by L. S. Gibson
He sighed with relief and slowly withdrew until he found himself tumbling amidst the Strands again. He tried to hold on and stay inside them to conduct another search before he found himself falling, falling--until he was once again back in the real world.
"Girau is safe," he told Ninian breathlessly. "I have to try again."
The next most important people who Jhond had imprinted upon were Gallia and Patinus. Jhond prepared himself to interact with the Strands and soon found himself tumbling around inside the cylinder again. Jhond knew Patinus and Gallia were together, so he opened himself to an image of either of them. At once, he saw Gallia--and she had a hand raised to her mouth and a look of shock in her eyes. Gallia was not easily frightened and was well able to take care of herself, so Jhond knew right away they must be in trouble, quickly gaining an impression of Gallia's whereabouts.
Instantly, he withdrew from the Strands and felt as if he had tumbled from the cylinder. However, when he was back in control of himself again, he was still sitting in exactly the same position, except the cylinder was now lying in his lap.
"Well?" Ninian queried.
"It's Gallia and Patinus. I must get to Irobi."
Ninian picked up the Strands of Time by the ends of the cylinder and quickly returned it to the chest. Jhond removed the pendant from around his neck and affixed it to the ring on his finger. The ring had been passed down to him from his grandfather and had been in the Reeve family since the Withdrawal, though Jhond had only discovered the real purpose of the ring after the first visit to the Isle of Truth. He glanced at Ninian, who smiled confidently at him, and Jhond twisted the pendant one quarter turn. He disappeared from the Horologue to appear on a dusty road in the middle of the Iroban countryside.
"Jhond!" a familiar voice cried, and he swung around to find himself gathered into the arms of his half-sister, Gallia.
"You are safe," he said, hugging her back, not too gently.
She laughed. "I was until you decided to half squeeze me to death."
He released her and it was only then he realized a rather bemused looking Prince Patinus and about half a dozen Iroban military men surrounded him.
"Do I gather you thought to rescue us?" Patinus asked.
Jhond frowned and, glancing around, saw there had been some kind of trouble, but it had been dealt with, as some more of Patinus' soldiers were in the process of tying up a group of men.
"My help is not needed it seems," he said. "What happened? I knew there was danger, but not the facts of what was going on."
"Not saying we wouldn't have appreciated the assistance," Patinus said. "We were attacked by a group of Illurian stragglers. They had heard about our progress and apparently decided to take their revenge by killing us. Thankfully, the captain of my guard was vigilant enough to be prepared for all occurrences."
The captain, who had been standing close by, bowed before saying, "It helped, sire, that the men were half drunk."
"Don't refute my praise, Captain. It is well deserved," Patinus said.
The captain snapped to attention and withdrew, leaving Jhond and Patinus alone.
"I knew something was wrong," Jhond murmured.
"I'll never understand how you do what you do, but thank you for coming to our aid."
"Would you like me to transport you and Gallia to your palace? It's possible there could be more such men hiding in the countryside. Your men could make faster time there on horseback without having to cope with your coach."
"Thank you for the kind offer, Jhond, but my sister, Ilada, is also travelling with us, along with two other ladies we rescued. I wouldn't feel comfortable deserting them because of the attack."
"And before you offer," Gallia said, "I'm not leaving either." She smiled and took Jhond's hand. "You can't watch over us all the time, Jhond. You have more important things to do." She kissed his cheek and added, "Go on back to Ninian and see what else is hiding on the Isle of Truth."
"As you command," Jhond said with a grin. "Look after each other."
He twisted the pendant against the ring again and in a flash returned to the ship's cabin to find Ninian pacing the small space. He paused the instant he saw Jhond, his eyebrow raised in query.
"Their party had been attacked by Illurian stragglers, but they'd already subdued them before I even arrived."
"You sound put out you weren't able to help."
