“Why should you not converse at this point? Because she told you not to?” Harton asked. “You each carry one of the rings. You are brothers, allies. What danger could such an encounter pose?” His suspicions were heightened, not relieved by Tomas’ comments.
“She recited a passage from the Tomes that speaks of the Gem burning brightly when Davmiran and I meet. She feared it might reveal itself to Colton.”
“I know the poem to which you are referring,” Edmond said. “Each of us has studied it. The Chosen shall die, all but a few…,” he recited.
“So she claims to be your protectress?” Dashiel asked. “Yours and your brother’s?”
“She does not claim to be. It just seems that she is. Her actions speak for themselves,” Tomas said. “Can you not feel the shield around Avalain?”
They were fully aware of Sidra’s efforts. They had been since the moment the shields descended. The manifestation of such power could not go unnoticed by any Chosen.
“Sidra asked that I warn you again to make sure the trees never know of our meetings. She said to trust no one outside of this group. She said deception and treachery is everywhere, though she wasn’t specific. I know Prince Elion and Queen Esta are to be considered a part of us. I was with Elion when she came to me, and she and Esta know one another well. Sidra was the one who told me about this room.”
“She warns us?” Pithar paced in a tight circle. “She has the audacity to tell us to lie to our trees!” His agitation was unusual and he fidgeted with his hands.
“She feared betrayal and treason more than anything, and that’s what she wanted me to tell you. The worries some of us have about our trees may be borne of this,” Tomas continued, ignoring Pithar’s comments. “She’s sincere, I know it. She’s trying to help, despite her anger.”
“How can you be positive? How do we know she’s not planting the seeds of this so called conspiracy herself?” Harton asked.
“Exactly! Maybe she is the one seeking to separate us from our bondmates for purposes we are unaware of,” Pithar said. “You’re all so trusting, it sickens me sometimes. Fools we are not, or shouldn’t be,” he challenged them again.
“Tomas tells us she is trustworthy. Do you doubt the word of another Chosen?” Tobias asked, his patience wearing thin.
“He may be young, but so were we all once,” Crea said. He sensed the power in the boy. It radiated around him. He was no ordinary Chosen.
“It’s not a matter of trust. This is not personal. It’s his judgment I question,” Pithar replied, wagging his finger at Tomas like an angry schoolmarm.
“You go from bad to worse, Pithar. What is your basis for such a comment? His age? How foolish,” Edmond scoffed. The boy was strong and sincere. He could feel it.
“This is getting us nowhere,” Blodwyn declared. “We have decided to meet surreptitiously, despite the risks, because we determined at our last gathering it was prudent to do so. Tomas summoned us to warn us, not to be barraged with questions and doubts. Treat him as you would any of us. Why do you deem it appropriate to confront him with issues and questions you wouldn’t pose to me or to one of the others here?” It disturbed her that they were bickering. This was not their way. This was never their way.
Pithar stretched out his arms, his palms up. “I am uncomfortable with this discussion. Everything we are saying angers me. I do not wish to be here and I did not wish to be there in such a clandestine way the last time. What should I say? I cannot lie to you,” Pithar confessed, his distress obvious.
“None of us enjoy these gatherings Pithar. Enjoyment is not the motive,” Edmond reddened again as he spoke. “But under the circumstances, they must take place. Perhaps if we had met like this during more stable times, it wouldn’t be so difficult now. You were opposed then too, if I recall. But, there is a need for us to gather and to share like never before. Tomas is not to blame for your feelings, Pithar.”
“Yes, and we must share what we can as efficiently as possible,” Phero said. Pithar was unusually recalcitrant, even for him, and he worried this was indicative of worse to come. “Settle yourselves. Tomas has more to tell us and we are not giving him the opportunity. How much time do we safely have, Blodwyn?”
“Not much. We’ve wasted half of it already. Let’s get on with it. Tomas?” she looked at him.
“Let us join our minds together,” Liam suggested. “That would take the least amount of time.”
“Yes, let’s,” Dashiel agreed, moving to the center of the room.
