Seer's Hope

by Anderson, Maree

  “I’m with you, Willem,” Cayl said.

  Varaya flipped her braid back over her shoulder. “If this Chryss has anything to do with how much more positive I’m feeling right now, I’m happy for him to stick around.”

  When the others had nothing further to add, Cayl said. “Anyone hungry?”

  Maya sighed. “How you can think of your stomach at a time like this is beyond me. All right, let’s get some food organized. Hope,” she called. “What do you feel like eating? Hope?”

  Blayne pivoted and the hairs on the back of his neck slowly raised. Hope’s face was pale, eyes wide and unfocussed. She swayed slightly, as though blown by an unseen wind. He’d taken but two strides and was reaching out to steady her, when a voice resounded loudly in his mind.

  No! Don’t touch her.

  He whipped back his outstretched hand and let it fall to his side. His fists clenched. “Why not?” he asked, dark and dangerous.

  She’s entranced, Panakeya. Right now her mind is linked with ours. She was eavesdropping and joined us. If you disturb her, her mind will snap back to her physical body and she’ll be left with a killer headache she won’t thank you for.

  “What can I do for her then?” he asked.

  “Who are you speaking to, Blayne?” Maya’s gaze darted about darted about, seeking an unseen presence.

  He flung up a cautionary hand. “Chryss says not to touch her.”

  We’re nearly finished here—it goes more swiftly with her assistance. She’ll come back to herself in a minute or two. Just watch.

  “You’d better be right,” he growled and heard Chryss chuckle before his mental voice faded.

  “Blayne?” Maya batted his arm. “What’s going on?”

  “Hope’s mind-linked with Dayamar and Chryss. I’m told she’ll be back with us shortly.”

  “You’re told? How—? Never mind. I’ll stick to things I can understand. Like cooking a meal for my bottomless pit of a life-partner.”

  Naytan sauntered up to nudge Blayne in the ribs. “Never a dull moment with Sehani, eh?”

  Blayne grunted. “Try being Promised to one.”

  “I can imagine. Look. She’s coming around.”

  Hope blinked. Blayne closed the gap between them and touched her arm. He exhaled in a whoosh as her eyes focused in his direction. “Hello, you,” he said. “You’re back. Everything okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hungry?”

  “Mmm.”

  “Let’s go eat then.” Tucking her beneath his arm, he led her back to Maya and the others. He caught Naytan’s expression as he turned away. Right now the healer was probably praying that if he ever fell in love, it would be with a “normal” woman. But Blayne wouldn’t have Hope any other way.

  Dayamar and Chryss rejoined them. “Thanks for your assistance, girl,” Chryss rumbled. “But next time, ask first.”

  Hope hung her head. “I’m sorry. I was curious.”

  “Hmph. You know what they say about curiosity, don’t you? It killed the cub.”

  When she lifted her chin her eyes flashed at the big man. “Point taken. And my name is Hope, not girl.”

  Chryss guffawed. “Feisty, aren’t you? All right. Point taken, Hope. How’s everyone feel now?”

  “Much better, thanks,” Varaya said.

  “We do good work, don’t we, old man?”

  “Indeed we do, Chryss.” Dayamar had recovered his composure. “It was a pleasure to work with you.”

  “Likewise. What’s to eat? I’m starving.”

  “A man after my own heart,” Cayl said.

  ~~~

  Hope had curled up beside Blayne in a spot close to the fire. Curious, he asked her to explain what Chryss and Dayamar had done.

  “They didn’t want to alert the… whatever, by negating its influence. Instead they disguised us—made us seem part of the scenery, like trees and such. So now the influence just ignores us and passes us by.”

  “Clever.”

  “Yes.” She yawned. “I don’t know what to make of Chryss. He’s… unusual.”

  “What do you mean?” Blayne levered himself up on one elbow but she’d already closed her eyes. He tucked the bedroll around her shoulders and then scanned the campsite, cocking his head to listen intently to the sounds of the night. Reassured that all was well, he was about to settle down again when he sensed he was being watched.

  He glanced around and caught Chryss’s gaze. The big man had offered to keep first watch during the night and was hunkered down on the outskirts of the camp. He gave Blayne a thumbs-up sign and turned away.

  Blayne’s last conscious thought before fatigue dragged him into sleep was that he could have sworn Chryss’s brown eyes had flashed to gold.

