by Dana Davis
Adelsik studied Henny’s footprint, a purple snowflake that hovered just above the girl’s head. She thought it pretty, especially compared to her own blue acorn, but that didn’t matter any longer. Adelsik’s Energy was stronger than Henny’s and would be for the remainder of their lives. That, combined with her age, meant she would always be above the girl in status. Those rules were clear in the Gypsy handbook. Henny wouldn’t know them until she crossed from youngling to new-oathed and had a scroll of her own to study. The girl wouldn’t be able to hide her footprint until then, either.
She took in a long breath and almost wished she hadn’t when the stench of Silbie’s potion filled her nostrils again. She coughed and watched the sun dip behind the mountains in the distance, creating an arc of orange light above. Sun Mountain was the perfect name now that she could see the real thing and not just some artist’s squiggle on a map.
Map reading was also part of new-oathed training and something Adelsik learned quickly, much to her own surprise. Her root father had often spouted men’s superiority when it came to maps. Adelsik had never been given the chance to prove him wrong, as he died when she was fourteen. Her root mother never questioned him, so Adelsik thought he knew best and she trusted that. Many things she’d accepted in her root life had been pushed aside by her Gypsy training. Some days, she felt as though her entire belief system had been turned upside down and inside out, leaving only a bloody line of entrails. That image made her chuckle, despite the miserable heat.
Food was served and Gypsies ate, though many looked like they were ready to fall asleep in their meals. Afterward, the guards and hunters took turns on watch. Adelsik bedded down with the others and finally slept.
* * * *
She stood atop Sun Mountain, studying Beir Lake in the distance. I’m slumbering. The brilliant and vivid colors were a sure giveaway. Adelsik’s slumbering always began at the beach cave, so she hadn’t initiated this dream. She glanced around for another Gypsy. Someone had brought her here, another slumberer, but whose dream was this? Footprints couldn’t be hidden in the Netherworld and she examined the area around her. Nothing.
Then it soared right toward her, Ved’nuri’s double footprint of a rainbow arced over an orange sunflower with the faint moon of her unborn child pulsing through. A golden hawk seemed to follow her. No, Ved’nuri pulled the hawk with her. Maesa. The youngling was weak in the slumbering Energy but she could understand enough to take a message back to her quest.
Adelsik smiled that she’d passed Maesa in rank, since the woman had been a year older before they entered the Land of the Goddess. She waited, and soon Haranda’s yellow daisy, Wren’s barrel cactus, and Elder Siri’s black eagle arrived. The surroundings changed and Adelsik stood inside the dome, or rather Ved’nuri’s imagined Netherworld version of it. The five women stood near her.
Something must have gone terribly wrong for Ved’nuri to use her slumbering Energy to bring them all together like this. The crowned woman was the only Gypsy with such talent and the task drained her quickly, especially now that she was so close to birthing. Her Energy was unpredictable too. Another reason to find the ancient texts as quickly as possible.
Haranda gave Adelsik a smile and the two touched hands briefly. “I miss you, Haranda.” Adelsik smiled at her former clan mother.
“I miss you too.” Haranda offered a proud motherly smile then pulled away and focused on the others. “What’s wrong, Ved’nuri?” Haranda been Ved’nuri’s clan sister decades ago. Adelsik couldn’t imagine how she must feel around the crowned woman now.
Ved’nuri’s colorful eyes drifted over each woman then settled on Haranda. “Siri’s dream found me and from it I learned some disturbing news. Many farms along the Tandiar River have been destroyed. Middlings are either missing or dead. Siri’s quest found this, also.” She held out her hand and an image of a crescent-shaped medallion appeared above it.
Adelsik stepped closer with the others and made out the symbol of a feather and wavy lines over a skull. She shivered, not knowing why.
Haranda let out an audible breath. “The Order of Cholqhuin.” Her dark eyes turned from interest to worry to fear.
“What does that mean?” Adelsik’s gaze lingered on her former clan mother.
Dark eyes fell on her but the woman said nothing.
Siri grunted. “It means someone’s trying to raise the ancient god of the underworld.” She looked at the crowned woman. “Or have they already, Ved’nuri?”
