by D. W. Rigsby
“I’m Kad.” They shook hands.
Petro looked around. None of the others were watching, and he was glad for it. Too many of them would just cause more noise, and he didn’t want a lot of noise venturing down here. He crawled down into the hole, and Kad followed, pulling the hatch back over and shutting it. Petro couldn’t see anything; the darkness was too thick. He used his feet to feel the ladder and took it slow, being careful not to slip off or find his feet off the ladder and dangling in midair. He was even more certain this was how Vetus Mont had disappeared when it went dark, and there had to be a floor at the end of the ladder.
Once there was a door that opened at the White Sea. A passing boatman noticed it and entered through it. The door shut behind him, and he was never seen again.
—From Collection of Tales at Sea, by the boatmen of White Sea
Petro’s stomach growled; his arms trembled as he held his weight on the ladder, and he felt weak all over. Down the ladder he went, struggling a little and wondering what was he doing. None of this made any sense. Being back at Dugual and dealing with Sid’s games and the knowledge that everyone else would think less of him if he had decided to stay didn’t seem all so bad at the moment. The toe of his foot touched something solid that was not the ladder. He lowered his foot farther down, putting his heel down. It was the floor, as he had thought, so he must be in an opening. He waved his arms about in the dark shaft, and then Kad stepped on his head. “Hey, watch it,” Petro said.
“Watch what? I can’t see anything,” Kad said. “Move to the side, so I don’t step on you again.” Kad lowered himself down next to Petro. They stood there, hearing each other’s breath. Then there was a light from a small flashlight that Kad held in his hand.
“Where did you get that?” Petro asked. The light blinded him, and he reared his head back and blocked the light with his hands. “Hey, can you point that somewhere else?”
Kad snickered. “Sorry, I was just fooling around. I found it lying about upstairs; no one was using it.”
Petro curled his eyebrows inward. “So, do you want to lead the way? Or do you want to hand over the flashlight?”
Kad reluctantly handed Petro the light. Petro shone it down the corridor, exposing a tunnel with old piping running along the gray walls. He looked behind him to find a wall blocked the way, and there was nowhere else other than straight ahead. “You think Vetus Mont came down here?”
Kad raised his shoulders slightly in the weak light.
“Well, do you?” Petro said again, testier this time.
“I don’t know. Could have, might not have. The lights were off long enough, but I didn’t hear him open a door,” Kad said, scratching his armpit “I was only a few paces away from the stage. If he did go through that hatch, he was quick and stealthy. Like a cat.” Kad raked his hand across the air.
Petro smirked.
They took deliberate steps forward, trying not to make a sound. They looked like they were walking across a thin piece of ice, hoping it wouldn’t break underneath.
“I didn’t hear it open, either, even when I opened it. There was too much going on around us. The senses pick up on what they need to process, not what they don’t. No one heard the door open or shut. They were too busy processing the dark when the lights went out. It probably happened too close to each other, the hatch opening just as the lights went out. Given time, someone might have heard it, but it was too close. The eyes still wanted to see.” Petro recalled one of his lessons from a master on the senses.
Kad scratched his head and crept along behind Petro. “Where’d you learn all that?”
“From school,” Petro said. He didn’t want anyone to know he was a ward or to find out about the prophecy. He didn’t want anyone to know he could see the future.
“Sounds like bull,” Kad said.
Petro become worried—did Kad already know about him? “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know; just sounds like you made it up is all. You know, sounds like bull,” Kad said and gently shoved Petro in the back.
Petro flashed the light behind him into Kad’s eyes.
“Hey! Watch it!” Kad said and blocked the light with his hands. He backed away and stumbled, falling flat on his butt.
Petro came over and helped Kad up. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Petro said.
“Sounds like bull,” Kad said and let out a light chuckle.
