“What about you?”
“Like you said, you and I need each other. But at some point we’ll have to separate. Selena and I will meet you there.”
Lars cleared his throat. “You’ll find her, lad.”
“I will,” Taimin said firmly.
“She’s important,” Lars said. “They’re not going to hurt her. And she’s smart, you know that. She’s a survivor.” He clapped Taimin on the back. “Come on, this is no place to stop.”
Taimin gave a sharp nod. He took a last glance toward the scar of the firestorm’s path, before he set his jaw and focused on the mountains ahead.
14
Selena carefully chose the place where she, Taimin, and Lars would make their escape. As she traveled at the head of the column with Group Leader Vail, she casted the terrain up ahead. As always, her talent gave her impressions that were fuzzy and indistinct, but she was able to guide the skalen toward a place where the scorched earth left by the firestorm was thin enough to pass through swiftly, but wide enough that the skalen wouldn’t follow.
She hoped that her tight expression wouldn’t give away her tension. When she glanced back through the crowd of marching figures, she saw the skinny mantorean, Rei-kika, return her stare. She concentrated on her breathing. Soon she would be leaving behind the area. She had to act now.
“Group Leader,” she said, pleased when she managed to keep her voice steady. “I think I can cast something up ahead but I’m not sure.” She looked behind her. “Can I speak with Rei-kika?”
For a moment Vail didn’t reply. Instead she watched Selena, her reptilian eyes narrowed and calculating. “What is it you can see, mystic?”
Selena was prepared for the question. “Tall figures in the shadow of a cliff . . .” She made a show of hesitating. “They might just be sentinel cactuses.”
Selena’s plan was to walk toward the mantorean, but rather than stop, she would pick up speed and keep going until she joined Taimin and Lars. By the time the nearby skalen realized what was happening, the three humans would already be making their escape.
As Vail considered, Selena tried to conceal her growing panic. She had expected the old skalen to agree; after all, Selena was only doing what was asked of her.
“How many can you see?” Vail asked. “Are they moving?”
Selena thought furiously. If she said there were a lot of them, Vail would question why she was finding it difficult to decide what they were. “Just three. They aren’t moving at the moment.”
Vail made a decision. “Then you stay with me.”
“But—”
“I have enough warriors to deal with them, whatever they are. In case you have not realized for yourself, I want to see what you are capable of on your own.”
Selena struggled to keep her face blank. Without Group Leader Vail’s permission to leave her side, she would never get free. As time passed, Selena cast frequent glances to the right, toward the smoking terrain the firestorm had left behind. Her opportunity would soon be lost forever. She could only hope that Taimin and Lars had the sense to go without her.
Almost as soon as she had the thought, a commotion broke out farther back. As her heart began to beat rapidly, Selena couldn’t stop herself from turning, but it didn’t matter; she wasn’t the only one.
She held her breath. The wait was excruciating. But then joy burst inside her. She saw two figures, Lars and Taimin, race away from the column and into the heat. The pursuing skalen faltered and then stopped.
Selena’s relief was overwhelming. Taimin and Lars had made it. They were free.
At the same time, without any possessions, she knew they would find it difficult to survive. She had no doubt that Taimin would try to find her, but before he risked his life she had to do everything she could to escape her predicament herself.
Three days later, in a region where the tall mountains loomed over low hills, Vail’s scouts returned with news that they had found a series of caves. The younger scouts told their leader with a breathless excitement, and for once Selena saw the skalen around her smile with relief, as if they had been given a gift.
“We will rest for a time and recover from the journey,” Vail instructed those around her. “These suns are getting to all of us.”
The skalen shook their weapons and gave something like a cheer, and with renewed vigor the group marched to follow the scouts who led from the front. There was a climb involved, an arduous ascent up the hills to a place where dark mouths indicated openings in one of the mighty peaks. Even Selena fixed her gaze on the caves with longing, and although she was breathless by the time she reached the heights, she plunged inside the largest entrance and sighed with pleasure as the cool interior enveloped her.
The skalen settled in, posting sentries, laying out blankets and mats, and sending out parties to search for water. Selena watched as two skalen hunched over a pyramid of sticks and set down some glowing green fragments at the base of the kindling. One of the pair used a rock to smash the bits of aurelium together, and immediately there was a puff of smoke, followed by long tendrils of flame that caught onto the tinder in moments.
With everyone busy Selena found a quiet place to be alone and sat with her back against the rock. For once she wasn’t trudging through the dirt and dust, and no one appeared to expect anything from her. Of their own accord, her eyes began to drift closed, but then they snapped open when she heard shuffling and a strange clicking sound.
She turned her head and saw Rei-kika’s stick-thin figure. The mantorean clearly had the same idea as Selena as she sat down and slumped against the wall ten feet away. Selena remembered the sensation of violation when Rei-kika channeled through her, but at the same time, she also felt sympathy for the mantorean’s plight.
Rei-kika lifted her triangular head and noticed Selena’s attention. She gave Selena a look of dejection before hanging her head once more. Selena wondered if the scar on the side of her face was painful. It probably didn’t matter to her as much as the knowledge that Vail had her eggs.