"It's not so much that. I'm grateful they'd solved their own problem without needing me, but I hate the idea that they, or my father, could be at risk and I might not know about it until it was too late. I'm the Eynan, for the Lords' sake. Shouldn't I be able to do something?"
"I'm not sure what to say," Ninian admitted. "We're still learning about the power and the ability of the Eynan."
Jhond stared at Ninian, a smile beginning to form. "You're right, of course. Just because I don't know how at this moment doesn't mean I can't do something. I just have to find out what and how."
Chapter 2
Jhond watched as the Horologue eased into the bay of the Isle of Truth, his blond hair blowing into his face in the stiff breeze. He shoved his hair back out of the way, while acknowledging it felt strange to be approaching the island again and to have no concern they might be in danger. This time, Captain Amired had no need to ask for Jhond's assistance in finding the isle, instead sailing his ship directly to the once concealed string of three tiny islands, the last one of which was the fabled Isle of Truth.
So much had happened since Jhond first landed here, a nervous young man unsure of what he was doing, or even if he should be doing it. It was difficult to believe that only a few short months had passed. The life he'd lived back then seemed like a dream, as if he had been someone else. He supposed he had been. After all, now he was the Eynan, the most powerful mage in existence. And he was still two weeks short of his twenty-fourth birthday.
Behind him, he heard Amired talking to Ninian. "So can anyone find this place now?"
"Oh no." Jhond could hear the emotion in Ninian's voice. "Jhond's presence allowed you to sail directly here. To anyone else, these islands would still appear to be lost in the mists."
Jhond smiled to himself. He no longer even needed to exercise his power in this special place. It knew him. "Come on. Let's go ashore," he said to Ninian.
Aldous, Amired's first mate, approached them. He was a bear of man, his rough appearance belying his quiet ways. "As there's no danger this time, Captain, can I let the men relax, have a little fun on the beach?"
Jhond grinned at Ninian when Amired responded, "Not that they really deserve it, but I guess so."
"Not deserve it, Captain?" Warkist spoke up. "Nearly died at that stronghold we did, helping you fight against the emperor and that mage of his."
Jhond glanced over his shoulder and watched as Amired strode toward Warkist. The sailor was hardly a favorite of the good captain, who was less than a step away when he halted. Staring directly into Warkist's eyes, Captain Amired said, "Never saw you when we stormed that throne room. Where were you?"
"I...I was fighting near the main entrance, Captain, keeping them murderous bastards from getting up the stairs."
"Hmm, so you say." Amired's tone made it clear it would take more than Warkist's word to convince him. "Aldous, I leave it to you to assign shore leave." Turning his back on his obstreperous sailor, he said, "If you don't object, Jhond, I wish to accompany you and Ninian to the tower. I'll keep out of the way, but I'd like to keep an eye on things while you're inside."
"It's not really necessary," Ninian replied, smiling as he added, "But it if makes you feel better."
"I know Suvran's dead now, but this place has too many memories." Amired's voice faded and he stared out across the rocky foreshore.
Jhond was struck by a vivid memory of the fear and determination in Amired's eyes on that very beach when Suvran had threatened to snuff out his life if Jhond didn't reveal the whereabouts of the Strands of Time. Jhond also remembered his own anguish when h
e'd refused Suvran's demand, knowing what the terrible cost would be. The idea of that powerful artifact in that evil man's hands didn't bear thinking about. If it hadn't been for Ninian's power... Jhond shook his head to chase away the memory.
"Whatever makes you happy, Amired," Jhond said, as he clapped him on the back.
The three men climbed over the side and into the small boat, which had been lowered into the water. They were quickly followed by two crewmen assigned by Aldous to row them ashore. Jhond could easily have moved the boat to shore without the need for crew to row, but he decided not to use his mage ability when it wasn't really necessary. He knew some of the crew still felt uncomfortable with the power he and Ninian displayed, even though it had saved all of their lives on more than one occasion.
