“No, you’re coming home with me. I’m not leaving you here,” she choked into my ear and then she leaned her head on mine and whispered my name. Her words tore agonizingly through my chest and burned into my soul.
Suddenly, overcome with grief, she screamed, “No!”
Her agony tore through my heart and a bright light overcame the whole room, burning my eyes. My vision grew cloudy and again I felt weightless. The light transferred into me; it permeated my whole body and it was as glorious as the light from the sun. It was so bright it outshone the blaze from the fire.
This must be what the other side is like.
My last thought before I left was that I only wished I could see Ailey again – to say goodbye and to tell her the mystery of our intertwined lives.
“Ailey…” I whispered and Isolda’s grip on me loosened slightly. And then all was black.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I opened my eyes to see a clear blue sky. It was so beautiful; I’d never seen a sky so clear and so blue. I was lying on grass so soft it felt like a bed of down feathers. I could hear birds chirping overhead. I sat up. There was no one around me; I was all alone. For some strange reason, I felt neither fear nor loneliness. Only a wonderful sensation of lightness.
I stood up. All around me long, waving grass extended for miles and miles beyond me. I lifted my foot and took a step. Beneath my foot was a stone path, and when I looked up, I was now in a garden. The fragrance of flowers tickled my nose and a hummingbird danced beside me.
The path led beside a narrow rambling creek and I followed it to an intricately carved wooden bench. I sat down on it. It too was soft, and rocked back and forth. I sat there rocking for a long time. It could have been hours or days or even years that I sat at complete peace.
❦
A familiar, and yet strange, smell filled my nose. A slight cool wind blew over my face as hushed voices filled my ears.
I opened my eyes. Above me I saw black wet straw and a big charred hole in the thatched roof; I identified the smell that had aroused my senses.
I turned my head and could see a blurry version of Isolda, Ailey and Mr. Becker seated close by. They were talking somberly. Isabelle was cooking her famous pea soup. I blinked, trying to clear the blurriness. Jehanette was kneeling near a child who was crying softly. She was talking in a soothing voice, trying to calm the child. Immense relief filled my body. Jehanette was okay; she was safe.
My mind flashed back – I could remember the men raiding the town and setting homes on fire. I could remember Jehanette in the barn, talking to that soldier, and the sword, and the man stabbing me with his long knife.
My hands desperately felt under my shirt for the knife. Relieved, I felt no knife, just a long scar running across my stomach. I must have been out of it for a long time.
I closed my eyes again in exhaustion and listened to their voices. Although I couldn’t make out what they were saying, I could hear worry in their words. Mr. Becker was talking and suddenly I remembered something very important that he had told me.
At that, I jumped up in my bed. “The backpack!”
All heads turned to me. Ailey jumped up and ran to my side.
“Tristen, you’re awake.”
“The backpack,” I repeated. “Did you get the backpack?”
“Yes,” she said. “Mr. Becker was able to get it.”
I could see his arm heavy with bandages. The skin on the edges of the wound was blistered and raw.
“It’s a little scorched, but we managed to save the book.”
I lay back down, relieved. Jehanette came over to me and put her hand on my face. “You do not know how happy I am that you are awake,” she said with love in her eyes.
‘Thank you,’ I mouthed. Then my thoughts darkened.
“What about the rest of the villagers? Did they…?” I trailed off, unable to finish.
“Some were able to hide the woods, but others weren’t so lucky.” She glanced at the girl in the corner. Her face fell as she shook her head and a tear slipped down her face.
I grasped her hand.
“I’m sure you couldn’t have done anything,” I said gently.
She nodded. Isabelle brought me a wooden bowl filled with soup. It smelled delicious and I slurped it down. I was incredibly hungry. Jehanette took my bowl and brought me some more.
“Thank you so much for everything that you did for Jehanette,” Isabelle said as I gulped down the second bowl. My cheeks pinked at her gratitude and I waved her away.
“I did nothing for her. She saved herself,” I said and smiled back at Jehanette. “Really, believe me.”
Isabelle took the bowl from me and scowled. “Yes, you might believe that, but I know you saved her.”
As she walked away I let it go. No point in arguing about it.
Isolda still sat where she had been sitting before. She looked at me and smiled, although there was a strange feeling between us. I looked at Mr. Becker and thought about what he had told me the day he disappeared in the field. I raised my eyebrows at him and motioned toward Ailey. He shook his head no then nodded toward me, indicating that he wanted me to tell her. I saw that Isolda watched us curiously but again she just sat there smiling.
I looked back at Ailey, who had turned away and was listening intently to Jehanette and Isabelle’s conversation.
I looked at Isolda. She was talking with Mr. Becker again, who was rolling the coin over and over his knuckles. Isolda looked beautiful. She had dark circles under her eyes, her clothes were dirty and covered in soot but she still looked as beautiful as ever. Ailey followed my eyes to Isolda but said nothing. She took my hand and held it tightly.
I wanted to talk to Ailey, but I felt like we needed privacy.
Mr. Becker got up and kneeled down by my side next to Ailey.
“Tristen, how are you feeling?” Mr. Becker asked.
