Seeking the Dream

by Marcia J. Bennett

  Dhalvad waited until Amet was gone, then feigned a return to consciousness. Varol left his place by the door as Dhalvad slowly sat up.

  “Perhaps you should lie quietly, Dhalvad. Amet has sent for Nar-il.”

  “No. I want to sit up. I think I’ll feel better.”

  Dhalvad glanced through the archway leading into the main tunnel. There was no telling how soon it would be before Amet returned. He held out a hand. “Help me to stand, will you?”

  Varol had served many years in the Guard, and while in that service he had always obeyed those in command. Dhalvad had no official rank among the Ni, but his status as a Healer carried with it an aura of authority that was difficult to ignore. Varol hesitated, then bent to help Dhalvad to his feet, steadying him with both hands until he was sure Dhalvad had his balance.

  Dhalvad grinned shyly. “I must have fainted. First time I ever did that.”

  “Nothing to be ashamed of,” Varol said quickly. “It could happen to anyone. Are you sure you feel well enough to stand?”

  “I’m fine.” Dhalvad took an exaggerated breath and released it. “What I need is some fresh air.” He started for the doorway. “Tell Amet I’ll talk with him tomorrow.”

  “If you’d wait a few minutes, I think he’ll be right back,” Varol said, following Dhalvad to the archway.

  “I’ve taken up enough of the Speaker’s time today.” He glanced around at the guard as he walked into the tunnel. “Thanks for your concern.”

  Varol nodded and watched Dhalvad walk away.

  Amet found Varol back at his post outside the Tamorlee’s room a few minutes later. “I thought I told you to stay with Dhalvad!” he said angrily.

  Varol straightened. “He said he was feeling better and left to get some fresh air. He said he’d talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Did Nar-il see him?”

  “Nar-il never arrived.”

  Amet frowned. “When he does come, send him to me. I’ve something I want to talk over with him. I also want to speak to Chulu and Tidul. Send for them. I’ll await them in my room.”

  Varol had served the Speaker long enough to know when something was wrong, and it did not take much to guess that whatever it was, the young Healer was involved. Too bad, he thought. He liked Dhalvad and had heard nothing but good about him.

  Chapter 2

  THIS IS CRAZY, Dhal,” Poco said, her voice louder than she meant it to be. “You spend a good part of a year getting to this place; you risk your life over and over to return the Tamorlee to the Ni-lach; now you want to steal it and take it somewhere else. It makes no sense!”

  “Keep your voice down,” Dhalvad cautioned, glancing down at the trail that passed beneath their porch. Ra-shun had set, and Ra-gar was fading into the western mountains, making the shadows deep within the forested city. He turned to Poco and caught her right hand.

  “Please, Poco, listen to me. I know all that we’ve gone through to get here, but the Tamorlee needs me now—as a Healer. It’s in pain.”

  “How could it be in pain?” Poco scoffed. “No one is hurting it unless Amet’s doing something to it—not that I wouldn’t put it past him!”

  “It isn’t Amet, Poco. It’s something else.”

  Should he tell her? He gazed into her blue eyes and remembered how for months they had fought side by side, through and over every obstacle they had encountered on their journey to Jjaan-bi; how she had used her Ni gift of song to open the world gate that had led them to the Tamorlee; and how she had given him of herself, gifting him a son to love. If he could not trust her, he could not trust anyone. Still he hesitated, for there was still one fear he harbored and it had nothing to do with trust. It had to do with Poco’s streak of stubbornness. If she realized that he was talking about a long and perhaps dangerous journey with no certain promise of a return, she was sure either to try to stop him or to insist upon coming along. He did not want her to come. He wanted her safe in Jjaan-bi, with Jiam.

  “Come on, Dhal,” Poco prompted. “Out with it.”

  Dhalvad drew her to the far railing overlooking the lake. “Poco, have you ever been lonely?” he asked as he stared down at the water, which was dark and still near the shore. A pair of white-breasted neeva birds flew down and skimmed the surface of the lake, hunting for waterbugs. A murmur of voices came from a nearby tree home, and somewhere in the distance came a shout and a splash, followed by laughter.

