by Jenny McKane
A magical desert. One that was never what it appeared to be.
Aysus walked up to her, trailing his staff in the sand. The old man was brimming with energy, as always. Avalon watched him approach her. He was smiling.
“When do you think that we shall get to The Interior?” she asked. “Every day it seems that we travel and get no closer.”
Aysus pondered this, staring up at the sky. “Another two days, at least,” he said. “Your group is not used to these conditions. You are not as fast as you could be.”
Avalon contemplated this. “Yes, we are unused to desert travel,” she said. She turned around, gazing out over the desert again. “Well, I suppose we should set out for the day. Where are the others?”
“Skyresh is foraging,” Aysus answered. “More berries, I am afraid. Everard is digging for some water.”
Avalon nodded, trying to stifle the impatience that surged within her. She knew that all of this was necessary. They could not hope to survive the day without food and water, but all that she wanted was to start walking.
“You are frustrated,” said Aysus, staring at her. “I will lead you to your destination, but it will take time.” He paused. “Are all of you going to breach The Tower, or is it only one who is entrusted with the task?”
Avalon’s lips tightened. “We work as a team,” she said.
Aysus smiled. “Of course,” he said. “But I do not see much evidence of that, Avalon. Skyresh and Everard do not trust each other, and it puts you all in jeopardy.”
Avalon was silent. She didn’t want to speak to Aysus about the others.
“Skyresh is very magnetic,” he continued slowly. “A born leader. I can see people following him, almost against their will. It is what drew you to him and made you switch sides.”
Avalon’s eyes widened. How did he know that? A fission of uneasiness spread through her. She turned away, not looking at the old man.
Aysus laughed. “It is alright, my dear,” he said. “It happens. Some people are so charismatic, you cannot help but being drawn to them. A lot of young women have felt the same way about Skyresh. There was the one that he grew up with, whom he regards as a sister…but I am afraid that her feelings towards him are rather different than that.”
Avalon gasped. How did he know about Minna, the rebel who fought alongside Skyresh and loved him so much? Minna had hated Avalon and sensed the connection between Skyresh and herself. Minna had tried to kill her, to get her out of the way, and then Avalon had betrayed them all before she realized the truth about the Jarle.
Minna was still her enemy, Avalon realized. Even though they were on the same side now. She would not give up her love for Skyresh easily.
“There have been others, as well,” Aysus continued. “You are afraid to ask him about the woman guardian, whom he captured and tried to seduce, aren’t you? Skyresh has an eye for the ladies, I am sorry to say. His heart is fickle.”
Avalon turned around toward the old man slowly. She stared at him coldly. “And how do you know all about this, Aysus? You claim to be a simple Storyteller and healer. How are you privy to all this inside knowledge about all of us?”
Aysus sighed. “I see things,” he said. “I am a Storyteller as you say. I learned the art of healing from my mother. I am from The Time Before, Avalon. The time when the Anasta ruled the realm before the Jarle invaded. Some of the old magic still lives within me.”
Avalon stared at him. “You are a magician?”
Aysus laughed. “I do not claim to be,” he said. “But as I said, I see certain things, especially between people. The connections between the three of you are complicated and as highly strung as the bow of a new arrow. I am just trying to help you all to see it.”
Avalon could feel her mind pulling toward the Storyteller, almost like a salve applied to the worries of her heart and mind. He was trying to draw her to him; it was strong, so strong that she had to fight to resist.
“You are trying to help us, are you?” she said. “Or are you trying to divide us?”
Aysus looked alarmed. “Oh, my dear, please do not think that,” he said. “Anything I say is to try to help you. If you can work these things out, then it strengthens you as a team, especially with what is to come when you reach The Tower.”
Avalon continued to stare at him. Again, she felt the pull of his mind, reaching out to hers. It would be so easy to give into it.
“Everard struggles, but you already know that,” he continued. “He loves you. It is the only reason he is here, and yet you play with his love. Skyresh feels it and is resentful. It is you that is causing the friction between them, Avalon. Would it be better for both if you simply walked away from them?”
Avalon’s heart started to ache and guilt overwhelmed her. Was it true? Was she stringing them both along, playing with their emotions, because she couldn’t decide if she truly loved either of them? Would it be kinder to let them both go? And yet, they were her friends. Her dearest friends. The thought of losing either of them filled her with dread.
“Sometimes it is a kindness,” Aysus whispered. “Sometimes, you need to sacrifice your own feelings for the good of others. If you truly loved them, you would see that you are causing them both pain and release them from the struggle.”
Avalon sighed. Her mind was fogging; she could almost feel it. No, she thought, struggling through it. Everard accepts that even though he has told me he loves me, that I am unsure. Just because a man declares it, I am not honor bound to declare it back, just to please him. That would not be honest. He knows that I love him, as a friend. Just as Skyresh knows it. He has not told me that he loves me anyway. There is no deception there. And we are here on a mission for a higher purpose.
Avalon took a deep breath. “Thank you for your advice, Aysus,” she said crisply. “You are only trying to help, but you really should not interfere in things that you do not understand. I accept that you are accompanying us on this journey, but you are still a stranger to me in many ways.”
