“Are the banished Svoda really responsible for the Scratchers?” asked Meghan.
“It is coincidence that we were attacked three days after they departed, isn’t it?” he returned.
“But didn’t they still have friends and family who stayed behind?” asked Colin. “How could they attack their own people?”
“There’s no easy answer. From what I have heard over the years, the group that left was fanatical in their beliefs and willing to do just about anything to get what they wanted. We always hope the banished aren’t responsible, but things always seem to point back to them, in the end.”
Jae turned his attention to Mireya as the twins sat in silence, blocking each other from their thoughts. Similarly though, they each realized, again, how little they really knew about the Svoda and this world they were stuck living in.
After a while, Jae told the twins he was taking Mireya home to prepare lunch. He wanted to be ready in case his parents returned for a break, and assumed they would be hungry if they did.
Meghan offered to help.
Colin stayed behind and picked up the Jackal Lantern, turning back to the front page. He skimmed over the retelling of the previous night’s attack.
There was nothing new or different from what he’d already witnessed, and oddly, not a lot of questions surrounding the attack itself. The tone of the article carried the same attitude everyone else did: another day, another attack... with an invisible clock restarting a hidden countdown leading to the next one.
He moved on to another article. Maybe somewhere deeper inside the paper, someone actually debated the topic with any real depth or new thinking.
In Other News, By Kalida Jackal
In other news, we have learned that our own Viancourt member, Tanzea Chase, who we all know has been ill, fell and injured herself while attempting, at the last minute, to attend the Initiation of Ivan Crane. Her injuries are not severe: a sprained ankle and a bruised arm.
Doctor Stamm is healing her, without the use of magic, of course. We at the Jackal Lantern need not remind you that ALL magic is strictly forbidden in the E Valley. Let this be your friendly reminder. Our best wishes to Vian Chase for a speedy recovery. And all meetings scheduled with her in the next twenty-four hours will need to be rebooked.
THE NEXT In Other News story that caught Colin’s eye was about the now deceased storyteller and bookstore owner, Balloch Flummer and his family.
IN OTHER NEWS, THE untimely passing of Balloch Flummer is not the only torment this family has been afflicted with in recent days. We at the Lantern have learned that the Flummer family also received devastating news upon arrival here in the E Valley.
Another of Balloch’s sons, currently residing with another caravan of our kin, left behind a message before their own departure from the E Valley. It seems that his daughter, Catrina, fell seriously ill...
“WAIT! WHAT!” COLIN exclaimed.
Did he dare think this could be his dream Catrina?
He kept reading.
IT SEEMS THAT BALLOCH’S granddaughter is suffering from an unknown illness. Shortly before their departure from Eidolon’s Valley, she slipped into a coma. The message said ‘she is currently under quarantine until it can be determined that her illness is not harmful to others.’
The message goes on to say, that the group even received authorization from Eidolon, himself, to heal her with magic. Unfortunately, at their time of departure, even magic had made no improvements. Let us hope beyond hope that this poor girl recovers. Moreover, that we are able to hear of it in our own future travels.
In an odd way, it takes me back to the article in this very issue of the Jackal Lantern, about Initiate Ivan Crane and the loss of his beloved mother. If you have not read it yet, I highly recommend it.
COLIN QUICKLY SKIMMED the rest of the article and paper. There was nothing else about this girl, Catrina.
“Can it possibly be her?” Colin whispered to no one. “But how? She’s in another group. How could I have seen her in the hospital in Grimble? When at that point she should have been in Eidolon’s Valley?” Colin’s mind reeled with this information.
Perhaps there is another way to travel between worlds! He could not help but think it. If true though, why would this information be kept secret?
He stored this information with the rest he’d collected so far. It only added to the questions, but the more questions that had no answers, the more holes in the story there were. It only further proved the case, in his mind, of the realization he was not yet ready to share.
JAE WAS CORRECT. HIS parents did show up for lunch, and Sheila was extremely thankful to Jae, Meghan and Mireya for cooking. Colin appeared just as the food was ready to eat. Even Irving seemed pleased with Jae’s actions.
“Our meeting is to start up again in an hour’s time,” Irving said as they sat to eat. “This is nice,” he added, “everyone eating together. I guess we haven’t done this in a while, have we?”
Sheila lovingly took hold of her husband’s hand. “You have been busy, dear. It’s too bad Ivan couldn’t join us, too.”
“Yes, but I’m sure he’s off taking care of business as always.”
“Dad, can I ask you a question?” interrupted Mireya, shyly. “What do you talk about in the SLC meetings? Are you talking about how to kill the Scratchers?”
Irving, with a rare twinkle in his eyes, tapped the side of his nose.
“That’s for Initiated minds to know, and non-Initiated minds to find out!”
She giggled, but asked no more questions.
The mood during lunch was better than the twins expected, and right as they were finishing, Colin had an epiphany. There are still members of the Flummer family here in the E Valley. I could ask them to describe their Catrina, and then I would know for sure if it’s really her! This thought quickly led to another realization. If she grew up in another group, they’ll have no idea what she looks like. It can’t hurt to try, I guess.