  ~~~

  Hope and her companions all woke within minutes of each other and quietly went about breaking camp and preparing a light meal. When they’d finished their tasks they stood about in the faint dawn light until the silence became awkward.

  “Don’t look at me,” Chryss said. “Dayamar’s in charge of this expedition. I’m just along for the ride.”

  “Why didn’t you wake me to take my turn at watch?” Daryon asked, his tone coldly suspicious. “You look far too alert for someone who’s sat up all night.”

  “Don’t need much sleep when you get to be my age.”

  “And what age is that?” Varaya had to ask.

  Hope delved into her friend’s surface thoughts. She justified the intrusion by telling herself it was necessary. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t read Chryss at all—psychically he was the equivalent of a block of granite. Perhaps using physical sight courtesy of Varaya would reveal something to satisfy her curiosity.

  Seen through Varaya’s eyes Chryss was a weather-beaten bear of a man, heavily muscled and topping around seven foot. A mop of shoulder-length curly blond hair contrasted with his red-gold toned beard. Deep-set brown eyes, an almost too-large nose sprinkled with freckles, and a generous mouth completed the picture. He was garbed in patched and worn leather, and Varaya thought he might efficiently fade into the background if he didn’t want to be seen. She estimated him to be somewhere between his fourth and fifth decade, though he exuded a sense of great age that both repelled and attracted her.

  Chryss’s eyes glinted. “Too old for the likes of you, girl, that’s for sure. I’m much older than you can imagine.”

  And you won’t learn anything about me by lurking in other people’s minds. Didn’t the old man teach you any manners?

  Hope gave a startled squeak and left Varaya’s mind in such a rush she nearly lost her balance.

  Blayne steadied her with a hand on her forearm. “What’s wrong?”

  She blushed. “Nothing. I, uh, tripped.”

  Dayamar neatly diverted Blayne’s attention by suggesting they be on their way. If the old Sehan had learned anything of interest about their new traveling companion he kept it to himself.

  The sun approached its zenith by the time the party reached the floor of the deserted valley. No one had spoken during the descent. Hope’s skin felt paper-dry, her mouth parched. Tension thrummed through her muscles and adrenaline flooded her veins. Her body was preparing for that most basic of human instincts, fight or flight. But flight wasn’t an option. She forced each muscle to relax and flopped to the ground, coughing as she kicked up a cloud of fine dust. “Will someone please describe this place to me? I want to know if I’m going mad.”

  Cayl’s thought came through loud and clear. That’s all we need—an insane Sehan.

  She snorted. “Don’t worry, Cayl. I’m not losing my mind. I simply want to know whether this place looks as bad as it feels.”

  “It’s awful,” he finally said.

  “I agree.” Breanna’s voice startled Hope and she fought to school her expression. Unless spoken to directly, Breanna had remained mute throughout the journey. It was a huge surprise that she would volunteer information.

  “There’s not an ounce
of moisture in the place,” Breanna said. “It’s completely barren.” She paused as though gathering her thoughts. “This valley looks like it’s been fired at some stage. But there are no signs of regeneration, as one would expect from a natural burning. No plants or foliage, no animals or insects… nothing living at all. We’re standing in the only relatively clear area. The rest is littered with boulders and rubble. By all reports this place has been here for generations, so the rocks should show some signs of weathering from the elements. But each piece of rock is jagged and sharp, like it’s been newly split by someone. Or something.”

  Hope suppressed a shudder. “I get a sense of being surrounded by something menacing.”

  “We are surrounded,” Taran told her. “By massive boulders. They loom over us like they’d be delighted to crush us. It’s a warped and twisted gods-forsaken place. Nothing looks natural.”

  “I suppose this is where I come in, Sehan Dayamar,” Breanna said. “What do you want me to do?”

  “We’re looking for a cave of a particular structure. With your permission I’ll insert the picture directly into your mind.”

  “Go ahead.”

