Massar lifted an eyebrow. “Not everything, it seems. And yes, I do know Fender – I have watched him over the years as he progressed in the magical arts. You do very well, wizard, even with the lack of magical training. But I assume you did not teach Joel to Heal.”
Fender bowed his head. “It is an honor to meet you, sir, and I thank you for the compliment. And no, I did not teach him that. I am aware of the normal division of power. I have never even met a Healer. Until now, apparently.”
Joel held up one of his hands. “Hold on a moment, please. Why does that take a Healer? That didn’t seem that difficult at all. It was actually easier to do that than it was to start my first fire. Although it did seem to wipe my energy pretty good.”
It was J’Mart that answered. “We don’t know how you did that, Joel. It’s not supposed to happen. Healers aren’t wizards aren’t Healers, ya know?” He snickered. “And then you have the gall to say it was easy. Ha!”
Massar spoke. “Joel, the Ramiken is right. There is only one other wizard that I am aware of in the multiverse that is able to Heal. For you to be able to do it at all, not to mention that you have no magical training to speak of… Well, it reinforces my initial impression that you have great untapped power. Power that, by the way, has attracted attention. If I was able to detect your energy, so were others. I felt them nearby as I approached, and I took the liberty of dispersing the more undesirable beings. It might behoove you to learn to detect and disperse them as well.” He looked at Fender as he spoke the last.
“I just wanted to heal her,” said Joel. “They were going to leave her here to die, and I –” He stopped, unsure what he wanted to say.
“You what?” asked Massar gently.
“Nothing. I just couldn’t let her die.” He slumped slightly. “But now I’m really tired.”
Fender nodded. “I’m not surprised. That kind of power usage takes a lot of energy, especially if you’re not prepared for it. I think we can convince Frayne and Withers to call a halt for a day or two to let everyone rest and recuperate, particularly you. We did just battle a jakar, after all.”
“How long did that take me?” asked Joel. “I lost track of time, I think.”
“Several hours,” answered the wizard. “We couldn’t do anything while you were in the trance, so we just waited. Come on. Let’s see how she’s doing.”
Joel turned to Massar. “Are you sticking around this time?” he asked.
The powerful wizard shook his head. “Once again, I must go, Joel. But, like before, I will be checking in on you, whether you know it or not. Especially if you perform another feat like that one.”
“All right, all right,” said Joel, holding up his hand. “I’ll keep an eye out for you, but I’m not holding my breath.” He turned and walked away from the wizard, anxious to see how Athena was doing. When he glanced over his shoulder a moment later, Massar was gone. Fender had a surprised look on his face, but quelled it quickly and followed Joel to Athena’s side. J’Mart had assumed his normal place on his shoulder, but jumped off as he knelt beside her.
She was awake, and she smiled at him. “I understand I have you to thank for this,” she said as she ran her hand up and down her newly healed left arm.
He was still exhausted, but her smile made it a little easier to bear. “You’re welcome,” he answered, grinning back. “It was nothing, really, but you owe me a drink. How do you feel?”
“Very tired, but otherwise fine. I think I feel better than you do, judging by your face.” She raised a hand and caressed the side of his face gently, her touch sending electricity through his skin.
“Who, me?” He waved his hand dismissively. “Just tired. Seriously, though. I’m glad you’re all right now.” She did look better; even the pale color of her skin was starting to fade. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go lie down and sleep for a week.” As he tried to stand, however, his knees buckled, and he suddenly decided that lying down next to her was not such a bad idea after all. He barely had time to register the fact that a blanket was being thrown over him before everything went dark.
The next thing he knew, the sun was shining in his eyes, waking him from one of the deepest slumbers he had ever experienced. As he sat up blinking, his first thought was that he must have dozed off, since the sun seemed to be in the same place. His second thought was that Athena, who was leaning over him, looked beautiful and not at all like she had been mortally wounded a short time ago.
“What happened?” he asked her and began to struggle to his feet. “I must have been out for at least an hour. And what are you doing up? You’re supposed to be resting!”