The two crept down the hall, unsure of what to expect, half wondering if they should just turn around and go back up, but their curiosity was getting the better of them down here. Petro had explored plenty of places around Dugual, but nothing quite like this. His jaw was open slightly, and he was taking in slow, deep breaths to keep his calm. The two of them looked at each other with both excitement and anticipation over what lay behind the door at the end of the corridor where, at its bottom, light poured out. Petro glanced over to Kad, and Kad gave him that same old noncommittal shrug. Petro put his ear up against the door.
“Shouldn’t you two be upstairs?” a deep voice said from behind them.
Petro fumbled with the light and then shone it in the direction of the voice. It was Vetus Sepher.
“You shouldn’t be down here. Upstairs is where you belong.”
Petro was a little out of his mind from being hungry and thought it would be funny to play a trick on Vetus Sepher with the flashlight. He brought the light and shone it into Vetus Sepher’s eyes, but he was met quickly with the older man’s hand; he took it from him in a snap. Vetus Sepher shone the light back toward the two, who squinted. “You like to play? Hmm. Here, take this light. I want you to go and find me an object—it will be past that door behind you. Find it and let me know.”
Petro took the light. “What sort of object?”
Vetus Sepher’s cloak swished as he turned about and headed back down the dark corridor with no light to lead his way. Petro could only watch until he was too far away for the light to help them distinguish him from the surrounding gray walls.
“Object? What object? Find an object, and let him know,” Kad said. He was scratching his chin.
Petro stood in silence. He was thinking about what Vetus Sepher had said, wondering what he was asking for; was it a sort of riddle? He couldn’t tell, and the request seemed a little odd.
“He didn’t give a description, didn’t even tell us where, except that it was past this door. How are we supposed to know?” Petro tapped the door behind him. “You know, maybe we should just go back upstairs. I think he was just testing us to see if we would go off on some wild hunt because of some vague request.”
“Give me the light,” Kad said, and Petro handed it over. Kad ran the light up and down and around the door, looking it over. “Aren’t you curious about what’s on the other side?”
Petro had been, but not so much now. It had been fun for a while, but now all he wanted was to lie down and close his eyes—forget about eating. “Nah, let’s go back.”
Petro started off, and Kad pulled him back. “Why? If we go back up, we’ll just be bored. There’s nothing up there for us. Come on. Let’s just take a look and see. Can’t hurt anything. All we need to do is open the door, peer inside, and see what’s there. Then we can go.”
Petro looked at Kad with his bone-tired, spent eyes and said, “Then we can go?”
“Cross my heart,” Kad said and marked his heart with the sign of a cross.
Petro felt exhausted. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, opened them, put his hand on the doorknob, turned it, he swung the door inward. The room was maybe fifteen square meters. The far wall was covered in viewers the size of dinner plates, and each one showed a different video feed. Petro stared at the screens, trying to see which of the images he might recognize. He saw one showing the other recruits moving out of the large auditorium. Petro turned quick to Kad, his eyes as wide as they’d get with sleep ever pressing. “We’ve got to get back upstairs. Everyone is being moved to somewhere else,” he said.
Kad looked at the viewers. “What is this place? Some kind of security monitoring?” He went up to another viewer and put his finger on it. “I think this is the outside of the building we came in,” he said.
“Come on, Kad,” Petro said and started for the door.
Kad grabbed Petro by the sleeve. “Why the rush? We’re supposed to find an object, remember? Help me look at the screens,” he said.
Petro was hesitant, thinking it was just a game that Vetus Sepher was playing with them both. He felt the urge to jerk away and leave down the hall, but then Kad would be left without his flashlight. Maybe he could make it without it; it was pretty much a straight shot, and he could feel along the wall until he made it to the ladder. He relaxed his shoulders, turned toward the viewers, and started to search them. One showed the High Mountains in a sort of twilight. The optic lens appeared suited for night viewing. Another one showed the entire village of Tokus Numas. Nothing stirred outside among the trees, the benches of the courtyard, or the buildings that surrounded it. There was the center steeple, but no one was out there, not even a guard. It was as though the place were deserted. Petro scratched the top of his head. This is not going anywhere, he thought.