I thought about it. “Fine,” I said. It was true. I felt fine.
He looked at me in astonishment. I don’t think I’d ever seen a look of awe on his face.
“Amazing,” he stated.
This made me wonder what he meant by this.
I looked at him questioningly.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We thought you were dead,” Ailey said. “When I saw you, I just…” her voice caught, “I thought… I mean I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Now I was amazed.
“She’s right. We had no doubts when we saw you that you…” he paused, and then said, “I have seen a lot of things, but I have never seen anything like that.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“Two days,” he said.
“What? I don’t believe it! Only two days?”
At that, I pulled up my shirt to look at where the knife had been in my gut. I could see the scar; it glistened white in contrast across my stomach. It looked as if it had taken weeks or even months to heal.
“Two days?” I repeated.
Both he and Ailey nodded.
“Yep,” she said.
I couldn’t believe it. What kind of world was this? I looked at Mr. Becker in astonishment.
“Tell me more about what happened. I thought for sure I was dead in there.”
He looked back at Isabelle and Jehanette, who had gone back to the little girl and were playing with her. They seemed to know that we needed some space.
“Well,” he looked uncomfortable. “Actually, I don’t know. I have never heard of someone healing so quickly. Even a Seeker. I will have to do some research to see if I can discover the reason.” He stopped and winced. I took a long look at the bandages on his arm; he looked like he stuck his hand in the fire to get that book.
“Jehanette told me that you found your sword in the barn,” he said, changing the subject.
“My sword? What do you mean?”
“Each Seeker has a weapon that also comes to him when he needs it. It’s part of your gift. Apparently your wea
pon is a sword.”
I thought about what he said. It definitely came in handy at the exact moment that I needed it.
“We will have to train you how to fight on a practice one, and when you are ready, you will be able to keep yours,” he continued.
I smiled. Somehow, the sword seemed like a perfect weapon for me. Or, at least, that particular sword. It felt familiar to me, like we had been good friends in the past, although I knew that was ridiculous.
Mr. Becker looked at Jehanette and said in a low voice, “You seemed to have fulfilled your mission here. You should have no problem returning back home now.”
My mind darkened. “Why did I have to save Jehanette? I mean, I don’t understand why anyone would want to kill such a sweet and simple girl. And I didn’t even really do anything, why did it have to be me?”
He smiled with a steely gleam in his eyes. “Tristen, you shouldn’t ever ask ‘why me’? The simple answer to that every time is that your gift knows when you are needed. We might never know the logistics and details of every event and your influence in it, but it is vital for you to trust your gift.” Ailey listened intently while I chewed over what he said.
He continued, “And Jehanette has an important future ahead of her. Yes, she has a simple life right now but her future will be very eventful. The Tingui do not have enough power to return here again so she will be safe.”
I looked at him doubtfully.
“It’s very hard to go back in time to change past events. You probably could not do it again of your own volition until you grow stronger. They will need time and strength to do anything again.”
I wondered about what her future could be and then I remembered that Jacques had been hurt in the wolf attack. I had worried that he wouldn’t be able to fight off the attackers.
“Where are Jacques and the others?” I asked Ailey.
“They’re out helping the others. There’s a lot of damage,” she whitened. I couldn’t imagine the horrors she might have seen.
Mr. Becker cut in, “He came just in time to help us escape the barn. He and his sons found Jehanette and she told them where you were. Ailey and Isolda were separated and so Isolda figured she’d just meet where you were supposed to meet.”
“I went to the barn too,” Ailey continued. “But no one was there so I took the last horse and left. I thought maybe y’all had left without me so I went to look for you in the woods. It took me a while to realize that you weren’t there because everything was so chaotic. Everyone was just trying to get ahead of everyone else. When Jehanette got there she ordered everyone around. She got people into groups.”
I grabbed her arm and stared intently at her. “Never think that we would leave you.” The air grew awkward and out of the corner of my eye I could see Isolda look away, embarrassed.
I’ve got to have a conversation with that girl.
A tear formed in Ailey’s eye and I smiled. I guess everyone feels insecure sometimes.
“What about the soldiers looking for Jehanette? What happened to them?” I asked.
Ailey and Mr. Becker were quiet but Isabelle spoke up behind her. “Your friend, Mr. Becker, Jacques, and my sons took care of them,” she said with pride in her voice.
I sat back and appraised Mr. Becker, seeing him in a new light.
“What about the blond guy?”
Everyone looked blankly at me, except Mr. Becker.
He cleared his throat. “No,” he said. “I saw him running away when I reached the barn, but I — uh — let him go.” He looked uncomfortable.
“Well, thank goodness because who knows what would have happened to me if you’d have gone after him instead of me.” I sighed. They all shook their head in agreement.
Mr. Becker made a motion to leave. “Well,” he said, “I really must be getting back.”
“What about some soup? You must be hungry,” Jehanette protested. Isabelle walked toward the pot to pour some in a bowl.
“I would love some soup but there are other things that I must attend to,” Mr. Becker said. Isabelle nodded and put the bowl back, but at the same time looked toward the door, patiently waiting for Jacques’ return.
Mr. Becker looked down at me.