“No. According to the dome texts, there are seven signs that tell of his coming. There’s been only one, so far, and it hasn’t been completely fulfilled.”
Siri gave a sharp shake of her head and her multiple, graying braids whipped about, causing the gold bangles on the ends to tinkle. Ved’nuri stood even taller than Siri now but the Elder placed hands on her ample hips as she focused on the crowned woman. “You knew about this raising?” The Elder’s tone was a blatant accusation that even Adelsik caught and she watched for Ved’nuri’s reaction.
The crowned woman narrowed her eyes. “I don’t need to explain my actions to you, Gypsy-Elder Siri Nebarin.”
Siri’s face twisted in horror and she fell into a deep curtsy. “My apologies, Ved’nuri. I’ve been under strain of late.”
“Apology accepted. You may rise and listen now.”
“Yes, Ved’nuri.” The Elder stood upright but held her eyes down. Adelsik wondered whether she felt incensed at someone younger having so much authority over her. After all, Siri had been a Gypsy when Candelus’s grandmother was in swaddling clothes.
Ved’nuri seemed satisfied with the chastisement and her eyes fell on Haranda again. “The first of the seven signs is the appearance of the Harrows, two red birds with yellow-tipped wings and no voice. We got word of one making an appearance just after you left. There will be another somewhere. Listen and remember what I’m about to tell you so you can pass the information on.” She glanced and Maesa and smiled when the sleepy head nodded. “Many of the signs are vague so you must stay alert. The second is the quaking of the city by the sea. We have no idea which city, so we’ll have to contact all of our servants along the coastal areas. The appearance of the wolf singer is the third.” Her eyes drifted to Adelsik. “Scorpions will invade the village of two lakes at the fourth sign. Unfortunately, there are many villages that fit this description.” Those colorful eyes moved on to Wren. “The fifth sign tells of the capture of Kapgruff, the demon fish.” Her gaze found Siri. “The birth of the two-headed pig is the sixth.”
She took in a deep breath. “The seventh and final sign that will completely release Cholqhuin from his bonds in the underworld and allow him to enter this one, is the thawing of the Stone Troll. Again, we have no idea where these signs will appear so you’ll need to speak to the locals. Find out as much information as you can without raising suspicions among middlings.”
She glanced at Haranda. Something passed between the two, like sisters keeping a secret. “Keep your wits and let me know if any other signs appear. Tell the others when you wake and send messenger pigeons as soon as you’re able. I’ve already sent several from just beyond the Land of the Goddess but we have much land to cover and many to warn. Oath middlings as servants when they show an interest, as many as you can persuade to join. We need all the eyes we can get. And I don’t have to remind you to rescue any younglings and errants you come across. We can’t have them loose and untrained with the Energy at their fingertips, especially now.”
Her gaze shifted back to the Elder. “I’ll use the Netherworld if needed but this kind of meeting weakens me, even with each of you harnessing the slumbering Energy. Cholqhuin can be stopped before the seventh sign, but with the appearance of each, the task becomes more difficult. Afterwards, well, there are other, more drastic measures we’ll take if it comes to that, but not without a heavy price. A higher price than I care to pay. Do you understand, Siri?”
“Yes, Ved’nuri.”
Adelsik’s othersel
f drew in a deep breath of fear. Though she had no body here, it still felt like she did. Maesa looked pale and she placed a hand on the youngling’s arm. She felt real too. The girl offered a smile and Adelsik released her. Funny how Maesa’s golden hawk footprint resembled her physical looks. Her dark, sharp features and quick head movements added to the hawk-like appearance.
Haranda shifted her weight. “Do we know who attempts this raising, Ved’nuri?”
The crowned woman cocked her head. “No. Those texts were shrouded long ago. We’re hoping they’re among the ones you seek. The only good thing I have to tell is that Siri’s quest located one of the texts.”
Already? Adelsik pushed down a surge of envy.
The Elder nodded and her braids swung with her head movement, causing the gold bangles on the ends to tinkle again. “Ved’nuri, we need to tell the boarding servants to take extra cautions and keep any younglings and errants out of sight until we can get to them.”