“Come, Pithar. Take my hand,” Blodwyn encouraged him, reaching out to grab his balled up fist as the others gathered. “Perhaps such a melding will ease your tensions.”
“I do not wish to share my thoughts now, Blodwyn,” he replied, stepping away from her. “It’s dangerous,” he mumbled.
“Dangerous? You’re so afraid of this that you will spurn the link?” Dashiel asked. Something was truly amiss with Pithar, It was clear to every one of them.
“I find this extremely disagreeable. Shameful! Is it not bad enough the trees are dying? Must we also use their recent weaknesses as an excuse for deceiving them?” Pithar snapped.
“You attribute motives where there are none,” Edmond retorted. “We’re trying to move closer and you are pulling away. Linking will settle this. Why turn from it? What’s gotten into you?” Edmond knew him better than the others and he barely recognized him now.
“We have many issues to deal with, Pithar. The Lalas can’t help us with all of them. We must act on our own,” Connor said, trying to defuse the tension. “Do not avoid the link, Pithar. It could be beneficial.”
“Prince Elion asked me a question before this meeting gathered,” Tomas interrupted them. “He asked if any Chosen had ever broken the bond by their own will.”
“Why would anyone contemplate such a thought?” Harton asked exasperated.
“Yes, why?” Crea echoed sharply.
“He questions the bond?” Dashiel asked, growing concerned. Sidra’s power was intriguing and he had contemplated approaching her prior to this gathering. She would make a formidable ally if the stories were indeed true. But this disturbed him.
“He fears for me and for all of us. He thought of it as a way of saving a Chosen’s life if his or her tree should choose to depart,” Tomas defended him.
“He obviously knows nothing about the bond,” Harton glowered, blowing air out of his mouth. “Saving ourselves? How outrageous! Is that what this is about?” He sidled closer to Pithar.
“Would you ever consider abandoning Ormachon, Tomas? The prospect is impossible to contemplate.” Or was it? Blodwyn frowned, and long lines marked her forehead. These ideas were distressing.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about this since he said it to me. A year ago, I couldn’t even dream of it. Ormachon was everything to me, my family, my life, my blood. I didn’t have anything else,” Tomas confessed. “But since learning of my brother and of the things expected of us in the days to come, I am skeptical. If it becomes a choice between the earth and my bond, I’m not sure anymore.”
“Ach!” Pithar scowled. “He’s not sure!”
“How could that ever be a choice you will have to face?” Liam asked. “The bond is for life. There is no alternative.”
“Even when I believed Ormachon had betrayed me to the Dark One, I never thought about leaving him. But what happens to the Quest if Ormachon decides to die? What should I do? What’s my responsibility? What should we all do? The question’s been asked and it must now be addressed. I am different. I’m not like the rest of you,” he proclaimed, backing away from the group.
“No? You don’t think so? You were chosen just like we were.” Pithar’s fury was mounting. “Do you know what you are saying? I cannot speak of this any longer! You are filling our heads with thoughts that will destroy what we live for. She put these ideas into your head. She who refused the bond.”
“The boy has a point Pithar, though none of us may wish to see it.
And his bonding was different. You know that. We know that,” Crea said, looking at the solemn faces surrounding him. Tomas felt his heart jump. It was the first time anyone had confirmed this. His bonding was different. He knew it too. “We have decisions to make,” Crea continued. “And we can’t sit idly by and let them be made for us. We must consider every option whether we like it or not. Who are we trying to help? Where do our responsibilities lay?”
“By doing nothing we are not meeting our obligations,” Edmond added. “Shall we let Colton force our hands each time? We are not puppets, we are Chosen!”
“What is occurring with the trees is unprecedented. They are not forthcoming. They are not sharing with us, any of us, as before. They separate themselves, however subtly, from us, not the other way around. Have you not felt it?” Dashiel asked. “Perhaps they are preparing us for a life apart from them. Perhaps…”
“That’s ridiculous!” Harton replied, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. “How could we live apart from our trees at this point? The bond is for life. This is not for us to negotiate like petty politicians squabbling over land rights!”