  Poco frowned as she looked at Dhalvad. “What has loneliness to do with anything?”

  “Just answer.”

  Poco drew a deep breath and released it, thinking back to less happy days she had spent as a chalk artist in Port Bhalvar, to a time between the deaths of her mother and her good friend Trass, to her discovery of Screech. Yes, she had been lonely—and defensive, always looking for something she could not name. Part of the something had turned out to be Dhalvad. The other part was a home and family, and acceptance among her own kind. Her mouth twisted in a wry grin. Well, two out of three was not bad. Given time, the third might also come to her. Of course, if Dhalvad meant what he said about stealing the Tamorlee, she could lose much more than her home, and that frightened her.

  Dhalvad’s crystal-gray gaze ensnared her. “Poco?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “I know lonely. Why do you ask?”

  “The Tamorlee’s pain stems from loneliness, Poco. The Healer within me felt it but couldn’t do anything about it.” He hurried on, not giving her a chance to say anything. “The Tamorlee isn’t just a crystal, Poco. It’s a thinking, feeling being that has sensed one of its own kind awakening—and it wants to go and find it. It’s waited for news of another like itself for several thousand years. Who am I to tell it that it can’t leave here if it wants to?”

  “If it’s felt this way so long, why hasn’t it said something to one of the Speakers?” she asked.

  “It didn’t understand its own feelings until it felt another fire stone awaken just recently.”

  “What about Amet? What does he say to all of this?”

  “He doesn’t know yet. The Tamorlee believes that Amet and the others on the Council would stop him if he tried to leave.”

  Him? Poco thought. She looked closely at Dhalvad, sensing that he was holding something back. “Have you thought about the danger you’d be in if you do as it asks?”

  “Yes, I realize the dangers, but I can’t simply walk away. I know how it feels. It’s how I felt when I learned that I was one of the Ni-lach. The need to find my people became all-consuming. It’s the same for the Tamorlee now!”

  “Can’t someone else…”

  “Who?” Dhalvad exploded. “Who in Jjaan-bi would knowingly stand against the Speaker and the Council? Chulu, perhaps, or Caaras—though I doubt it.”

  “You’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you?”

  “Yes. I guess I have.” He drew Poco’s hand to his lips and kissed the backs of her fingers. “Angry?” he asked, looking into her eyes.

  “Yes! But what good will it do me?” She pulled her hand free and turned to look out over the lake.

  Dhalvad watched her as the silence grew between them. Chin up, back straight, her arms crossed in front of her, she looked ready to let loose with a few choice words. He sighed inwardly. How was he going to make her understand?

  “Poco.”

  She turned, arms dropping to her sides. “How soon do we leave?”

  Her words caught him by surprise. He had thought she would take more convincing, and instead she was—“We?” He shook his head. “No, Poco, not we. I’m going alone.”

  Her chin lifted a notch. “Just you and the Tamorlee?”

  “Yes.” He hurried on. “You know that I’d ask you to come if it wasn’t for Jiam.”

  She cocked one eyebrow. “I’m to believe that, I suppose?”

  “It’s the truth! I swear!”

  Poco pushed a strand of loose hair out of her face. “We can talk about who goes and who stays later. Right now I want to know how l
ong this trip is going to take.”

  “I don’t know. The Tamorlee isn’t exactly sure where this other crystal is, but it thinks it can find it with my help.”

  “By that you mean your help as a Seeker?”

  Dhalvad nodded.

  “You mean to travel by the lesser gates?”

  “I assume so, yes.” Dhalvad replied.

  Long ago the Ni had discovered a curious mode of transportation that involved patterns of energy and the ever-shifting structure of time and space. There were two kinds of gates. World Gates required a Singer to set the pattern, a Sensitive to hold the gate open, and a Seeker to complete the triangle of power necessary to travel from one world to another. There were only five world gate patterns known at that time; three led to inhospitable worlds where life would be difficult if not impossible for any length of time; the other two gates led to worlds already inhabited. One world was inhabited by the Trothgar giants, the other by the Atich-ar, a race of scaled humanoids who were believed to be the forerunners of the first Ni.