“I’ll handle that.” Ved’nuri’s attention went to Maesa. “Stay with us, youngling.”
“Ved’nuri?” Maesa uttered. “My apologies but things seem a bit fuzzy. I’m slumbering?”
“Yes, you are, and no need for apologies. I called a meeting. Did you hear what was said?”
“Yes, Ved’nuri. I’m to give messages to Elders Yuri and D’Esher. About Cholqhuin, the seven signs, the text, and the raids along the Tandiar River.” Maesa was the only one in her quest with any slumbering Energy but it was slight, and she didn’t have the talent to walk in another’s dream unassisted. She’d shown that aspect of the Energy only after several moons in the Land of the Goddess. Though her memory wasn’t as good as Taniras’s, it was better than most. Adelsik pushed another wave of jealousy down.
“Yes, youngling. Now concentrate. I know you’re tired and want to sleep but this is important. Stay with us.”
“I will Ved’nuri.”
Adelsik continued to listen and remember everything that Ved’nuri told them, though she knew Wren would remember, also. The woman would probably test her on what occurred here, just to see how she progressed as a slumberer. She felt guilty for earlier complaints about the heat. There were no bodies for her quest to stumble on. At least not that she knew of. And this Order of Cholqhuin business made her nervous. Extremely nervous.
Ved’nuri finished and instructed them to be careful. Then her otherself flickered as though she couldn’t decide whether to disappear or stay. “I must go. My Energy can no longer be trusted. Siri, please see that Maesa sleeps.” She and the dome disappeared.
Adelsik watched as everyone headed to their respective dreams and winked into just few of the massive dream bubbles that floated in the distance. She stood alone on her beach with the cave and ancient ruins at her back. Holding the Energy too long, especially in the Netherworld, tired her because of the distance between the physical body and the otherself. But she was a strong slumberer and not near any danger point, so she stayed. Too much had happened for her to sleep now and Ved’nuri hadn’t forbidden anyone to slumber.
She immediately changed her peasant dress to a beautiful gown of Goddess cloth and admired the muted swirls of colors. Once she had moved from her youngling phase, the dizzying colors of the Gypsy cloth had muted to a beautiful silken image. Of course, they couldn’t wear such clothes among middlings, so her new-oathed dresses had remained in the Land of the Goddess.
Slumbering came easier to her now and she no longer scared herself awake, but images changed around her, especially when she got distracted or startled. She could control most images here, except those of a stronger slumberer like Ved’nuri. Adelsik was more powerful than Wren, Siri and Haranda in the Netherworld, but less disciplined. Their skills humbled her and she vowed to hasten her learning. They had forced her to change her dreams on numerous occasions during memory altering lessons. Someday, she would be trained enough to help others, those whose nightmares haunted them, and perhaps she would work with Maesa since the youngling was to be a mind-healer.
Something pressed against her senses and she glanced around for the intruder. She saw no one. An odd bird with long legs ran past and she hadn’t even realized she’d created it. She thought the critter away. Her heart flipped when it didn’t fade from her sight. Perhaps this was someone’s footprint. But the bird wasn’t bright like a normal footprint.
The thing shimmered and before her stood a tall woman in a sparkling robe. The stranger had long, red hair. Her blue eyes were bright and freckles stood out on her face and arms. Adelsik’s heart hammered in her chest and she prepared to wake, but the woman held up a hand. Suddenly, she could do nothing with the Energy, not even escape back to her body.
Chapter 2
“I’m not ready to let you go just yet, youngling. Now, I want to know what you’re doing here. Why do you slumber alone again?”
No one but Ved’nuri could hold Adelsik in the Netherworld against her will. No one was strong enough now. Not even Siri. Who was this woman? She obviously had no idea who Adelsik was among the Gypsies. Youngling, indeed!
The stranger hooked thumbs in her belt. “You’ll answer me, youngling.”