“Yes, but did any of you ever expect the Lalas would choose to die? Did any expect they would leave us and abandon the earth?” Tomas asked. His bonding was different. How? He could not get this thought out of his head.
“You should not speak so about your tree,” Pithar admonished. “There must be a design behind what they do. There must. Who are you to question them and upset us with this drivel?”
“And yet they do not tell us?” Connor inquired. “They allow us to wonder and to feel separate from them? What would they expect us to do? This may be by design as well. Think about that Pithar! Perhaps they want us to question things and they are unable to tell us directly for some reason.”
“We have never questioned their actions before. Why now? Why must we be suspicious of them?” Harton asked. He could not face such doubts. He was a man of faith, a true believer. “My tree would not do this to me. He would not.”
“We must question them!” Blodwyn whirled around. “I too feel the distance. It’s the things Lilandre refuses to discuss with me that concern me. And she will not explain why no matter how forceful I am in expressing my feelings, nor how I protest. It is our duty to try to understand what lies behind these silences. They speak as loud as any words could, and we must try and decipher their meanings.”
“You think the Lalas are forcing us to make these decisions? You think this is part of their plan? They want us to seek these answers? How could we benefit from discovering on our own what they already know?” Phero asked, staring up at the darkened ceiling. He was a man of the mind, a scholar before he became a Chosen, bonded late in life in comparison to the others.
“Let us link. We can share our thoughts more efficiently,” Edmond urged again.
Pithar stumbled away from the circle.
“You are still reluctant? Why?” Dashiel asked. “Have you something you wish to keep from us, Pithar? Your behavior causes me more concern than Tomas’ words.”
“I only wish to return to Marathar. He and I have had no such difficulties as the ones you seem to be so familiar with. I don’t require the answers you seek. Leave me be and let me go home,” he said, refusing to look at any of them. These protestations sounded plaintive and weary, not angry.
“But you can’t simply return. Your situation may reveal things to us, Pithar. If indeed you are the lucky one then share that good fortune with us,” Crea said.
“Lucky,” he snickered under his breath.
“Come Pithar,” Blodwyn reached out her hand but he hesitated. “Don’t do this. Please. We need to share,” she whispered in his ear. “We can’t be as effective if we don’t link. Give me your hand.”
Edging forward, Pithar grasped her fingers and the others each joined as well. The mind merge began instantly upon completion of the circle. Thoughts and images rushed from one to the other, flooding the minds of the Chosen. Their heart’s jumped at Tomas’ despair when he learned of his betrayal. Crea staggered and righted himself. Blodwyn gritted her teeth. Even Pithar recoiled at the sensations surging through him. He understood the boy. He felt what Tomas felt. Sharing this way brought them so much closer together. They took each other’s experiences for their own and remembered them in this way.
Visions passed from one to the next, unrestricted by words; sad ones and happy ones, tragedies and triumphs. News of the 11th shard and of Premoran’s escape from his brother’s clutches, visions of the shields Sidra created, Wayfair’s admonition to Tamara regarding the map, Blodwyn’s confusion and concern when Lilandre withdrew from her along with her tree’s worries about the fate of the map became common knowledge. Dashiel’s speculations that Tamarand was the Dark One’s next target blew over them like a chilled wind across naked skin. Edmond’s rejection by his Lalas when he questioned him about the new tree in Pardatha was equally disturbing. The joy the youngling’s birth brought to the trees and to the earth was clear and unmitigated and its image shone before their minds’ eyes. Farrow refused Harton’s entreaty regarding the whereabouts of the map and his suffering became theirs.
Colton loomed over the deliberations, an evil presence, and his essence bled into their thoughts, linked somehow to the Lalas’ reclusive silence. A great army of shadows rose in the south, an unnatural army, neither living nor dead, born of Colton’s anger and desire for revenge. The sounds pounded in their heads as the warriors flattened the earth. All the while, the ring burned in the background of each Chosen’s mind, branding their memories with its searing image.