  The wait seemed interminable. And then Breanna said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Hope listened carefully and heard the scuff of Breanna’s boots as she slowly paced the dry dusty ground. She halted, and a monotonous humming drifted to Hope’s ears. She had the sense of Breanna communing with the stone. This time she kept a tight rein on her curiosity despite her desire to See what the woman was doing, and learn how she wielded her talent.

  When Breanna finally spoke her voice was barely louder than a whisper. “It’s here, beneath us. The entrance is over there.” For Hope’s benefit she described a small cleft partially obscured by a large boulder. “It leads to a large tunnel that’s perhaps wide enough for two people to stand side-by-side. The tunnel goes down for quite some distance before spiraling around itself and widening into a huge cavern, directly beneath our feet.” A hesitation and then, “It doesn’t seem possible it could be a natural formation at all.”

  “Are you sure this is it, Breanna?” Daryon said.

  “Have you known me to be wrong yet, Leader Daryon?”

  “Er… No.”

  “Do you think the Sehan might have constructed it all those centuries ago to hide those six people?” Naytan asked.

  “This area is much more ancient than that, Healer,” Chryss told him. “Though the girl is correct. It’s not a natural formation. More than that I can’t tell you.”

  “How did the Sehan get them down to the cavern?” the ever-curious healer wanted to know.

  “Likely he dragged them down one-by-one,” Blayne said. “It would have taken him quite some time, I imagine. And afterward he blocked the entrance to make it difficult for anyone to explore.”

  “It’ll be a tight squeeze,” Daryon said. “But if we work out a way to push aside that boulder, we should all fit—”

  “We must not disturb the entrance,” Dayamar interrupted.

  “But—”

  “We don’t want to alert it to our presence if we can avoid it.”

  “Then how—?”

  “Full of questions, aren’t you?” Chryss chuckled. “Remind me of myself when I was a youngling—ready to jump in the deep end without much thought for the consequences.”

  “Uhhh!”

  Hope guessed from Daryon’s grunt Chryss had given him a hearty slap on the shoulder, which had most likely almost knocked the Usehani leader off his feet. “What next then?” the Usehani Leader asked.

  “You’re not going to like this,” Dayamar said, “but only three of us are going into this cave.”

  “And those three would be?” Blayne’s tone was flat and emotionless but his aureya roiled.

  “Myself, Hope, and Chryss.”

  Before Blayne could respond, Daryon exploded into laughter. “Hope and Sehan Dayamar I could see squeezing through that gap. But him?” His snort indicated he was referring to Chryss’s massive form. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “We have our methods,” Dayamar said.

  “If that was your plan all along, why drag the rest of us along?” Naytan asked, frustration and anger clipping his words. “I could have stayed behind to help Kaylia with the survivors.”

  “You’re all important to the outcome of this confrontation, healer,” Chryss rumbled. “And yours is a harder task than ours, I think.”

  “What task might that be, big man?”

  “To wait. You’re here because you’re important to Hope. She needs you all close by.”

  Daryon snarled. “I don’t like this at all.”

  “I don’t like it, either.” Blayne rounded on Dayamar, the full force of his strong-willed personality centered on the old Sehan. “What makes you think I’m letting Hope go with you?” This time he hooked both hands firmly around her middle and pulled her close to his chest.

  “What makes you think you can stop me?” Hope countered softly, tilting her face upward. “This is what I was brought here to do. I have to do it. I have to try.”

  “What happened to ‘just going to take a look’?” Cayl demanded. “When did it turn into a ‘confrontation’, eh? And how do you know so much about all this, big man?”

  “That’s a conversation for another time,” Chryss told him. “We need to move fast. I have no desire to be down in that cave when darkness falls. It’s now or never, Dayamar.”

  “Now,” Dayamar said. “Hope?”

  “I’m sorry Blayne. I have to do this.” She turned in his arms and stood on tiptoe to press a kiss to the side of his mouth before pulling away.

  He grabbed her hand, tugging her back to face him. “Promise me you’ll come back to me, Hope. Promise me.”

  “I promise. I love you, you know.”

  With one last squeeze he released her hand. “I know. And I love you, too.”

