*****
A voice called to Crystalyn, complacent, yet hinting at urgency, pleading for a response. Are you there, Do’brieni? Come to me. We’ve much to discuss, and little time. Are you there, Do’brieni? Please, answer.
Where are you?
A surge of elation, tinged with hope, washed through her. I am near. You will have to find the way.
Darkness blocked the way. It wasn’t going to be easy. When had anything she set out to do her whole life been easy? Moving blindly in a general outward direction, she froze. Had the darkness just moved back? Not daring to believe, she traveled a short distance in three quick spurts. The darkness vaulted away three times, each time the same distance from her. Elated, she raced into the darkness, sweeping it before her. She called out to the voice, Am I going the right way?
All ways end the same.
What did he mean by that? She couldn’t say for certain, but she felt the voice was male. Lacking any feminine or masculine tonal inflections, there was no way of knowing if she was right about it. Except “voice” wasn’t the right word. It was a sense of a voice, except…except…she heard it as she would her own thoughts. Distinguishing between her thoughts and the voice was a distinction her mind sorted with ease.
How that could be was beyond her. Nor did she care. She liked the support she sensed emanating from the feeling.
Pushing the darkness back, she moved until she found a corner. Without slowing, she swept down it to find another, then another, coming to a halt at a fourth, which had to be the beginning.
Where are you? Are you hiding from me? I’ve searched everywhere.
Joy tinged with amusement washed over her. Open your eyes, my Do’brieni!
Her eyes flew open.
Light flooded in. Squinting, she searched for the voice. The glowing-eyed Lore Mother was kneeling at her side, concern wrinkling her wizened face. Huge Lore Rayna and one-eyed Hastel hovered behind her.
The Lore Mother cackled with glee. “By Onan, she is coming around! She’s made of sterner stuff than I ever imagined. How do you feel, child?”
“Where is he?” Crystalyn asked her voice small.
The Lore Mother frowned. “Where is who, dear?”
“I don’t know. I heard a voice; he called me his Do…Do’brieni. Didn’t you guys hear him?”
The Lore Mother sat back, exchanging a look with Lore Rayna before fixing on her again. “Do you know what the word means? I was not aware you could speak the ancient tongue.”
“I don’t know what it means, and I’m too weak to think about it. Please, just tell me where he is. I want to see him.”
The Lore Mother pursed her cracked lips. “I cannot tell you where he is, though I suspect he is near. But the meaning matters considerably.”
Groggy, Crystalyn was suddenly alert. “What do you mean?”
“Do’brieni is the ancient word for link mate. It appears you have been linked.”
“Blessed Onan—” Lore Rayna breathed.
Crystalyn squinted at the Lore Mother. The light of day was so bright. “That means nothing to me. I still don’t have any idea what you mean. I’m too tired and too weak to think about it.”
“Connected, dear, it means you’re connected. A Warden offered an empathic link to you. You must have accepted. The Warden has to be fairly close for the link to happen; it is likely the cause of the horses jitters.”
A familiar throb began to build behind Crystalyn’s eyes. “You’re giving me a headache. You’ll have to tell me some other time.”
The Lore Mother’s tone filled with awe. “Do not inquire of me, dear. Ask your Do’brieni,”
“My link mate? How would you suggest I do that?” Crystalyn asked. She was beginning to get irritated with the old woman. The Lore Mother acted as if she should know how to do everything from the start. What was she going to do with these people? Sometimes she wanted to give them all a tongue-lashing. Especially the Lore Mother, when she was being cryptic. What was she supposed to do? Search around with her inner vision, reach out with her mind, or perhaps, lash out in silence?
An almost overpowering sense of wonder flowed into Crystalyn’s mind. You have discovered how to open your inner being sooner than expected, faster than any passed down through our lore! I am pleased, yet I am confused. What has raised your ire, Do’brieni?