“Hey, take a look at this,” Kad said. His finger pointed at what looked like the interior of a cavern. Petro’s eyes peered at the image, and then he saw something that glimmered for a brief moment and then disappeared, like a spark that burned out. He watched on and saw it again.
“You think that’s it? Whatever it is?” Petro said, turning to look at Kad. His eyes went wide when he saw Vetus Mont standing just behind Kad.
Petro tapped Kad on the shoulder, nodded in the direction of the man, and Kad slowly turned around.
“You two should not be in here. You need to go back upstairs with the others,” Vetus Mont said. The faint light caused his facial features appear to be set like flint.
“Yes, sir, I mean, Agogos,” Petro said and slid by the man.
Kad was right on his heels. The two made their way down the darkened corridor once again. The light beamed out in front, piercing the blackness. Nothing was said. They just went along, one step after the other.
Petro wondered why he was even here. Was it to trounce around underneath this wooden village up in the mountains—for what? He’d be better off in Dugual, learning how to defend her, working his way up the ranks in security. What would Dia think of him if he up and left and went back home? Would she forgive him? He thought she would, and it made him feel better, so he cooled his temper. Then he thought of having to put up with Sid constantly reminding him of what he had done; and as Sid got older, it would only get worse—he knew that much. His temperature rose, his teeth clamped together. Queen Lilith would be disappointed, but he knew she would forgive him within moments of his return and would make him feel welcomed back. King Amerstall would not be so pleased, and that bothered Petro. Of all the people—not Dia, not Queen Lilith, not even Sid or Silda or King Amerstall for that matter—it was the Father who mattered, and somewhere inside, Petro felt he needed stay in Tokus Numas and to find a way he could help protect all those he loved in Dugual.
“I can’t go back,” Petro said out loud.
Kad looked confused. “What was that?” He came closer to Petro.
Petro kept his eyes forward, never looking over at Kad. “Nothing. I was just talking to myself.”
Kad smacked Petro on the back; Petro stopped and gave him a curious look. “Ah, it’s all right,” said Kad. “I talk to myself sometimes too—mainly in my sleep, I’m told. But hey, I’m here if you want to talk to someone else.” He tapped his head. “Keeps you sane, you know, to talk to others and get out of your own head. You stay too long in that noggin, you’ll go crazy.” Kad swirled his finger around the side of his temple and crossed his eyes.
Petro shook his head, turned back to the task at hand, and kept on moving. Soon they were at the ladder, and the light was going dim. Kad took it. “Hey, you ran the batteries nearly out,” he said.
There was a noise behind them, and Kad brought up the light, but it was too weak now, and he could not see anything down the corridor. They heard footsteps now, and they both were wide-eyed and completely still. Again the footsteps came; it was more like they were scraping across the ground now. Was it Vetus Mont? Or Vetus Sepher? The sound changed from footsteps to a pattering on the floor, and then more scraping. The light grew dimmer and dimmer until it had burned out.
Kad pushed Petro to the side, and then Petro grabbed Kad and pulled him backward to get in front. Kad grabbed Petro and pulled him back, got one hand on the ladder, and jumped up two rails. Petro was underneath Kad, shoving him to move quicker, while his hands trembled at the sound, which was getting closer by the moment. Kad had finally gotten some distance, and Petro grabbed hold of the ladder, yanked himself up, and heard the sound under him. He scrunched up as much as he could and hoped his feet were high enough to keep the thing in the dark from getting them.
An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are in line, but the size of the moon is smaller than the Sun. This gives the appearance of a ring, or annulus, surrounding the dark disk of the moon.
—From The Spearca Dictionary, by the Vernacular
When the lid popped open, a bright light shown down through the hole. Kad pulled himself all the way out onto his belly and turned to help Petro up the rest of the way. When the two of them were out, they looked around the empty room. Kad tapped Petro’s shoulder, but Petro ignored him. There was another tap, and he continued to ignore him. Then Petro felt a jab in his ribs.
