The Fourth World

by Marina Sandoval

  “Look, Sephir wants to help us. What I’m buying can come in handy for all of us, not just me... if you want to get a present, you will be quiet.”

  Virginia laughed, thinking it was best not to meddle between Azura and Lorne.

  ****

  The tribe’s library was small. It was a rounded, windowless room with four tables, a globe, and two candles to illuminate the place.

  Hubert was reading everything he could grab. “Does everyone here have this magical magnifying glass?” asked Hubert, glad for having recovered another of the reading instruments he had lost in the river.

  “All libraries have at least one, and you can also buy one. The sermerios requested the Rabans and wizards to create something like this and make it accessible to all,” replied Habel.

  “The sermerios thought about helping us? That is hard to believe.”

  “Don’t think like that,” Habel replied, and began to tell him the story of the humans from that world.

  Meanwhile, Kyla was sulking in a corner, playing with the flame of a candle, and Theo was searching for a book about mutations.

  When Habel finished her story, Hubert turned back to his reading. “The Invocation of Uaica,” he read aloud, then fell into silence. After a while, he spoke again. “If I’m following this correctly, anyone can be a wizard.”

  “No, anyone can try to become a wizard,” Habel replied.

  “Why are you so interested?” Kyla asked. “You’re not tempted to become one, are you?”

  “Why not? Do you think I couldn’t?”

  “There are people who die trying,” Habel said, concerned.

  “Here, it says the goddess, Uaica, must accept you as a devotee, and you must have a wizard who agrees to be your master.”

  “It’s not that simple. For Uaica to recognize you, you must pass through a trial. You enter a kind of trance... you don’t need to do this,” said Habel, trying to sound convincing.

  “I still cannot figure out why Azura can do certain things that Lorne cannot, and why he can do things she cannot,” Hubert said.

  “Each of them have specialized in a specific artform,” Habel replied. “Lorne, for example, trained in the elements of nature.”

  “And Zauber?” Hubert asked.

  “He dedicated his whole life to the materialization of thought,” Habel replied.

  “You mean, what he thinks becomes real?” asked Hubert, amazed.

  “That is right,” Habel agreed. “The lightning that almost struck us was created with his thoughts. Can you recognize the difference? Lightning is a force of nature. Lorne can control lightning if he chooses to, but he cannot create it out of nothing; he needs something to start with. He turned water into snow because he had the natural substance in his hands.”

  “So, Zauber is much more powerful,” Hubert realized.

  “It depends on how you look at it,” Habel replied. “Zauber can create whatever he craves, but he does not have as much control over what he creates, and it might only have a brief duration, which is why we had time to escape when we were fleeing from Arvel.”

  Hubert lowered his eyes, unconvinced, and continued his reading. Habel and Kyla exchanged apprehensive glances.

  Theo was so engrossed in his search that he hadn’t heard the conversation. He wanted to find something that could help him control himself.

  ****

  Steven, Richard, and Thomas walked aimlessly, until they saw large trees with red flowers that fell from above like red snow. It was a modest park with admirable scenery, and they spent some time there.

  They were leaving when Steven heard a noise, as if someone or something were scratching at the trees. He followed the sound. The others went after him.

  Soon, they came to the city walls.

  “Ivy!” shouted Richard.

  There was the wolf, entering through a gap which she had dug under the wall. The animal rushed toward them with her tail wagging, and her tongue out. He crouched down, and the wolf covered him with licks.

  “Virginia will not believe it,” said Steven.

  “You should tell her,” advised Thomas. Seeing Steven’s brooding face, he proceeded, “All right, she’s married, but why do you care? We’re all almost dead anyway.”

  Steven decided Thomas was not wrong.

  “Richard, let’s have a brew and let the prince go back to his affairs,” Thomas stated.

  Richard laughed as he got up, and they left.

  Steven called out to Ivy, and she accompanied him. He did not know the path of the market, but the village was not big, and it was sufficient to ask for directions.