  Lesser Gates were not as complex as World Gates, but in their own way they were just as dangerous to use unless one had a good mind and an eye for detail. By envisioning his or her destination within the shards of crystal set in the special rings all Seekers carried, a Seeker was able to teleport from one reality to another in a matter of seconds. The vision had to be firm in the Seeker’s mind in order for the fire stone’s power to work properly. A weak or incorrect vision could easily send a Seeker into the past, as had happened several times with Dhalvad; or worse, the Seeker could end up in aanaka, a type of limbo where death soon claimed those unable to free themselves with a clearer vision.

  As a Singer, Poco was capable of singing up lesser gates, but only a Seeker could actually pass through those doorways. That meant that if Dhalvad chose to travel by the lesser gates, she would not be able to follow.

  Poco reluctantly accepted the fact that she would probably have to forgo the trip. With that thought in mind, she began to think about what it would mean to stay behind.

  “Dhal, what happens to us when Amet and the Council learns you are behind this theft? If you leave here the same time the crystal is taken, it won’t be long before they add things up.”

  “I was thinking about that on my way home. There’s only one way to ensure your safety, and that’s for all of us to leave together. We’ll find you, Jiam, Screech, and Gi a place to stay, then I’ll return to the Tamorlee’s room via a lesser gate, take the crystal, and return to you using the same gate.”

  “You’ve forgotten one thing,” Poco said. “The fire stone ring you used to carry is now the Tamorlee, and without a ring you can’t use the lesser gates.”

  “I know. It means I’ll have to get another ring.”

  Poco’s eyebrows raised. “Another theft? This is getting complicated. Dhal, where does it all stop? Theft, bribery—murder, perhaps?”

  Dhalvad shook his head. “You know me better than that, Poco.”

  “I thought I did, but suddenly I don’t like the sound of all this, and I don’t like the idea of being left behind, nor will Gi-arobi or Screech. I think we’d better talk all of this over with them before any more plans are made. Who knows, they may come up with something we haven’t thought of.”

  Dhalvad turned and looked back out over the lake. “We can talk to them, but whatever we decide, we’ll have to move quickly, because Amet will expect me to return tomorrow and tell him what the crystal wanted. I don’t know how long I can put him off. If we have to leave quickly for some reason…”

  Poco heard the worry in his voice and caught his chin with her hand, pulling his face around. “Don’t worry so. We can be out of here in five minutes if necessary.”

  “There’s no fooling you, is there?”

  “I’m a Singer, Dhal. Your face can lie to me, but not your voice.” As he pulled her close, she chose her words carefully. “Our future and the future of our son may well depend—” She broke off as Dhal suddenly pulled her back into the shadow of the porch. “Dhal, what’s wrong?”

  Dhalvad put his hand over Poco’s mouth and edged them toward the doorway leading into the house. “It’s Amet,” he whispered as they stepped into the living room. “He’s coming up the trail with some others. I don’t want to talk to him right now, not until I’ve had more time to think things through.”

  Poco glanced around the room, which was lighted by a single overhead lamp containing luminescent fayyal rocks. There were few hiding places anywhere in the house.

  “I’ve got to leave,” Dhalvad said.

  Poco thought quickly. “There’s no way down without his seeing you now, even along the walkways. You’ll have to climb up onto the roof and stay quiet.”

  “What will you tell him when he asks where I am?”

  “I’ll tell him you went for a walk down by the lake. Go on. I’ll take care of things down here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded and pushed him toward the kitchen doorway. He paused on his way through the kitchen and spoke to Screech, who was just rising from a comfortable position on the floor over in his favorite corner.

  “Screech, someone’s coming and I don’t want them to find me here. Go in and back Poco up—gently. I don’t want anyone hurt.”

  “Who comes?” Screech signed.

  “Amet.”

  There was no need of further explanation. Screech coughed assent and glided to the living-room doorway just as Dhalvad disappeared out a side door near the main trunk of the tree that supported their home.

  Poco went into Jiam’s room, where she found Gi-arobi sitting on a chair next to the baby’s bed. The olvaar was whistling softly to the child and rubbing his back. Jiam smiled when he saw his mother and rolled over, offering his arms to be picked up.