“Mr. Mochrie, the meeting doesn’t start up for another thirty minutes, right?” he asked.
“You are correct, Colin.”
“Would it be okay if I were to hop over to the shop? I ran out of note paper,” he lied.
“Sure, that would be fine. There probably isn’t anyone minding it right now, so take what you need. Last I saw, the mercantile was set up near the bookstore. Good to see you’re keeping up with your studies.”
Colin did not answer but took off down the tunnel before anyone chose to question him. He ignored the push in his mind from Meghan. He’d heard the Flummer family was staying in a small apartment over the bookshop. It had to be weird to live so deep inside the cave, without any windows, he imagined.
He wondered how to broach the subject. The family was still grieving over Balloch, and he wanted to talk about Catrina, who is sick. Before he knew it, he’d arrived at the entrance. He walked in and as expected, it was deserted. There were tall trunks, open with rows of books lining the insides. But he ignored the books, finding the staircase that led to the apartment upstairs. He stopped after climbing a single step.
“They’re going to think I’m nuts,” whispered Colin. A voice startled him from behind a nearby trunk of books.
“They might, but I wouldn’t.”
Colin spun around searching for the source of the voice. He froze as a ghostly body floated through a nearby trunk of books.
“But... But... you’re dead,” he stammered, in shock.
“Ah, alas, I am that.”
The ghostly body of Balloch Flummer hovered just a few feet away from Colin.
“Listen to me carefully. I don’t think I have much time. I was pulled from Grimble to here, which means you must be my unfinished business.”
“Me? But...” All Colin could do was stare in bewilderment. Balloch had gone to Grimble after he died. One of the afterlife ghost towns where magical folk ended up if they had unfinished business to tend to.
“Ah, boy, you gain so much knowle
dge after you die. There’s so much truth in death.”
“What do you mean, Mr. Flummer?”
His ghostly body rushed forward, stopping abruptly in front of Colin’s face. Balloch stared into his eyes searching for something. His ghostly head shook as if getting the answer he sought, but he didn’t offer any explanation to Colin. He floated back a few feet and looked at him knowingly.
“You can save my granddaughter.”
“What? How do you... what do I... where is...” his words sputtered out, shock befuddling his tongue.
“You are the only one who can save her,” Balloch told him, ignoring his trail of stammered questions.
Colin stared at the ghost in awe. Confirmation. The Flummers’ sick Catrina was his dream Catrina. And her grandfather’s ghost had come back from Grimble to tell him this. Any doubt he had over saving this girl, vanished. Not that he had many, but this revelation only deepened his resolve.
“Do you know where she is?” Colin asked, determined. “I know she’s somewhere in Eidolon’s Valley. But I don’t know where. And as to how she got there, that’s still a mystery.”
Balloch floated, his thoughts his own. He did not address Colin’s questions.
“Mr. Flummer?” questioned Colin.
No reply.
It was a bit like they were having entirely different conversations that just happened to be about the same topic, at the same moment. Nothing like when he and Meghan had spoken to their Uncle Eddy, or other ghosts in Grimble, who talked the same as living beings. Colin wondered if it was because Balloch was so newly dead, perhaps he was confused.
Colin gave a start when Balloch suddenly blurted out, “You’re not the only one looking for her! You must hurry, Colin!”
“Not the only one! What do you mean?”
He got no solid answers, just more mournful babbling.
“So much truth in death,” Balloch sighed. “Oh the horrors to come and the truths to be revealed. So much pain. So much suffering. So much death. All because of...” he trailed off, mumbling incoherently and floated out of the bookstore.
Colin followed him into the small courtyard, which was still empty as the SLC had not yet reconvened. Balloch floated higher and higher, just as his Uncle Eddy had months before with Timothy.
Balloch’s voice echoed clearly down to Colin.
“Trust no one Colin Jacoby. Things are happening now that cannot, and should not, be undone. Trust no one.”
An icy shudder made Colin shiver. He watched Balloch’s ghostly frame fade and meld into the red rock of the cave ceiling, and vanish. He assumed, for good. A few seconds later, voices echoed out of the tunnels; Svoda were returning to their meeting.
Colin was not sure what his next move should be, so he headed down an empty tunnel, stopping to watch the Svoda gather. The Flummer family exited their apartment from over the bookstore. Rehearsed smiles poorly hid their obvious sadness. Perhaps one day, if he could save Catrina, he would be able to relieve some of their grief.
Catrina was real.
Not just a figment of his imagination.
Not just a recurring fictional star in his dreams.
He’d been certain before, but to have the confirmation from Balloch only ramped up his belief and determination to find her.
She was real. And here somewhere in Eidolon’s Valley.
Why would others be searching for her though?
Who else would even know she was here?
And how did she get into the valley in the first place?
As he made his way through the tunnel, other thoughts clouded his mind.
He had seen Catrina while in Grimble.
This meant there had to be other ways to go travel from world to world.
And there was only one person who could keep a secret like that; the woman in charge. The woman who claimed there was no other way. The woman who did not like him, and whom he equally did not trust.