  In the midst of the market, Virginia heard her name being called. She barely had time to turn around when she saw the wolf running in her direction.

  “And who is this?” asked Azura.

  Steven explained everything, while Virginia kissed her animal friend.

  “Do you have any notion of how rare these creatures are?” Azura asked. “And even if you find them, it’s impossible to tame them.”

  “I have not tamed her,” Virginia replied. “Rhod brought her; he said she would care for me until he came back. I think I’ll take her to Sephir; maybe he’ll be pleased to see her.”

  On that note, Lorne joined the group, and everything had to be explained once again.

  “She saved you!” Lorne exclaimed. “If you wish to bring her with us, I see no problem with it.” Lorne put his arm around Azura’s waist and smiled at her. “I guess this is mine.” He lifted the small pouch she had robbed. She twitched her lips. Lorne walked away, and she followed.

  “If you want, I can take you to Sephir,” Steven suggested. “When I was coming, I saw him in the arena.”

  Virginia smiled; it seemed they were on good terms again.

  Sephir was leaving the arena when he heard his name being called. Virginia ran toward him with the wolf just behind. As soon as he looked at her, he was moved.

  “Rhod found her in the woods,” Sephir explained. “She was just a puppy. We thought it was just a wolf that was lost from the pack, until one day, she changed, and instead of a wolf, we had a cat. They became inseparable. Rhod never confined her, and when they got separated, she always had a way to find him. So, all this time, I’ve been sending food to you.”

  “Then, it was you!” realized Virginia, finally discovering who had sent her food. She’d known it could not have been Rhod, since he had been looking for Lorne.

  “Rhod told me that Ivy would come here from time to time, and I should give her a basket of food for her to take with her.”

  “She seems to find me anywhere, too, but I think she runs a huge risk with me. Maybe it’s better if she stays here with you.”

  “If she follows you and cares for you, she will not remain here, and I will not confine her. Rhod would not have liked that. I only ask you to take care of her, as my brother would have.” Sephir turned away, and his voice failed.

  Virginia understood that he did not want to be seen that way, and she let him go, saying nothing else. “It’s strange...” declared Virginia thoughtfully, almost to herself, as she watched Sephir walk away “I made a decision, thinking only about myself, and the lives of so many people took a different turn because of that, lives I didn’t even know. How is it possible?”

  Steven did not know what to say. He’d always had difficulty making major decisions, especially after the incident with his bride. Justine had been terribly sick, and nothing he did seemed to help. He’d mixed medicines to experiment, to find a solution, but it had not worked, and she was gone. Although everyone said she would have perished anyway, he was certain he had speeded up the process with all the drugs he gave her every day. After that, he had not wanted to stay there anymore. He’d volunteered and went away with the first warship that sailed. Now, here he was, in a world that pushed him make a decision he did not want to make. Kekuk appeared in his mind; his melancholy eyes, and his obvious cry for help. He recalled the argument with Lorne, and then
Lácio…

  “Steven!” Virginia had to hold onto his arm to bring him out of the trance. “What’s wrong?”

  “I was just thinking…”

  “Hey, you two!” shouted Richard. “Lorne said we’d better eat like bears about to hibernate. They are serving lunch at the tavern. Come!”

  They ate giant tortoises, cooked with nuts and raspberries.

  Sephir ate with them. Their plates were almost empty when he pronounced, “The animals are ready, but I think you’d better wait until early tomorrow to leave.”

  “What animals?” Steven asked.

  “Waras. You will see, and I think you will like it,” replied Sephir as he buried his face in the tortoise’s hull to lick the bottom.

  “I cannot practice magic here,” Lorne said. “I do not want to compromise our friend. We are going to the Beach of Rocks, and you will travel in a special way.” Lorne cleared his throat and reached for something under the table. “I have a present for you, Thomas and Richard.” He showed them the two pistols he had bought in the market and offered one to each. “I noticed you enjoy these weapons. They are not popular here, but we got lucky.”