The voice sounded so near and so intimate that it frightened her. At the same time, a single thought stood out, stronger than terror. She clung to it. The voice hadn’t come from the world outside. It derived from within, as if the speaker behind it shared her mind somehow. It frightened her that she received sensations from the other mind too, feeling it in the physical sense as if it were a disembodied brain floating in the half of her mind that it had claimed for its own. Except she knew where the voice’s body was, pinpointing it was simply a matter of following the sensations back to their source, which she did. A dried stream bank lined with cedar trees, south of the wagon road, formed in her memory. Why do you stay hidden in the old streambed? Come to me, she thought, concentrating on the link. It helped lessen the terror.
A response tinged with surprise slipped into her mind. You must make your companions aware of me. An image of an arrow protruding from a sienna-furred haunch followed the thought.
Suddenly, she was groggy, way beyond tired. Stay where you are. I’ll come to you soon.
The Lore Mother’s voice intruded, echoing the way she felt. “I’m very tired. Is it safe to set up camp?”
We should be far enough from the hive by now,” Cudgel answered from the opposite side of the wagon. At least she thought it was he. Sometimes he sounded like Hastel, or Hastel sounded like him. She didn’t bother to look. Looking required energy, something she was severely short on now. Allowing her eyes to flutter closed, she gave herself willingly to the blackness waiting to engulf her in its soft embrace, secure in the knowledge her newfound friend was watching out for her, not far away.
VOICES IN THE DARK
The odd, guttural voices had steadily encroached upon Jade’s darkened world. The first sounds of pursuit drifted down from above after Burl had led her and Cam down a steep, sloping ramp and crossed an immense cavern by the way their footfalls echoed. In the beginning, they were only a faint echo now and then. Now the voices in the dark grew louder as they began to shuffle across the cavern behind them, calling out with grunts and clipped, raspy sounds. They sounded foreign and familiar at the same time, though she didn’t recognize a single word. The unfamiliar language worried her, worse than the hours of dogged pursuit. What would she do if her and her companions separated, somehow?
Jade’s fright propagated. She’d trade all her possessions to wake in the small bedroom shared with Crystalyn with its single, dim light and tiny window. Led by a Dark User’s creation through suffocating darkness as foreign, disembodied voices came ever closer brought the reality she wasn’t on her world now. The two of them were completely dependent on Burl. Without his ability to see in absolute dark, they would have wandered until they fell to their deaths in a hole. They might still be falling, their hoarse screams echoing back to them with adverse mockery. Little of the harrowing flight through blackness had seemed real until the voices had reached her. She’d simply walked where led for hours, taking it on faith that the enemy followed only because Burl hadn’t stopped tugging the rope.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the rope fell slack around her waist. Too late, she realized the raggedy man had come to a standstill. Her shoulder and chin took the brunt of the impact. Jarred, she bit her tongue. Though she tried to hold it back, a small cry slipped through her lips.
Camoe’s voice, low and drawn, followed the cry. “Blast you, Dark Creation. Give proper warning before stopping to smell the rock flowers! Our eyes were not born from blackness, as yours.”
Pulling the rope taut, Burl’s dark outline moved to one side without a sound. A dull flicker caught Jade’s eye. “Camoe, wait! Isn’t it getting lighter ahead?
”
“By the one God, I think it is!”
Brushing past her, he moved to take the lead. He made it about a half step before a sharp tug pulled them together. “Ouch. I think he wants us to go this way,” Jade said, rubbing her hip she’d banged against Camoe’s hip. Despite his many seasons, the druid’s body was solid as tree, harder than some boys she knew.
“What is it doing, now?” Camoe asked his voice hoarse. “I had begun to believe your creature may actually want to lead us safely from this cesspit. Now I am not so certain. There is light ahead. With light, there is the possibility we can find our way out of this rock. I have been here too long; I need sunlight.”
“Burl’s done well this far. He could’ve led us right into those voices trailing us a long time ago. In case you haven’t noticed, they’re getting awful close.” A sharp tug on her waist emphasized Burl’s impatience.
Camoe’s reply was grudging. “Fine, we shall do it your way this time. However, should I get a single hint your Burl has led us astray, I shall kill it first.” Turning away from the dim light, he vanished from sight. She knew he was still close by the rigid sound of his boots moving away.