The Svoda might blame everything wrong with their lives on the group that was banished, years ago, the Scratchers, or other enemies like the Grosvenor, who Colin knew little about, but his theories were leading him to one conclusion. That it all pointed back to Juliska Blackwell. Or someone was sure doing their best to make it look that way.
It could be a setup. He’d read stories where this sort of thing happened all the time.
He had no proof either way.
And he would not condemn the Svoda’s leader before getting that proof, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter. Disliking someone wasn’t proof that they were evil.
The situation reminded him of the story Kanda Macawi had told around the campfire back in Cobbscott weeks before they’d come to live with the Svoda.
Seek the truth. Always.
And he’d do just that. After he saved Catrina Flummer.
Thinking of Kanda naturally made him think of his Uncle Arnon. If there were other ways to travel between worlds, it might be possible to return home sooner than he and Meghan had been told.
Colin stopped for a minute, nearing the exit of the tunnel.
If he had to make a choice that very minute on saving one of them, Catrina or Uncle Arnon, he suddenly wasn’t sure which person to choose.
His uncle should be his top priority, but then Balloch’s warning rapidly overshadowed that possibility. He was the only one that could save Catrina. Her own grandfather had said it.
“But I don’t have any idea how to open or use these other doorways,” said Colin with a telling sigh that sealed his immediate future. No matter how badly he wanted to find out if his uncle was dead or alive, even with the knowledge other doors must exist, he could not use them. So he’d focus on the task he could do and save the girl who haunted his dreams.
IVAN CRANE FINISHED the steep journey to Banon Blackwell’s castle with one deep inhale and exhale. He wiped a single bead of sweat from his brow before knocking. Pantin Hollee answered before he could get more than one knock in, and showed him into a small room.
Ivan noted four hard looking chairs carved from the same stone as the castle, along with a similarly carved table. There was a warm, dry breeze and he looked up to see the room was open to the outdoors. There was no back wall, just openness crossing the entire expanse of the back of the room. He stepped a little closer, peeking outward. Good thing there was a railing; it was a long drop down.
The room may have been sparse in decoration but what it lacked in furniture, it made up for with the view; it spanned for miles upon miles into a valley dotted with red rock formations and towering canyon walls. The vast empire of Eidolon. The valley they were forbidden to enter.
“Ah, good, Ivan.”
He spun around, bowing slightly.
“I see you’re admiring the view. Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Juliska said.
“It is impressive,” he replied. “I had no idea the valley went on for so many miles.”
“Quite expansive. Eidolon has an enormous kingdom. We are living at the very edge of it.”
“I see that now.”
“Good, because the valley will come into play with your Initiation task.”
He waited anxiously for her to explain.
She did not.
“Meghan will be here shortly,” she said instead. “But I did wish to speak with you alone, first.”
“Of course.”
“We both have something in common, Ivan. Well more than one thing I’m sure, but the quality I admire the most in life is frankness. Honest, hold nothing back, frankness.”
“Well, as you have said before, Banon Blackwell, it is what keeps us alive. I see no other prudent method.”
“And I stand by that,” she replied heartily. “This is why I tell you the following, Ivan. I hope, for your own good.”
Ivan’s eyes narrowed, darkening a little in hesitant anticipation.
Had the Banon had some vision of him? One she might actually share. It wasn’t something she did often. Regardless, it did not sound like good news.
“I have great visions of your future, Ivan, however, there is one thing that worries me.”
Ivan stiffened, listening.
“In my visions, you are always alone. Now, when I say alone, I mean that you have no confidant, no single person that you trust above all others. Every great man, or woman,” she winked, “needs to have a confidant. Like I have Hollee, for example. A woman I can trust with anything!” She emphasized the last word while placing a hand on his shoulder.
He felt inclined to defend himself.
“Banon, with all due respect, I feel it is sometimes wiser for me to be alone. There are fewer distractions in my work. It allows me great flexibility in giving my life wholly, to the Svoda cause.”
“I understand your feelings on this subject, Ivan, as I myself, often follow a similar path. But I’ve learned over the years it’s not a smart one. It is certainly noble to give yourself so fully. I only ask that you reconsider this one part of your path. Having that one person you can trust with your utmost secrets, desires, or fears... someone you know you can trust without question. This will only help you bear the burden of such a noble life.”
Ivan stumbled over his words. “I will, um, consider what you say. Of course. I appreciate your candor,” he ended more firmly.
“I knew you would. That is why I like you, Ivan Crane. No Bull. No ego. Get to the point and get the job done,” she said vivaciously. “It’s why I chose you for Initiation above all others.”
Ivan nodded curtly.
“I will leave it up to you to follow the path you see fit. If you choose to find a confidant, choose wisely,” warned Juliska. “I’ve seen too much betrayal in my lifetime, but I’ve also seen that your instincts are very keen. Trust them.”
Ivan narrowed his eyes again, wondering what the Banon had seen of his future.
A confidant? Him?
He didn’t have time for making friends. Let alone someone he trusted above all others. And who? Just who would fulfill such a job?
Fated Fantasy Adventure Page 49