  Both of them accepted the gift with smiles.

  As they finished, Sephir led them to the large arena. The animals were like giant rhinoceroses, but they had a bigger horn that shimmered like an amber crystal. Their fur was white as snow and fell almost to the ground.

  “You can ride them in trios,” Sephir said, then added with a laugh, “That’s if they like you. Who wishes to be the first?”

  Hubert offered promptly to the surprise of all, even himself. He approached slowly. The wara growled and stomped its foot on the ground.

  “Keep going slow,” Sephir whispered from behind him.

  The wara ran to meet Hubert, who was paralyzed by fear. The animal stopped a few millimeters from his face. Hubert had his feet flat on the floor; he turned his face and closed his eyes.

  “Face it,” whispered Sephir.

  The wara’s breath beat upon his neck, and its fur brushed against the skin of his face. He opened one eye, then the other, and stared at the animal. They stood that way for a moment. All his air was trapped in his lungs, but he was resolved not to surrender. When the wara turned its head, Hubert let out his breath.

  “Climb it!” Sephir said, while moving to help him.

  Hubert had never felt so good. His friends encouraged him, and he rode his new pet around the arena.

  “I’m certain these will do nicely,” Sephir said.

  While the others prepared to face the waras, Lorne called Habel and Kyla into a corner. “Have you decided yet?” he asked.

  They exchanged confident looks.

  “I talked with Sephir,” Lorne explained. “You can remain here if you prefer. If you come to Sermeria, you will have no choice but to follow us through the portal. You have to decide now.”

  Habel looked at Theo as he stared at the big animal. His tiger tail appeared. She smiled; it always happened when he was afraid. “I-I’ll go with you,” she stammered.

  “That is not very convincing,” Lorne replied. “Anyway, you have until tomorrow to change your mind.”

  Habel nodded and moved to talk to Sephir; she, too, wanted to learn to ride the waras.

  “And you?” said Lorne, looking to Kyla. They had not talked to each other in a long time.

  “I need to know if you still need me...” Kyla began.

  “No!” the wizard interrupted. “You cannot get me involved. You must work it out for yourself... think about it a little more.” Lorne caressed her face, then left to practice with the waras.

  Kyla watched all of them. Lorne was mistaken; she could not decide alone. She realized there was nothing between them, but she wasn’t ready to leave him.

  The day passed, and everyone learned to ride the three waras. When they left the arena, it was nightfall. They retired to the tavern and played a card game. Since they had no money, they bet for who would take the watch shifts.

  Chapter XVII - Beach of Rocks

  They awoke before sunrise and gathered in the tavern hall.

  “First of all,” Lorne began, “I want to say how grateful we are for what you have done for us, Sephir. I hope one day, I'll be able to return the favor.”

  “It is not our custom to engage in the affairs of sermerios—particularly regarding humans,” Sephir replied. “But, they killed one of us, so you have my support. I cannot go with you, because I need to talk to the Council before taking soldiers out of the region, especially if this will mean a declaration of war. They will want proof that it was the sermerios who killed Rhod, and I don’t have any. It's going to be a difficult conversation. At the moment, there's not much I can do, but I have some friends who can get inside Sermeria easier... I'll see what they can do.” He turned to Habel and Kyla and continued, “Have you decided what are you going to do?”

  “We're going with them,” Kyla said resolutely.

  “Very well,” Sephir replied. “I will accompany you to the edge of the forest.”

  For the last time, they ate the breakfast with the minotaurs, following Lorne's advice to eat everything they could.

  Even though they were all apprehensive, they talked casually amongst themselves.

  Lorne watched them all intently. He thought of Chad and wondered who else would die on their journey. He settled into his chair, ran his hand over his beard, and lit a cigar.

  ****

  Waras were fast, and although they were heavy animals, they had a soft way of moving. It would take them three days to reach the edge of the forest.