The exertion was great and they were tiring. Blodwyn began to pull her mind back and the others followed. Before the link was broken, an evanescent thought, encapsulated though it was, escaped from Pithar’s consciousness despite his efforts to constrain it. Dashiel stood next to him and his head whipped back as if stricken. Liam gripped Edmond’s and Crea’s hands so tight their fingers cracked. The thought sped from one to the next, looming like a specter before each of them. Harton doubled over and wretched, while Liam choked on its bitterness as it came crashing through the barrier of his senses.
“You should have told us Pithar,” Crea struggled to form the words. “How long did you think you could keep this information hidden?”
“What possessed you Pithar?” Blodwyn echoed, astounded.
“You knew we’d learn of this soon anyway. Why Pithar? Why?” Tobias whispered, his eyes sad blue pools.
Pithar didn’t move. He stared at the ground in silence.
“Pithar! Look at us,” Liam pleaded.
He shifted his weight and lifted his chin. His skin was pale and pasty, and his bloodshot eyes brimmed with tears.
“When I learned of Marathar’s illness, even I could not accept it at first,” he spoke in a monotone. “I lived in denial for a long while. I could not eat or sleep. This knowledge has consumed me since.” He dropped his friend’s hands. “Listening to you talk about breaking the bond was too much for me to bear. I haven’t come to grips with this yet myself, and I wished to reconcile my feelings before sharing them with you. I didn’t want you to know,” he stared at Blodwyn. “Any of you. Not until I was stronger. I thought… I thought…” he forced himself to speak.
“I should have sensed it. I should have known,” Blodwyn admonished herself. “Can you forgive me, Pithar?” Her heart went out to him.
Another tree, another Chosen. None escaped the impact.
“We are your friends, your colleagues,” Crea said. “We can’t change things, but we can help you.”
Pithar dropped his head down. He’d lived with this knowledge and pain for sometime now, and it was wearing him out. His effort to conceal it was equally exhausting. “I chose to bear this burden myself, as it seemed less real that way. But I’m glad you know. I don’t feel so alone, so sad somehow,” he confessed. This was the hardest thing any Chosen could face, and it was happening too often of late.
&nbs
p; “How long?” Edmond asked.
“He has not told me. He could not hide his decision from me any longer, though he will not speak to me of it. That is why I’m anxious to return home. I don’t know how much time we have left.”
“And we shall not keep you any longer than necessary,” Dashiel said. The news rocked them all profoundly. “He has told you nothing? You are to endure this… this situation, blind?” The unfairness of it hit him hard.
“It will be soon,” Pithar replied. “Very soon.”
“Go to him, Pithar. Each moment apart is a wasted one. I suffer with you. Everyone of us does,” Blodwyn said. Her thoughts leapt to Lilandre. The idea of this happening to her tree brought with it a great, bottomless dread.
“You couldn’t break the bond. I see how impossible that would be for you now. It’s too late. He’s made his choice, and you’re a part of it,” Tomas said. Is it too late for us as well? he wondered. “I’m sorry I forced you to think about it.” His thoughts reached out to Ormachon but he knew they could not pierce the stone walls of the room.
“Join him. First speed, Pithar!” Phero urged.
“Yes. Go!” Liam echoed. “We’ll finish up here without you. You’ve given us all you can.”
Pithar’s lips turned up in an ironic smile. His shoulders slumped and his arms hung at his side as if the life had been sucked from him. His silence lay heavily upon them, weighed down by uncertainty and despair. Tomas stepped before him, and bowed low.
“We will meet again,” he said directly to the boy. Their eyes locked upon each other’s.
“Yes, I know,” Tomas replied. The ring throbbed and he stared at Pithar. He saw Farrow’s end, Pithar’s sword thrust deep into the earth beside him, a million silver leaves falling like snow everywhere.
“May the Gem of Eternity light your way through the darkness ahead,” Pithar said.
“Be strong,” Blodwyn intoned. “Be brave. We shall always be near, Pithar. You need only call.”
“Thank you,” he said to Blodwyn. “Farewell my friends.”
The Revenge of the Elves Page 8