A memory came to Selena; she again heard Taimin, telling her that her talent was a part of her. It had made her angry at the time. Taimin had said that what she really needed was to be taught.
Rei-kika was a trained mystic. In comparison, Selena had never learned control. People had always accused her of terrible things, but she didn’t even know if they were possible.
Selena made a decision.
As Selena moved along the wall, the mantorean looked up and tilted her head. Rei-kika seemed puzzled, but she nonetheless rotated her body to face Selena, shifting posture with an unusual double-jointed motion.
“Your name is Rei-kika?” Selena asked softly. “Do I have it right?”
“You do,” the mantorean said in a staccato voice. “And you are Selena.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know many things about you,” Rei-kika said. “I . . . I am very sorry for what I did to you. It is forbidden. But I still did it.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Selena said.
“The skalen have my eggs. I must do as they say. But what I did . . . the channeling . . . it was wrong. I know that.”
“I can see why it’s forbidden.” Selena grimaced as she remembered the sense of violation and loss of free will. She didn’t know what she would have done, though, if she were a mother and someone had her children. “How did your eggs get taken?”
Rei-kika made an odd sound, a swishing exclamation that echoed around the cave. Selena realized it was a sound of distress. Then Rei-kika settled and gave something like a sigh.
“I will explain,” she said. “We are nomads, but laying eggs is a difficult time and a group must stay fixed in one position. If the female is a mystic, the time of laying also blocks her ability to farcast. Among my race, only females are trained to be mystics.” She glanced around the cave, but no one was watching them. “The laying must be done in an exposed, sunny place. It is a time of terrible danger. Humans and
trulls know this, and take advantage of it.”
“What happened to your group?” Selena asked.
“All dead,” Rei-kika said. “The trull killed the males protecting me.”
“I’m sorry,” Selena said.
Rei-kika gave a shrug of her shoulders. “Fate has not been kind to either of us.” She gave Selena a considering look. “Did you know Group Leader Vail has another mystic?”
“What was his name . . . Aris?”
Rei-kika nodded. “His power is not great, but he will know when you are casting. Aris is not skilled enough to actually know where you are casting, but there are those who can. Me, I can see what you see. Your thoughts are so loud it is impossible not to. As long as the Group Leader believes you are casting on her behalf, you are not under suspicion. But be warned, if you cast for your own reasons, you may be found out.”
Selena reflected on the time when she had been searching for a good place to escape. She realized she had to be more careful in future. The fact that there was so much she didn’t know only served to strengthen her resolve.
“Rei-kika . . .” She hesitated, but then her voice firmed. “Will you teach me?”
“What is it you wish to learn?” Rei-kika stared directly into her eyes.
“I didn’t even know I could cast like I did with you. I want to learn to control it.”
Rei-kika took a few moments to reply. “Are you certain that is what you want?”
Selena knew what Taimin would say. “I can’t spend my life being afraid.” But as soon as she finished speaking, she put her hands to her temples when she felt the familiar onset of a headache. She inwardly cursed; she might not have an opportunity to talk to Rei-kika again.
Rei-kika watched her. “There is much you do not know. Your abilities are completely untrained. I can help you.”
The mantorean shifted closer. Selena was fascinated by her bone-like carapace, so hard, like stone, yet somehow Rei-kika had a face that could be expressive.
“If you train your mind, the pain will lessen,” Rei-kika said. “The more powerful the mystic, the worse the pain can be. Among my race, the pain is a sign that one must be taught control.”
“You can make it go away?” Selena asked.
Rei-kika took Selena’s hands in her insect-like claws so that they faced each other cross-legged. “Concentrate on my voice,” the mantorean said. “Try to clear your mind.”
“I can’t. It hurts too much.”
“Think of a symbol. Something you consider pure, unchangeable . . . solid.”
An image appeared in Selena’s mind: a pale sphere on a field of black. She remembered a time when she had been on her back with a padded blanket underneath her and a warm body beside her, staring up at the glowing disc in the sky.
“Like the moon?” she asked.
“The moon is good,” Rei-kika said. “Create an image of the moon in your mind, but rather than picture it in the sky, put it in your mind. Make your mind large enough to have space for the moon inside of it, and at the same time make the moon small enough to contain.”
Selena tried to do as Rei-kika instructed. The moon she pictured had no craters, but it still glowed, a white orb shining in her mind’s eye. Rather than being seen against a haze of sky and a backdrop of twinkling stars, this moon sat against pure black.
“How do you feel?” Rei-kika asked.
“Fine,” Selena said. “I’m having difficulty thinking of the moon as both small and large, though.”
“Is that all?”
Only then did Selena realize. “My headache. It’s gone.”
“Good. Do you wish to continue?”
“Is that all I need to do? Picture a moon and the headaches will go?”
“No, I am afraid it is not that simple. Your ability is yearning to be used, so it pushes through to the forefront of your mind. However, even as you access it, you will have to work harder to find the source of your power. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“I’m not sure I do.”
“It will not always be so easy. The headaches will persist until you learn control.”