Jade followed, concentrating on not banging into him again, no easy feat with the length of the rope being so short and having to do it by feel. She understood Camoe’s need. Light with which to see the way forward, would be divine.
Burl forced them into a near-run for perhaps a minute, before she felt his hand press against her shoulder slowing them to a cautious walk. Loose rocks, mingled with larger boulders, loomed out of the darkness. Jade discovered some only when she scraped her knees or shins on them. The greatest terror of anyone living without vision must be the not knowing what lay in wait ahead, especially navigating through terrain like these caves. Small rocks waited to cause the unwary an abrasive stumble, and rock walls stood ready to bash them to a halt. Worse, the path ahead might drop away to nothingness.
Stop it! Jade admonished. Stumbling around in the dark must be getting to her, though it had given her new respect for the blind. When she returned home, she vowed to help someone afflicted with it, somehow. Perhaps she could study to become an Administration ophthalmologist. Providing, she ever got back. No! She couldn’t think like that. Despair would claim her, though she couldn’t help wondering where Crystalyn was right now. Her sister searched for her, she knew it. She’d seen it during the mental battle with the dominion wraith. Or had she imagined it? Had the wraith provided the image as some sort of tactic to break through her protection? If so, it had miscalculated severely.
Her musings cut short when a weight descended upon her head. Startled, she quelled her rising panic when she realized Burl’s rough hand rested there. Following his urgent—but gentle—pushes, she went down on her knees, feeling her way into a small opening. Great, yet another crawl in the dark, when would it end? “Watch your head, Cam. I think Burl’s taking us into a vent again.”
Camoe’s whispered words followed close behind her. “All right, but I have to untie from you. Leave the rope attached to you and your creature, but do not follow if the shaft climbs too steeply. We shall find another route.”
They hadn’t gotten far when Burl halted without warning. Again, she bumped into him. This time a rough heel smacked her chin.
“That’s it! Burl, you’ve got to stop—”
“Quiet!” Camoe hissed into her ear. “They are close.”
Jade had almost forgotten the voices. How could she so easily dismiss danger? Clear and distinct, one guttural voice rang out in clipped tones a stone’s throw too close.
Staunching her ragged breaths, which sounded loud in her ears, moments passed in stark silence. She wondered how her companions managed to keep silent—not even a drawn breath from Camoe—with danger so near. He must be very brave. Jade wished she could be, but her legs had cramped painfully, she couldn’t stay still. She leaned back on her hands ever so slowly.
Light bloomed at the shaft’s entrance.
Her heart thumped against her chest. Surely, the entire citadel could hear it hammering. She’d given them away. Now they’d die violently and it’d be her fault. They’d come so far, went through so much, now they were all going to be killed. It’d all been for nothing. A scream of frustration reverberated in her mind. And stayed there, echoing back and forth.
The light had withdrawn.
Camoe inched close, releasing a small hot breath at her ear. “Keep moving and stay quiet.”
She didn’t trust herself to reply, her heart still raced. Pushing against Burl’s legs, she got him to continue. Again, Jade thought of Burl in the masculine sense, but how would she ever know? Burl could be Burlene for all she knew. She couldn’t ask him, since he was so profoundly mute. Not once on their harrowing journey through the Dark Citadel had he emitted the smallest sound, but it didn’t matter. She understood him well enough.
This crawl seemed interminable, though the shaft stayed straight and true to its gentle upward slope. Another hour passed at most, but she couldn’t go on, her last vestiges of stored energy had burned away. Opening her mouth to call for a rest, she stopped crawling, but her forward progress never ceased. The soiled lifeline at her waist had grown taut. Burl pulled her along with apparent ease, and Jade held on, grateful for the reprieve on leaden legs. Burl must have carried her for miles after the attack by the dominion wraith, dragging her now shouldn’t exhaust him; at least, she didn’t believe so, though she did feel guilty. She should be able to pull her own weight. Relying on others to carry her through life was certain to leave mental dependencies over time. Sounding just like Mom, Crystalyn had told her so often enough, then going on to tell her to be strong for Dad’s sake. Sometimes she got the impression Crystalyn blamed her for all the family’s troubles. What if her sister was right and she was a needy burden, wanting everyone to take care of her, to help fill the void left by Mom’s disappearance? Had she been a burden to the whole family?