  He could see the same fears he strove so hard to hide etched on her face. And he yearned to grab her hand again, to keep hold of her and never let her go. But he knew she couldn’t allow his fears—or her own—to sway her from the task ahead.

  “Whatever happens don’t try to come after us,” Dayamar told him. “You’ll soon know whether we’ve succeeded.” He turned his attention to Hope. “I’ll lead. Hope, you go next, and Chryss last.”

  Blayne backed away, his gaze fixed on the trio now standing to one side of the large boulder disguising the cave entrance.

  Dayamar gripped Hope’s hand. “I’ll lead you through the process this first time.” He stepped into the solid rock and it seemed to slowly absorb his body until he’d almost disappeared from view. Only the hand that still clutched Hope’s was visible, protruding from the stone like a severed limb.

  Cayl shuddered. “Gods. That’s just… unnatural. I can feel my hair standing on end.”

  Blayne watched the woman he loved slowly melt into the rock. Chryss dived in without hesitating and disappeared from view.

  Beside him, Willem sucked in a sharp breath. “I can’t sense Hope through our link. It’s like it’s been pinched off.”

  Blayne tore his gaze from the bleak uncompromising stone and strode away, fists clenched at his side, jaw working. He’d never felt so useless, so powerless.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Her journey through solid rock felt like pushing through a wall of not-quite-set Jell-O. Every time she moved, the rock seemed to flow back to fill the gaps her body left. The trick was to keep moving steadily and not think too hard about what she was doing. And just when she was getting the hang of it, she broke through into a tunnel.

  “This is the main tunnel leading down to the cavern,” Dayamar murmured. “It should be much easier going from here.”

  They continued onward, picking their way carefully along the rubble-strewn pathway. Chryss had squeezed past her, and now he grasped her hand, assisting her whenever needed. Not once did he falter, however. She wouldn’t have been at al
l surprised to learn he could see in the dark.

  Since adapting to her blindness, lack of light had never concerned Hope overly much. But this darkness oppressed and unsettled, and led her thoughts down a sinister, twisted path. Chryss squeezed her hand, offering reassurance. Doubtless he’d divined her thoughts.

  The darkness morphed into something more intense. It reeked of malevolence.

  “We’re getting closer to the cavern,” Dayamar whispered for her benefit. But his caution was unnecessary. She could sense it.

  Nameless fears battered her. Dread wormed down her spine. I’m going to die horribly, painfully—here in the darkness, alone. I’m going to die. I’m going to— Shut up! I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work. Leave. Me. Alone! Instantly her mind quieted.

  Chryss’s mental voice rang in her mind. Good work, girl. Chin up. Nearly there.

  That’s what I’m afraid of.

  No point being afraid, girl. What happens, happens. We can only do our best and trust we will prevail.

  What if our best isn’t enough?

  Can’t dwell on ‘what ifs’. That way lies a direct path to insanity. Have faith in yourself. You were brought here for a reason. Dayamar believes in you. Those people waiting aboveground believe in you. And I believe in you, too. Now you only need to believe in yourself. You are the key.

  What do you mean? But his voice had faded from her mind.

  “The cavern is just around this bend in the tunnel,” Dayamar whispered. “Be ready!”

  Ready for what? She wished she knew.

  Chryss held his breath as Dayamar poked his head around the edge of the tunnel. He told himself—as he’d done time and time again—that nothing was set in stone. The future could be changed.

  The transition from gloomy darkness to brightness momentarily dazzled the old Sehan. That was when it struck. He screamed for an excruciatingly long moment before he crumpled.

  Chryss dragged him back into the shadows. He knelt to check Dayamar’s pulse… and swore beneath his breath. The vicious attack had stopped the old man’s heart. He pounded on Dayamar’s chest. “Live! Dammit old man, don’t give up yet. Live!”

  “Weaklingsss. Sssso easy to kill. Sssso easy to hurt. Do you fear usss? You should. We are worthy of your fear. Yesss, fear usss. Feed usss with your fear. We hunger for you. And we need more… a body. Then we will be free to feed unencumbered. Free to rule again!”