  “Eating time?” Gi asked as Poco picked Jiam up.

  “Not yet, Gi. We’re having visitors.”

  “Who coming?” he demanded, jumping down from the chair to cross the room ahead of Poco.

  “Amet and several others. They want to talk to Dhal, but he doesn’t want to talk to them, so he’s hiding.”

  “Dhal do something wrong?”

  “Not yet, but he may in the very near future.”

  Gi cocked his head to one side as Poco stepped by him, his large golden eyes wide. “Not understanding, Poco.”

  “I’ll explain later, Gi. Just whatever you do or say when our visitors arrive, don’t tell them that Dhalvad is here. Understand?”

  Gi whistle-clicked an affirmative and followed Poco down the short hall. They reached the living room just as a knock sounded on the side of the open door leading out onto the porch.

  “Anyone home?” Amet called, hesitating in the doorway. He straightened as Poco and Gi emerged from the back part of the house. “Avto, Pocalina. Is Dhalvad home?”

  “No, he’s not, but come in,” Poco said, moving forward. “Who’s with you? Oh, Chulu! Welcome. And Tidul. I haven’t seen you in days. What’s going on?”

  “We need to speak to Dhalvad a few minutes, Poco,” Chulu said, stepping into the house. He was a good friend; Poco and Dhalvad both liked him, as did Screech and Gi-arobi. He was three times as old as Dhalvad though he hardly showed his age. Like all Ni, he was beardless, and when he smiled he showed fine white teeth. Only the laugh lines around his eyes suggested that he might be older than his companions. His green hair was a shade darker than Amet’s, and at the moment his braid of authority was arranged over his right shoulder and fell just past his waist.

  “Dhal isn’t here right now,” Poco began. “He came in a little while ago, then left. He said he had to do some thinking.”

  “About what?” Amet asked, still standing in the doorway. Tidul stood at his left shoulder.

  “He didn’t say,” Poco answered.

  “Do you know where he went, Poco?” Tidul asked politely.

  “Down toward the lake, I think,” she replied in her most innocent voice.

&
nbsp; Amet’s glance touched Screech where he lounged in the kitchen doorway. He then looked past Poco toward the hall leading into the bedrooms.

  He doesn’t believe me, Poco thought. Her heart beat faster. “What did you want to talk to Dhalvad about? Perhaps I could help you.”

  “It’s about his gifting of the Tamorlee this afternoon, Poco,” Chulu answered.

  “And you can’t help us unless he told you what the Tamorlee wanted with him,” Amet said flatly. “Did he?”

  Poco shook her head. “He did seem a little preoccupied, but if something was bothering him, he didn’t say what it was.”

  Silence fell over the room as the three male Ni shared glances. Chulu turned to Poco and stepped closer. “How is Jiam?” he asked, trying to lighten the atmosphere in the room.

  “He’s fine. Would you like to hold him?”

  “We haven’t time for that!” Amet snapped at Chulu.

  Chulu turned and gave Amet a stern look. “There’s always time to hold a child, Amet. Be patient. We can wait here for Dhalvad to return. How long do you think he’ll be gone, Poco?”

  Poco hated lying to Chulu. “I don’t know.”

  She handed Jiam to Chulu and turned to the other two Ni. “If you’d like to stay, please make yourselves comfortable. I’ll get us all something to drink. If you need anything, just tell Gi or Screech.”

  Amet frowned as Tidul moved into the room and took a seat on a long padded couch next to the window overlooking the lake. “This is wasting time,” he complained.

  “What would you have us do, Amet?” Tidul asked calmly. “Chase him the length of the lake? Chulu’s right. Our best chance of finding him is to wait right here.”

  Gi-arobi waddled over toward Tidul as Chulu took a chair across the room. He hopped up onto the couch and came to stand at Tidul’s shoulder. “Dhal be in trouble?” he asked.

  “Not that I know of, Gi, but if he is, it’s nothing we can’t work out.” Tidul was younger than Chulu though a lot heavier. His braid of authority was decorated with a red cord and white shells. His dark-green hair was almost black and matched the simple dark robes he always wore.