Adelsik pulled her back straight. “I’m new-oathed.” The woman raised a surprised brow and Adelsik studied her. Do I know this woman? “Who are you?” This was Adelsik’s memory dream the stranger had so brazenly invaded, so she imagined a cage surrounding the woman. As soon as it appeared, the woman swiped it away with her own slumbering Energy. Goddess, help me. She’s so strong! She had to be an errant. And it was Adelsik’s job to rein her in.
“Don’t try and outwit me here, girl. You have no idea what I can do.” The woman took a step forward and reached out.
Adelsik moved quickly and avoided the reaching hands. At that, she found herself face down in the sand. The skirts of her new-oathed dress getting dirty. She tried to wrench her body free, but something held her, trapped her without the use of her Energy. What was happening? This woman had no footprint. The bird had been a false image, an image of the Netherworld. Only a strong slumberer could hold an image against Adelsik’s wishes in her own dreams, and a slumberer would have a footprint.
The Vedi’s warnings, of course! A Netherworld attacker, the strange woman who’d beaten Haranda and Thad here and sent them back to bloodied bodies. Fear swelled. The attacker could take any form. She had done so before. A blue light surrounded Adelsik, a sparking blanket. Before she could protest, brief pain accompanied the light and she cried out. Then she was on her feet again, unbound, and relief flooded her.
The stranger stepped close and cupped her face. “You have potential, youngling. Let’s see what you can do tonight. Come.”
Adelsik snapped her head away. “I won’t follow you. I don’t even know you.” She had to get to Wren, warn the others that the woman was back, but when she tried to pull to the waking world, nothing happened. There was a force, some barrier between her otherself and her mundane body, and she couldn’t push through.
“You’ll know me. Very well.” Blue eyes hardened as fingers touched Adelsik’s forehead.
Memories flooded back, the lesson in obedience from the previous night, dangling from cliffs. But the woman couldn’t be that strong. Adelsik must’ve been off her guard last night. That had to have been what happened. This time she would be prepared. She held the Energy within her otherself and offered a defiant look to the stranger.
“Must we go through this again, youngling?” Adelsik was wrapped in a sparking blanket until tears flowed. Once free, the red-haired woman placed a strong arm around her. “Now, we can go on like this until you do nothing but weep. I can even dangle you from a cliff edge again if you wish, though that takes more Energy. But you will do as I instruct.”
The fear must have shown on her face as she pulled away and studied the woman. “Who are you?”
“As I told you last night, my name’s not important.” Her tone was matter of fact. “That you obey me is. Now, are you going to do as I say?”
Adelsik swallowed hard. She would oblige the woman for now. What choice did she have? The chance to tell Wren what happened would come once she woke. They would send a pigeon to Ved’nuri then this stranger would be sorry. One who betrays her kin doesn’t walk out. The dome servant’s words rang inside Adelsik’s head. She never forgot what she’d learned after her lashes. But she hadn’t told Wren about the previous night. Why? Part of her mind felt fuzzy, as though certain aspects of the middling world existed through a thick mist, and she couldn’t get a clear grasp.
The stranger raised a brow and hooked thumbs in her belt. “I’m waiting for an answer, youngling.”
She hated that the woman referred to her old youngling status but thought better of pointing that out again. “I will obey you,” she offered in a voice that sounded tiny even to her own ears. Perhaps she could learn something about this stranger, this errant, something that would give her the advantage here.
“Very well.” The woman glanced around. “Ah. This is where you first got the calling, isn’t it?”
How did the woman know where the calling took her? When she stood, staring at the water, something struck her thigh and she yelped.
“Don’t hesitate when I ask a question or give you instruction youngling. My Energy will outlast your stubbornness.”
“I wasn’t being stubborn. Please, how do you know about my calling?” She hadn’t told the woman. A strong hand cupped her chin and it was all she could do to keep still.
“You’ll find out when I decide to teach you. For now, you’ll do as I instruct.” Adelsik nodded. “Very good.” The woman sounded as though she were a Gypsy mother teaching her youngling about the Energy.
Adelsik found herself in a youngling dress and she quickly thought of her beautiful new-oathed gown but nothing changed. Goddess, help me, I must concentrate.
The woman eyed her with humor. “You’ll wear the youngling dress while you’re with me. Do you understand?”