Aysus bowed his head. “Of course,” he said. “Please forgive me. It was kindly meant. I did not intend to overstep the mark.” He looked out over the horizon. “I see the others approaching. Time to get going for the day.”
Avalon nodded. “Yes, it is time.” She walked off and did not look back at him.
Aysus stared after her. His eyes narrowed. Then, he picked up his staff and followed her.
***
Avalon watched Skyresh walking ahead of her. His headscarf was wound tightly around his face to ward off the sand. He still had not spoken to her, not really. His blue eyes would slide away from her face, every time that she tried to speak to him.
She quickened her pace until she was walking alongside him. She knew that he sensed her there, but he did not turn his head to acknowledge her. He kept walking, staring ahead.
“Skyresh,” she said. “We need to talk.”
He stiffened, turning his head slightly towards her. She could see his vivid blue eyes narrowing, as if preparing for an assault. What had she done to him? Why was he acting this way towards her?
“I am uneasy,” she said slowly. “I know that I accepted that you trust Aysus and let him lead us, but I think that it was the wrong decision.”
“A bit late for that now,” he spat.
Avalon shook her head. “No, it’s not,” she said. “We could sit down now and tell him that we have decided that we don’t want to put him in danger. That we will go on without him.”
Skyresh stared at her. “You would leave an old man to fend for himself in the desert?”
Avalon sighed. “Aysus can take care of himself very well,” she said. “He is better in the desert than us. He has ten times the energy of all of us, even though he is so old. He would be fine, Skyresh.”
“We have accepted his help,” he said through gritted teeth. “You agreed. I am a man of honor, Avalon. I do not go back on my word. Aysus is a part of our group now, and I will not discard him just because you fee
l a bit uneasy.”
Avalon felt anger rising in her stomach. “That is unfair, Skyresh,” she said. “What happened to you trusting my instincts and saying that my powers were growing? He is not trustworthy. He tries to lure us all in with words that speak to our innermost fears. He is trying to divide us.”
Skyresh laughed. “Why would he be trying to do that? He is only a Storyteller. He has been nothing but kind and generous to us. He healed you, Avalon. He took us all in and gave us food and water and shelter from the desert, and he is trying to help us again. We have travelled further than we would have without him.”
“Then tell me this,” she hissed. “How does he know so much about us? He has talked to me about Minna, and I am sure that he has told you things that he could not know. And Everard.”
Skyresh was silent. He kept walking, staring out over the sand.
Avalon sighed. “This is not like you, Skyresh,” she said. “Can’t you see? He has…drawn you in somehow. He has power, and I do not think that the power is on our side. Why are you so angry with me? We are supposed to be a team, working towards a common goal, and yet I feel you slipping away from me, and he has something to do with that.”
“Aysus has not said anything to me that isn’t true,” he said. He turned to her. “We are not far from our destination. I am not sending Aysus away now—when he knows where The Tower is.” He paused. “I am going to walk by myself. I need to think. Why don’t you go and walk alongside Everard? Reminisce about the old glory days when you were both guardians of the realm.”
He quickened his pace, leaving her behind.
Avalon stared after him, dismayed. He would not listen to her. It was as if a wall had been built between them.
And she knew now who had constructed that wall. It was the old man, who gazed on her so benevolently. The man who had healed her and helped them all.
He was not who he claimed to be. He was seeking to divide them, and there was not a thing that she could do about it unless she decided to abandon Skyresh and head out with Everard—and she couldn’t do that.
Everard was angry, too, but he had been so troubled for most of the journey, it was almost as if she accepted it, as if it was just part of their journey, as much as the sand and heat was.
They were on an important mission. They had to work as a team, but she could feel that goal splintering all around her—and she simply had no idea how to fix it.
***
The sun was high in the sky, as Mother Oda made her way down the path towards the temple. She went there every day, of course. It was part of her daily routine. But since Avalon and the others had set out on their journey to The Interior, she had been coming more often. She needed to speak to the Goddess and assure herself that they were still alive.
She parted the curtain and sat down slowly on a cushion in front of the statue. Her knees ached again; she should start rubbing them with her herbed oil. Aches and pains were part and parcel of being so old, but it was something that she still found hard to accept.
She had lit incense earlier, and it wafted toward her in a great plume of smoke. The scent calmed her. She closed her eyes, sighing. She heard Teitur pad slowly into the room and collapse in front of the statue. She knew that her beloved wolf was communing with the Goddess, too.
She could see them, surrounded by sand. They were not as thirsty as they had been; they had sufficient food and water. She frowned. They were not as far as she would have liked. She knew that Avalon had been attacked by one of the new creatures, and that this had set them back. They had stayed with someone, who had healed her, but whenever she tried to conjure who that person was, it was as if a veil descended over her mind.
Chaos. Discord. It swirled like the sand of the desert around them. They were starting to doubt themselves, and their trust in each other was diminishing. Mother Oda knew of the tension between the two men, but this was something different. It was a part of it, but bigger. And someone was stirring it up, causing it to flourish.