“As soon as you’re safe to travel, you must join me. I think you know the way now,” he said with a wink.
“As soon as Tristen is up to it, they will leave here to come to my house. There will be plenty of space,” Mr. Becker told Isabelle. Isabelle looked at me then silently nodded.
Ailey got up to walk Mr. Becker to the door. When they reached it, he whispered something in her ear and she looked at me curiously. She smiled up at him and said, “Thanks for coming back for us. We’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon,” Isolda added. She looked as if she wanted to go with him, her eyes followed him even after the door was shut. I looked at her closely and thought of her in the barn, when her tears streamed down her face as she held me tightly.
She looked up at me watching her and our eyes met. I suddenly felt tired again.
“Tomorrow night we go back,” I mouthed.
Both she and Ailey nodded.
“Tomorrow night,” Isolda whispered and turned to look out the window.
❦
We stood by the stream, rummaging through the backpack for our clothes. I pulled out theirs and let them sort through them while I pulled out my jeans and shirt. I looked around; there was no one else around. Ailey held up a blanket for Isolda while she changed quickly and then she returned the favor for Ailey.
I did not want to change in front of them.
Easy part first.
Quickly, I pulled off the shirt Jean had given me and pulled my own shirt over my head. The cotton felt unnaturally soft after the rough fabric of the period clothing.
I pushed one arm through but no matter how hard I pushed, the other arm wouldn’t go through. Frustrated I pulled the shirt half way back over my head and inspected the shirt. There was a line sewn through the arm to close it off.
Uh huh.
I looked up at them. They were both finished and waiting for me to finish. Isolda’s eyes were wide with feigned innocence. Ailey looked like she was trying not to laugh and her face was red with the effort.
“What’s wrong? Do you need any help?” Isolda asked me. I saw her glance at my chest quickly and then look away. Embarrassed, I pulled the shirt back down and sat there with one arm hanging awkwardly out one side of the shirt and the other arm trapped at my side.
“Why do you ask?” I questioned.
“Oh, I don’t know. You look like you’re having some issues there,” she answered. I looked pointedly at Ailey.
She took a step back. “Don’t look at me,” she protested.
I looked back at Isolda and her eyes gleamed mischievously and then she looked at Ailey and they both began to laugh.
“Here,” Isolda said as she held her hand out to me. I gave her the shirt. She used her teeth to rip apart the seam and gave it back, smiling.
“There you go,” she said. I grabbed the shirt from her and the blanket from Ailey.
“I see you’ve improved your sewing skills,” I mumbled.
“What?” she asked.
I smiled up at her. “Nothing.”
I walked away amid shaky laughter and managed to pull my shirt on and change my pants while holding the blanket at the same time. Finished, I threw the blanket off me.
“Ahh,” I said, relieved.
The girls looked at me, the seriousness had returned to their faces. I folded up the clothes and blanket and reached out for their hands. They reached out and grasped my hands tightly.
❦
We’d said our goodbyes to the family, telling them that we were leaving to meet Mr. Becker, and slipped quietly away toward the woods where no one would see us. They’d offered to travel with us, Jehanette being the most ardent supporter of the plan, but we insisted on making the trip on our own.
The night was quiet, too quiet.
I was holding the slightly charred book in my arms and had Ailey and Isolda linked with my arms. Although they didn’t need the physical contact before, I wasn’t taking any chances. Suddenly the pressure in the air changed and built up so intensely that it pulled us closer together. But it only lasted a short while and then there was the bright flash of light and a whoosh of air around us. And then quite suddenly we could see my house off in the distance. My heart leapt in my chest.
“Oh my heck, oh my heck, I can’t believe we did it!” Isolda screamed. “We did it. I’m so glad to be back home. There’s your house Tristen! I’ve never been so happy to see your house before. Let’s go, come on,” Isolda motioned to us as she started walking, then running toward the house.
Racing ahead of us, Isolda suddenly stopped when she noticed that we weren’t following her.
“Wait,” Ailey said. “Wait, wait.” She held out her hand for Isolda to stop. “What did Mr. Becker say about time? How long do you think we’ve been gone? What do we tell everyone about where we’ve been?”
“He said that time still advances, but a lot slower than what we experienced. He also said that it varies, so I would guess, I don’t know, maybe a few hours?” I said.
“A few? A few hours only?” Isolda asked, almost in disbelief. “We’ve been through all that and it’s only been a few hours here?” She stopped to think for a minute; we all just stood there contemplating everything that we had been through together. This was something that no one could ever know, they would never understand. I thought of the long scar on my abdomen and wondered how I would explain that to my parents. There was a silent understanding that we would share this with no one.
“Well, at least it shouldn’t be too bad. We can just tell your mom that we went for a walk if she asks.”
Isolda seemed to accept it. She looked at me, with distance once again, but with seeming acceptance this time. I looked at Ailey. She just nodded in agreement.
“Um, Ailey, could you just give me a minute to talk to Isolda alone?”
Isolda looked at me and shook her head. “No, no. I don’t want to talk about this.”
The Last Seeker: Book 1: a teen & YA magical, fantasy, paranormal, & adventure novel (TRISTEN) Page 20