“Hey!” Petro said as he turned around to Kad. There stood Vetus Sepher with two other Numas. One was tall and lanky with a long face. His hair was midlength and flowed straight down. Next to him was another man, probably in his early twenties. His face was round, like that of a baby, and his eyebrows were dark and went up in a funny way when he looked at the wayward recruits. Vetus Sepher motioned the two to come closer, and they did.
“You two are a curious kind; that’s good. We need that in our ranks,” Vetus Sepher said. “Follow me.”
Petro spoke up. “Where to?”
“Always questions,” Vetus Sepher said in a cool, mellow voice. “To start your training.” His eyes were dark and pierced right through Petro.
Petro kept his focus on Vetus Sepher. “We need to be assigned, don’t we? To a specific field to be trained? Is that where the others went?”
Vetus Sepher glanced at the other men with him. The men glanced back and at each other. “No, you aren’t going with the others. You’re coming with us. What we do is different than the others. All those recruits went to bed and will be up at the crack of dawn, taking hot showers and eating their breakfast. After that, they’ll do some chores and come back here to get assigned to a group. After that, they’ll start their training.”
Kad looked very concerned. “And what about us? Do we get to go to sleep, take a hot shower, and eat?”
Vetus Sepher looked Kad up and down and then leaned toward him. “Is that what you want?”
Kad fidgeted with his fingers. His eyes looked to Petro and then back to Vetus Sepher.
Vetus Sepher said to Petro. “Is that what you want?” His eyes were ever so still, as though there were nothing that could lure them away.
Petro knew the answer. He knew that if he said yes, he’d be allowed to join the other recruits. He’d get a nice hot shower and a good breakfast. Then he’d be off to learn what classes he’d take; then he’d be in class, learning from an Agogos. He could see in Vetus Sepher’s eyes that where he was going was far from a classroom, far from the luxuries of life, and somewhere hard, somewhere his entire being would be tested. “No, I want to go where you are going.”
Kad dared not speak one word. He was in for whatever was ahead. Petro looked over at him and nodded.
“Good. I was starting to wonder if you two were like those others.” He paused a moment. “Nothing wrong with the others,
mind you. It’s just that what we do is much different, and only a few can do it. This way,” Vetus Sepher said. He led the recruits and the two other Numas out of the auditorium and down a hall, up a stairwell, and outside. There was light high above in the distance, and it lit up the entire village. It was like being outside with the streetlights on in Dugual, but there were no streetlamps here.
“Why’s the moon so bright?” Kad asked. “Oh, there is no moon.”
“It’s not the moon,” the long-faced Numa said. “It’s called the white nights. We are far north, farther than anyone else; and this time of year, we see the midnight sun. We are so close here the light continues to shine upon us even when the sun has set for others.”
Petro looked out to the mountains and wondered why he’d not seen it on the viewer below. Actually, he had, he realized, and he’d thought it was streetlamps or the moon. This was truly a wonder, like nothing he’d ever seen before in Dugual. The only thing that might have come close was the bright moon high up in the sky, but it still was not this bright. It was almost like day yet night at the same time.
“Come on. We’ve got to put some tracks behind us and meet up with the others,” Vetus Sepher said. He quickly put one foot in front of the other, and they were off on a good brisk walk.
Petro still was thinking about where they were headed and why they had picked them. If it was just him, he might have thought it was because of what the Father had said about him. However, all this time, none of the Numas had asked him if he had experienced anything out of the ordinary or told him that they’d been waiting for him as the prophecy had said. It was as if they didn’t care, but that wasn’t true either. Maybe they just weren’t ready to talk to him. Maybe there was nothing to this prophecy; it was made up. Oh, he did see the future on the occasion, but it didn’t help him with anything important, just the one time with Dia and the fallen branch. He’d heard of others with sight, the ability to see something in the future, fortune-tellers they were called.