On reaching shore, they left the sailors securing the boat on the long narrow beach and walked toward the path leading up the cliff to the tower on the summit. At the base of the steep climb, Jhond queried, "Do you feel the need to stretch your legs, Amired, or should I save us the effort?"
"I should say the exercise would do me good, but the truth is I feel the need to take it easy after the stress of the last few days."
Ninian laughed. "I could think of a stronger word to use than stress!"
Jhond put a hand on each of their arms and in his mind's eye envisioned the tower on the cliff top.
"Wow, I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Amired said, as his feet settled on the rough grass on the cliff top. Then he frowned. "Wait a minute; you didn't use the ring and pendant to transport us here, did you?" he asked, referring to the two items that combined to create a powerful force allowing Jhond to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye.
"No. I only require the artifacts to transport over a long distance now. Short trips I can do without any outside assistance."
"Jhond's power is still manifesting," Ninian explained.
"Really. You mean there's more?" Amired looked fascinated.
Jhond glanced at his friend and erstwhile mentor wanting to hear what he had to say.
Meeting Jhond's gaze for a second before he returned his attention to Amired, Ninian admitted, "The truth is, I don't know how much more Jhond will be able to achieve." He smiled. "After all, he's the Eynan and there's never been one before."
Jhond knew he should be afraid of such an unknown quantity, but found he was only curious. "It should be interesting," was all he said.
Amired looked from one to the other. "You two," he said, shaking his head. "One powerful mage who teaches another young mage that he is, in truth, the Eynan. I shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore, yet--" He shrugged and went to make himself comfortable under the only tree growing anywhere near the tower. "I'll wait here for you," he said.
Jhond nodded and turned his attention to the simple stone building, tall and straight, with a narrow spire of twisted bricks atop the convex roof. He led the way inside the half-ruined building under the arch where the door once was, past the old rusted iron hinges, which still hung drunkenly from the jamb. Of the door there was no sign; not even a scrap of wood remained.
Inside there was nothing to indicate the powerful spells that had once protected it. This time, they climbed the steps that curved around the inside of the wall to the upper level with no interference at all, no specters to tempt or terrify even the most talented of magi. Jhond and Ninian entered the room where they had found the chest containing the treasured artifacts needed to help train and eventually seal Jhond as the Eynan.
When it had become clear they were under threat and needed to leave the place in a hurry, Ninian had added whatever random items he could to the chest before it had been spelled to hide it from the evil mage, Suvran. Now they had time to look around the room, to study its contents and take away with them as much as they thought necessary, likely everything. If, as Ninian believed, these shelves contained the main library of the Magi, then it needed to be secured somewhere safe and under Jhond's control.
"Thank the Lords that evil monster never made it up here," Ninian commented. He glanced at Jhond and smiled. "Suvran was too busy trying to find you to spare the time to come here and investigate, and perhaps that cost him in the end. Who knows what else might be stored here?"
The upper room still had half its floor missing, so they had to skirt around the outside to reach the other side, where most of the floor was still intact.
"I really ought to do something to repair the floor," Jhond said absently.
Part of the lower half of the walls was lined with shelves full of scrything blocks, which were used in conjunction with the crystals, and the other part consisted of the long, narrow drawers containing the myriad pieces of crystal of every size and shape. In between was a table and nearby a large wooden chest partially covered in leather. It had been inside the chest where they had found the artifacts linked to the Eynan.
Glancing around now, Jhond thought of taking the crystals and scrything blocks back to his home and secreting them in the Reeve library, but when he voiced the idea, Ninian frowned.
"I don't think that's wise. It's no secret Jhond of Reeve is the Eynan, which means your family home would be easy to locate for anyone determined enough."
"Damn it, Ninian, you know I can create a powerful enough spell so no other mage could possibly break it. The crystal library will be safe in the Reeve Archive."
"Of course I'm aware of that. But you're not thinking about your family."