Perhaps so, but she didn’t have to be a burden now. She could climb back to her feet and continue crawling. All that was required was a firm grip on the rope, then hand over hand, pull herself to her feet. Jade reached for the rope, but her arms had grown as heavy as the smooth rock Burl pulled her over, so limp, so useless.
The darkness seemed darker than it had a moment ago. Had her eyes closed? How was she going to see where she was going?
PONDEROUS MOUNTAIN
The heat on Jade’s cheek and the light leaking in under her eyelids informed her the auto tint adjust for the window had drifted out of calibration again. Crystalyn would be mad at her for not checking the solar sensor battery before going to sleep.
Filled with trepidation, Jade opened her eyes. The blazing light of midday stabbed her vision. Bright spots danced before her eyes. She blinked and rolled on her side. Harsh, brown shrubs sprang into focus, growing reluctantly through sickly, gray-colored sand. Two legs and feet the color and look of tree branches, stepped into view, halting beside her head. For a moment, she was frightened until she recalled whose they were. Jade sat up. Burl’s yellow-orange eyes gazed at her dispassionately. Going with an impulse, Jade clasped the raggedy man’s wrist, and pulled herself upright, feeling the bark-like texture of his skin. Burl never budged from her unexpected added weight. How strong was he?
Camoe stepped from behind some enormous dark-gray rocks surrounding them. “Good. You’re finally awake. You had me concerned.”
Jade glanced around. A boulder big enough to flatten her dad’s hover cycle lay at the base of the cliff face, marking their exit route. Well, perhaps ‘cliff’ and ‘face’ weren’t the exact words she wanted. Tilting her head back, she gazed upward until falling over was a real danger. Dark, ponderous mountain was apt. It was a wonder such a thing had allowed them to escape. The mountain brooded overhead with a palpable sense of malice exuding a presence so strong, she was afraid it was going to somehow reach out and pull her back inside. The sight of it should be enough to turn away most, w
ith its ominous, foreboding of danger.
Lest its brooding swallow her, Jade turned her back on the forbidding stone, suppressing a shudder. She never wanted to look at it again. “I feel much stronger, thanks to you both.”
“You will feel stronger once you have eaten,” Camoe assured her. He handed her a bowl of soup, two slices of bread, and a water flask.
A pleasant aroma wafted from the soup. Parched, she took a long pull from the damp flask first, pleasantly surprised at the chilled temperature. Her benefactor must have discovered fresh water from somewhere nearby. A glance at the soup revealed unknown sprouts mixed with carrots and potatoes. Tentatively, she dipped a small portion of her bread into the tin bowl and tried it. The sprouts gave it a satisfying, robust flavor, bringing to mind a delicious protein cube. Before she knew it, her spoon was scraping the bottom. “Oh, that was very good! What are those sprouts you used?”
“They are called meat sprouts, since they have a similar flavor. But I did not make it.” He glanced sidelong in Burl’s direction.
Her mute friend was busy packing her and Camoe’s bag, utilizing a waist-high rock, flat on top. Not only was Burl a huge help, but he seemed able to perform tasks with relative intelligence. “Do you know where we are?” she asked the druid.
Camoe shook his head, his blue eyes wide. “I think we have somehow crawled out of the southern end of the Dark Citadel. Until now, I would not have thought there was anything but this ugly gray rock on this side. No one, in my order knew of way in or out of the Citadel here, not even the most traveled. There have been many who sacrificed a lifetime studying the citadel’s defenses, searching for some small chink in its dark stone. They have never looked behind this boulder field, it seems. Of course, if they did happen to trudge by, the opening is small enough it would not have garnered a second glance.”
Jade slung the water flask over her shoulder along with her bag. “Why bother searching? A place this size must have a large front door somewhere. Surely, someone could muster enough troops to take it by force. Why not storm the main entrance?”
Beyond the Sapphire Gate: Epic Fantasy-Some Magic Should Remain Untouched (The Flow of Power Book 1) Page 21