Teitur whimpered on the floor. Mother Oda’s mind connected with the wolf’s for a moment. He was running alongside another wolf in the desert. She had seen this wolf before and knew that the animal trailed the group. Watched over them. The wolf had tried to connect with Avalon, but she had been hurt, so now she watched at a distance.
Teitur barked. Mother Oda reached out to him without opening her eyes, gently stroking his fur. The wolf in the desert was distressed. She knew that something was putting them all in danger; that something was dividing them. But there was nothing that the animal could do about it.
Mother Oda saw other things, moving around them. Creatures approached them from all sides, drawn to them by a call so strong they could not ignore it.
Mother Oda opened her eyes suddenly and gasped. She saw one of the new creatures slain, bleeding. It had been sacrificed. It had thought that it was doing its duty, but it had been betrayed. She felt its turmoil in the last moments of its existence.
It was the creature that had attacked Avalon.
Mother Oda started to tremble. It swept all over her body. Teitur got up and laid his head on her lap, licking her hands. He stared up at her, his yellow eyes concerned.
“Danger is all around them, Teitur,” the old woman whispered, stroking him. “Above and below. From the outside and from the inside.” She sighed, expelling her breath with difficulty. “And the worst of it rests in their own hearts and minds.”
***
The sun was lowering. Soon, they would have to set up camp for the evening.
Avalon turned. She heard a rustle in some bushes. She stopped, listening. The others stopped, looking back at her.
“What’s wrong?” said Skyresh. “This isn’t a good place to camp for the night. Too exposed.”
Avalon ignored him. She turned and started walking towards the bushes. There was the sound again. A mewling, soft and low.
Everard had come up behind her.
“Do you hear it?” she whispered.
He nodded his head. “Yes,” he whispered back. “I think it is a creature. We should get going and leave it alone, Avalon.”
She stared at him. Of course, they should. She didn’t even know why she had come this close. They had heard the noises of creatures often and had always tried to ignore them. It was safer that way. Unless the creatures came to them and they had to defend themselves, they left them alone.
“Yes,” she said slowly. The mewling sounded again, longer this time. The creature sounded as if it was in distress.
Suddenly, it appeared. It was a cat like creature, covered in soft orange fur. Avalon noted its long whiskers and pointed ears. A tail swished around its body. It had large brown eyes, which were staring at her longingly. Avalon felt her heart soften. It was only a baby. It trembled, gazing at her. Then it mewled again, a soft, sad sound.
“It has lost its mother,” said Aysus, who had appeared beside her. “It is far from its den.”
Avalon kept staring at it. She felt an irresistible urge to pick it up and cradle it in her arms. The poor thing, so far from its home, how would it survive without its mother?
“It won’t,” said Aysus, as if he had read her mind. “It will die out here by itself. It is too young to survive. But…” He looked at her, sighing. “There is nothing we can do for it.”
“Could we try to find its den?” asked Avalon. They couldn’t just leave the poor thing to its fate without trying to help it.
Aysus gazed at her. “It could be a distance away,” he said. “And it could be dangerous. We have no idea how large its mother is. We should leave it, Avalon.”
Avalon felt tears springing into her eyes. She knew that what Aysus said was true. They could not help the creature. She stared down at it. It stared back at her. It looked like it was appealing to her.
“Do not be taken in by its apparent vulnerability,” said Skyresh, who had walked to her side. “Even though it is young, it is still a predator. Look at its claws and its fangs, A
valon.”
She nodded. “Yes, I know you are right,” she said. “But it will die if it cannot find its mother. Shouldn’t we at least try?”
Aysus nodded. “We can try. We could lead it further into the bushes, and it might find its own way back to the den.”
Skyresh frowned. “I don’t think that we should be distracted by it. We should be finding a place to camp for the night. Besides, we should not be trying to save the lives of these creatures.”
“But it is only a baby, Skyresh,” Avalon whispered. “It cannot help what it is. It didn’t ask to be born!”
“Come,” said Aysus. “We will try to lead it. If we cannot find its den in a short while, we will be forced to leave it, but then we can say that we gave it a chance.”
They conferred and started walking through the bushes. Aysus held out a piece of dried bread, the last of the loaf, luring the creature. It gazed up at him, then hesitatingly followed.
There was no sound as they walked, and then the bushes started to thicken around them. The path narrowed, and they had to duck beneath overhanging vines. Avalon walked as if in a dream. How had this happened? One moment, they had been in the desert with a few shrubs around them. And now, it was as if this canopy had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Her instinct told her to turn back, but her feet refused. She opened her mouth to call to the others, but no sound emerged. They were silent, too, as they walked through the labyrinth of bushes and vines.
She could see Aysus ahead, leading the creature. She turned around quickly. The path was disappearing behind them, swallowed by the vines. She turned to the front, her heart beating wildly. Skyresh was still ahead of her, but she could no longer see Aysus, the baby creature, or Everard.
A wall of vines fell in front of them, blocking their way. They both turned, searching for a way through. Avalon could see Skyresh hacking at the vines, desperately trying to fight his way through. They were closing around them. If they did not find a way through soon, they would be overtaken by them.