  The trip was quiet; they only stopped to rest twice a day, but they felt good. Traveling on the animals was comfortable. Steven was no longer a burden to the group. Although he still had a limp; when riding the wara, it made no difference.

  On the morning of the third day, a storm fell, but they did not stop. After a time, Kyla noticed the earth was dry, as if it had not been touched by water for days, and white smoke rose slowly into the air. “Cover your face!” she screamed, as she protected her face with her coat. “I don’t think we should breathe that!”

  They looked at the ground. It seemed like they were walking on something rotten.

  “Zauber,” whispered Azura. They all heard her and shivered.

  Richard put one hand to his nose, and with the other, he covered the wara’s nose. The others did the same.

  “Let's get out of here,” Hubert said.

  They tried to make the waras run, but it seemed they were exhausted from breathing the air.

  “Once we find a safe place, we need to stop,” said Sephir.

  They walked the path in silence; talking seemed very tiring.

  Only when the sun lost its strength did they reach an area of the forest that seemed untouched by the rain. There was no sign of smoke, and the grass was fresh. They walked a little more to make sure they were safe, and once they dismounted the waras, they let their bodies fall onto the grass. Finally, they could breathe properly.

  “Do you know how close a wizard has to be to cause that?” asked Virginia.

  “Too close.” For the first time, heard concern in Azura's voice. “Let's not light a fire.”

  “If he has the sermerios on his side, he must have all the instruments he needs at his disposal to do whatever he wants,” Habel said. “That's all he thinks about. Whenever Zauber does something for them, he asks for something in return.”

  “Does he know everything the sermerios have?” Lorne asked.

  “No,” Habel replied. “At least, he didn’t used to.”

  Lorne breathed a sigh of relief. Sermerios were collectors of valuable artifacts, and in the hands of a wizard, many of them could give an ominous power.

  After some time, they were able to relax and sleep a little.

  Richard and Kyla kept watch.

  ****

  The next day, it was time for Sephir to say goodbye. “Just a few more steps, and you'll be
at the Beach of Rocks. Go with caution. I'll do what I can to send help, but I cannot promise anything.” He said goodbye again and walked away, taking the waras with him.

  They walked through the forest and came across a beautiful beach. The sand was soft and white; the sea was clear blue. Rocks of all sizes were scattered along the beach, like those they’d seen the night they were attacked by bats. Chad's cheerful face appeared in their memories; they did not talk about him, because there was nothing to be said.

  The group went to the edge of the sea, took off their shoes, and let the water wash over them. On the horizon, they saw the mountains of Sermeria.

  “How do we get there without a boat?” Hubert asked.

  “We're not going to need a boat,” Lorne replied.

  “Do you want to stop the suspense and tell us how we're going to get there?” Kyla asked, but as she finished her sentence, she saw a gust of fire blowing in Habel’s direction. She flew to her friend and pushed her aside. Her wings caught fire, and they both fell into the water.

  When they looked up, they saw a huge dragon, and Zauber was riding it. They had no choice except to enter the sea. Ivy ran away along the coast.

  Zauber chuckled, and the dragon continued to breathe fire. They dove and swam to the bottom, came up for air, then plunged again and dispersed. Zauber did not seem to want someone in particular; he directed each blast of his dragon’s fire to somebody different. It appeared he was just having fun.

  Richard managed to swim away, and when he surfaced, he saw Zauber with his back to him. He threw a dagger that dug into Zauber’s shoulder. His scream of pain satisfied Richard, who then plunged into the water as deep as he could. He felt the water heat up, but it did not burn him. From then on, Zauber turned all his attention to Richard. Virginia took advantage; she swam to shore, took up her bow, and loosed one, two, three arrows, one after the other, as fast she could. Two scratched the magician's back.

  Zauber flew higher, screaming, “Pests!” He flew away into the forest.

  Without wasting time, all of them swam to shore.

  “Was that Zauber?” Steven asked Lorne, who helped him out of the water.