's decision was loud enough for everyone to hear, and probably would have been loud enough regardless of how far away they were standing.
"How can you even think about leaving me behind?" Johanna shouted angrily.
Jameson aimed not to watch, but he couldn't help it. He, along with just about everyone else, tried to discreetly observe the scene, acting as though they couldn't hear what was transpiring.
Baloric glanced briefly at the crowd which had formed, and tried to be delicate with Johanna's feelings. He began to say something quietly to her, but she screamed something incoherent to him. Her interruption seemed to be enough to try his patience because he immediately met her volume with, "I'm not going to argue this with you."
Even though he said it loudly, he said it calmly.
"He generally speaks tenderly to her," Louisa told Jameson. "He cares for her."
"She cares for him," Jameson added.
"I know," Louisa said, rolling her eyes. "The two of them just can't really come to figure it out, though."
"Is it the same kind of care for both of them?" Jameson asked.
"Actually, to be honest, I think Johanna is much more aware," Louisa said as they watched the two, now standing in front of each other absolutely silently. "I think she's just waiting desperately for one day for Baloric to suddenly whip around, scoop her up in her arms and then…"
She mimed a spin with another person and dipped the imaginarily partner.
"And kiss her," she finished, standing up straight again.
"You think Johanna's in love with Baloric," Jameson decided finally.
"I don't think it," said Louisa, rolling her eyes. "It's so obvious. He's the only one stupid enough not to notice."
"I want to go!" Johanna suddenly shouted, and then looked back at Louisa. "Louisa, do something! Baloric says I have to stay here!"
"Daigh has a good point," said Louisa even though she didn't want to be brought into this discussion in the first place. "You'll definitely be safe here."
"Was this your idea, Jameson?" Johanna practically demanded.
"No," said Jameson. "Of course not."
"Because I am a good fighter!" said Johanna. "I fought the Forces in the Mines! Baloric, you know that!"
"Jo, to an extent, yes, you are a good fighter," said Baloric. "But there are very high stakes right now. We've found a safe place for you to stay, and I want you to stay here for just a few days, maybe a week. You can spend some time practicing on your skills and by the time we get back, maybe you'll have improved."
"Yeah right," said Johanna, looking as though she was going to burst into tears. "That's convenient, isn't it? I don't want to wait around here! I want to go with you guys!"
"Too bad," said Baloric, sounding somewhat harsh.
Johanna spun around to hit him across the face, but he was prepared for her assault and immediately took her wrist, then her other wrist and held them in place.
"How dare you!" Johanna exclaimed.
"I should have just let you smack me?" Baloric questioned.
"No, you should just let me come along," she whined. There were now tears forming in her eyes. "I'm not useless. I'm not just a girl who needs to be protected. I can fight! I can be strong! I can give everything I have and then do more after that! Please let me come!"
Baloric looked down when he realized he was still holding onto both of Johanna's hands, and then let her go. "No," he said. "You're staying."
Johanna put her hands over her face to keep herself from crying.
"Just think, Erestina will need someone to protect her anyway," said Louisa. "You're that person."
"Yeah right," said Johanna dismissively. "I am so not that person. This is beyond unfair. If I was a man, then you would take me along, wouldn't you?"
"Frankly, you're not doing us any good," said Baloric harshly. "You can't even think rationally when we're in stressful situations. You act prematurely. You argue and contradict us at any chance you can get. It's better for the team if you stayed here. Protect Erestina, and protect William."
"Protect William?" William questioned angrily. "Am I staying too, then?"
Everyone gave heavy sighs and went back into the explanation as Johanna crossed her arms and huffed away towards the complex. She stepped up onto the pathways and disappeared down the halls.
Jameson watched and could see that no one was going to follow her, so he took it upon himself to go after her. She seemed to have instinctively made her way back to the room where Baloric had woken up after his long stint of unconsciousness. She sat down on the bed in a huff, staring at her feet, and then exhaustedly kicked her shoes off and lied down.
"You're going to bed?" Jameson questioned.
"I might as well," said Johanna. "I'm going to be stuck here after all. I've got nothing else to do."
"You've got plenty to do," said Jameson.
"No, I don't!" Johanna said as she stood back up, looking even smaller when she was not wearing her boots. "I have been trying for years to become the type of fighter Baloric would be able to count on, but he's not ever going to see me in that kind of way. No, it's just because he sees me as the little girl who had to be told that her older brother was killed. Yeah, that older brother who is actually her dad." Johanna frowned and nearly collapsed back on the bed. "Yeah, makes sense."
"Johanna…" said Jameson slowly as he sat down on the edge of the bed where she was lying. "I thin
k you just have to see things out of his eyes. He's trying to keep as many people safe as possible. The fact that any of us have to come along has got him all freaked out. You'll be here with Erestina and William."
"But I don't want to be here," Johanna said softly. "I want to be…you know. I want to be with him. I want to be by his side. I want him to see me more than just a little girl cause I'm not a little girl anymore am I, Jameson?"