"My family?" Jhond frowned and then his brow cleared. "Lords of Light! You're thinking of the safety of my family rather than any actual risk to the Magi library." Jhond took a deep breath, annoyed he hadn't seen that himself. It had been difficult enough when faced with sacrificing a friend to protect a valuable artifact, but his family? He nodded at Ninian, grateful this powerful man was more than a teacher; he had become the best friend Jhond had ever had. "Where else then? Any ideas?"
Ninian bit his lip, clearly thinking as he wandered around the shelves full of scrything blocks, opening the odd drawer lined with crystals. Suddenly, he glanced at Jhond. "The Temple of the Magi. Where better? There are places in the temple that I've never been able to enter."
"But maybe I can?"
"I think it's worth a look after we've checked out this place in detail."
"You don't mean to investigate every single crystal?" Jhond's surprise was evident.
"No, but I imagine the most important pieces will speak to you."
"And perhaps to you," Jhond added. "Remember some of them didn't respond to me at all."
"That was before you were the Eynan, so it might be different now."
"Let's test your theory, shall we?" Jhond said, approaching the open drawer where Ninian was standing. He reached inside and touched a small crystal. It immediately warmed to his touch. He went along the row and each of the crystals responded to him, until he came to the last one. It was fairly average-looking, except for its shape, a perfect ovoid. "Ah," he said, withdrawing and indicating that particular crystal before sketching a bow at Ninian.
"Imp! Not changed much," Ninian grumbled, and Jhond just laughed.
* * * *
Ninian hid his smile as he reached in and lifted out the crystal. As soon as he felt it, heat slid through him, and he felt wonderfully relaxed. Then he was moving, flashing over the countryside, watching as the forests full of small animals, rivers teeming with fish and towering mountains passed beneath him. Suddenly, he came to a juddering stop, and it took a few seconds for his vision to settle so he could understand what he was seeing--a young woman, sitting huddled in the corner of a dark stone room. He couldn't see her clearly because of the shadows that seemed to be dancing as if in response to a fire, yet he could feel no heat close by. She was rocking back and forth, mumbling something under her breath. Ninian leaned closer to try to catch the words, finally recognizing the ancient tongue and the words of power. But something was wrong...and then he understood. The woman hadn't created a proper power circle, so h
er words were not bringing forth the spell she wanted.
The woman lifted her head and cried out angrily. As she did so, Ninian withdrew from the room, floating high above. Now he could see the building in which the woman crouched. He didn't know where it was precisely, but even in its rather dilapidated state, he recognized the unusual style, which he believed was only used in the far northern state of Garileon.
Abruptly, Ninian was back in the tower room with Jhond calling to him. "Ninian, are you all right? Ninian?" Jhond was shaking his arm, looking concerned.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine."
"That was quite the reaction. You went rigid. You were in a trance for quite a while."
"That is quite the crystal, and the odds of my finding it doesn't bear thinking about."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"It didn't respond to you, but without your presence, I'd never have had the chance to touch it. I went on a long journey," Ninian said. "I need to do a little research to confirm my suspicions, but I think I just saw a mage in Garileon."
"Garileon? That's vaguely familiar, but I'm not sure..."
"It's a very small state, way up north, not far from the icy wastes."
"Does that mean it's still under the thumb of the Illurian Empire?"
"Actually, no. Emperor Bardius ignored those few states bordering on the wastes. Don't think he thought they were worth his concern until he had the rest of the continent under his thumb."
"Why do you suppose you had that vision?" Jhond wondered.
Ninian cocked his head on one side, thinking it over, but he couldn't come to any real conclusion. "I'm not sure, but I'd imagine there must be some reason, important reason, for the crystal to show her to me."
"Her? This mage was female? I knew it was possible, but aren't female magi rare?"
"Yes, and becoming more so as time passes. Also, I think this one has a lot to learn. Her spell was failing because she'd not drawn power or protection circles. Yet I did feel great power in that room." Ninian considered what he'd been shown. "One of the ten families, the House of Thail, came from Garileon, though apparently the family died out some time ago."