Selena examined the moon inside her mind. She imagined herself rubbing it, cupping it with tendrils like fingers, and all of a sudden it sparkled, shining for a moment as bright as the golden sun.
“What was that?” she asked.
“I felt it. You were touching your power. Try something for me. How big is the moon?”
“Big.”
“Is it bigger than you?”
“Yes.”
“Make it smaller, until it is the size of your hand, and then smaller still.”
Against the darkness of her mind’s eye, the moon changed, shifting until it was no bigger than a child’s fist. “What then?”
“Hold your symbol in your palm.”
It didn’t make sense, yet somehow Selena knew exactly what to do. She picked up the glowing orb and inspected it, mesmerized by its radiance.
“Now imagine that the symbol is light, so light that it wants to float into the air. The only thing preventing it from rising is you. It is pulling you even so, and you are feeling yourself lifted up.”
Selena felt a great change.
Something became unstuck, freed from confinement. She experienced a sensation like floating, and giddiness nearly overwhelmed her. Whatever had happened, she was no longer connected to her body. She rose up, apart from it, and looked down.
For the second time she saw herself, a young woman with long black hair, from above. Yet she was somehow separate from the woman who sat opposite a mantorean, their knees touching, neither of them speaking. She was in a cave, and she was worried she would hit the ceiling if she kept floating upward. What would happen when she drifted into the solid rock?
Be calm, a voice said beside her. She was aware of Rei-kika’s soothing presence. There are two forms of casting, and you are only familiar with the first. Mystics with little power or those without training only know they can sense things out of view. Your great power has enabled you to gain impressions from very far away, much farther than I could see. But with the exception of the time when I forced it upon you, you have never known the clarity of true farcasting.
Is this really happening? Am I looking down at myself?
You are.
Selena became filled with a pleasure she had never known before. Always she had seen her ability as a curse, something that drove people away and caused them to fear and hate her. For the first time she felt excitement at being truly free. No one could keep her prisoner now. Even if the skalen tied her down, she could rise above them and travel the world. What if there were other things she could do?
I can sense your pleasure, but be careful, there is danger in what we do, Rei-kika’s voice sounded inside Selena’s mind.
This is wonderful.
It comes naturally to you, Rei-kika said. Now, let us travel a short distance together.
Selena turned and saw a hazy figure nearby: a transparent, insect-like silhouette that could only be the mantorean. Rei-kika drifted away from where they sat with their knees touching and Selena floated over to join her.
Look back at our bodies. What do you see?
Selena was now a dozen paces from their two cross-legged forms. It’s faint . . . but I can see a white line connecting me to my body.
This is your lifeline. Your lifeline links you to your body at all times. The more powerful the mystic, the longer the lifeline can stretch. If you go too far or stay out of your body too long, your lifeline will bring you back. But be careful. The connection gets weaker the farther you are from your physical form. If you panic and pull too hard, it can break completely. With no connection at all, your body will stop breathing. You would have very little time to find your way back.
As Selena looked around the cave, she tilted to peer up at the ceiling. What happens if I fly up into the rock?
You might find the sensation unpleasant, but it brings no immediate danger. Your lif
eline will still be with you.
What else can I do?
The mantorean hesitated. I think that is enough for today.
Selena turned to watch the skalen moving about the cave. She could stare into the eyes of any one of them, and they wouldn’t even know she was watching.
Selena, return to your body. Rei-kika’s tone became alarmed. Selena? Concentrate. Where is your focus?
My focus?
Your symbol. Your moon. Your source of power. Where is it now?
Selena realized that the sphere of radiant light was gone. She suddenly felt lost; where was her body? What if she could never return? Fear shivered through her.
Steady! Rei-kika called in her mind. Look for your lifeline.
Selena was drowning, starved of air, her chest filled with nothingness. With a jolt she experienced a snap as she was abruptly pulled. With a strange sensation of reconnection, she opened her eyes and took a gasp of real air. She panted as the sound of her own ragged breathing dominated her hearing. Skalen sitting against the opposite wall of the cave looked curiously at her, while Rei-kika tilted her triangular head and gazed at Selena inquisitively.
Then pain struck Selena’s temples. She cried out and put her hands to her head. Her heart pounded like a drum, far too loud in her ears as she rolled onto her back and the seizure struck her with force. She could see Rei-kika frantically moving her small mouth, but the words vanished down a distant hole.
A skalen arrived and prodded Rei-kika with his spear. Another came, and Selena recognized Watch Leader Rees. Rei-kika was hauled to her feet and marched away. Skalen guards watched Selena and stood over her, their javelins held at the ready as if she were going to leap up and attack them.
The pain faded after a while, leaving Selena breathless and exhausted. She slept, a slumber of utter tiredness, her mind needing rest and recovery like never before.
Selena dreamed of a distant moon; she was floating toward it, and a man floated beside her. She turned to look at him and saw Taimin.
How do you know where we’re going? Taimin asked. What aren’t you telling me?
Selena wanted to tell him that she was trying to learn control, but when she moved her lips, no sound would come out.
A Girl From Nowhere Page 13