“Peace, SongMaster,” she said, smiling and putting her hand on his chest. “You have been asleep for a day and a night. I am fine, thanks to you. We have all taken a much-needed break while you rested, though Frayne and Gaen have been impatient. I think they would have woken you this morning, had you not begun to stir a short time ago.”
A day and a night? No wonder I feel so good! He did feel incredible. She backed away as he sat up and stretched, then stood and stretched some more. The air was cold but refreshing, and he laughed as he made smoke rings with his breath. He turned to look at her. “And you’re all right? Any lingering pain? Did I miss anything?”
She smiled again and held up her hand. “Really, Joel, I feel fine. Better than fine. I have an old injury in my knee that has always bothered me, and even that is no longer hurting. Whatever you did to me, you did it well.”
“Good.” He sobered suddenly. “I only wish I had known how to do that for Luana and Oren.”
Before she could answer, Fender came up beside him. “Good morning, SongMaster!” he said. “Glad you could rejoin us. The Warmaster was getting restless.”
Joel looked at him, concerned. “I was only out for a day, right?”
“Long enough to worry him,” replied the old magician. “I think our friend the Warmaster is beginning to feel the same sense of urgency that you and I are feeling concerning the fate of both the Duran and the multiverse.”
His words reminded Joel of something. “You know, I remember now: I had that dream again while I slept.”
Fender nodded. “As did I and Gaen and everybody else here. You said Massar told you that the dream was sent to those with the power to help, and it seems that we all have become part of that larger scheme. Do you remember anything more this time?”
“No.” Joel shook his head almost angrily. “I keep looking at those symbols on the floor, thinking that I should know what they mean, but I can’t tell. And the girl still doesn’t look at me or talk to me. It’s frustrating.”
“How do you think I feel, magic man?” asked Step, walking up and clapping Joel on the back. “I’ve never had that dream before in my life, and it kind of spooked me, I gotta tell you.”
“Ha!” said Joel, smiling back at him. “I can’t believe you’d be spooked by a dream, buddy.”
“Well, I didn’t either, but there you go. So you want to eat something so we can go save the world?” By this time, Frayne and the others had waved to Joel and begun to pack. Joel could see that while he slept they had transported the old campsite they had left the day before to the clearing where he had slept.
He was famished, so while the others made ready to head north again, he chewed on some jerky. All of his senses were alive and tingling. Even the jerky tasted wonderful. If this is what Healing does, I think I’ve discovered my next drug. As he ate, he watched Athena. She did indeed look not only beautiful, but hale and healthy as well. For her part, she often stopped what she was doing to look over at him. When she saw him watching her, she blushed and continued working. Something had clearly changed between them, and he couldn’t help thinking that it was a good change.
It didn’t take long before the small company was ready to go, and Withers led them northeast again, taking the same fast pace that had marked the entire journey, as if nothing had happened. The ground was sloping noticeably upwa
rd now, and the going was made more difficult by the increasing thickness of the forest. None of them complained, however; a quiet hung over the company as if they all realized that the end of this trek was near, and none of them knew what to expect in the next stage of the journey. As they walked the sky began to fill with clouds, and it looked as if a storm was brewing.
Just after lunch Joel saw his first snowflake. After living in Phoenix for so long, he almost didn’t recognize it at first. But it was soon followed by one and then another, and then before long it was falling pretty heavily. The ground was cold enough for the new-fallen snow to stick, and after an hour or so everything was covered in a blanket of white.
The snow did not help to disguise the twisted landscape much, and in Joel’s opinion actually added to the surrealism. It did, however, add to the difficulty in marching as it began to accumulate. Though the trees blocked much of the falling flakes, a cold wind was beginning to blow, and this wind blew the snow under the trees.
After a few hours of walking in those conditions, Frayne called a halt. It was becoming too hard to see through the blowing snow, and the wind was making everybody miserable. Gaen located a thicket that sheltered them from much of the wind, and the party stopped for the night. Jared and Bowen took their hunting knives and cut down enough small trees to create more of a windbreak, and Joel got the fire started without too many difficulties.
The temperature had dropped significantly in the last few hours, and everyone hunkered down around the fire for warmth, chewing on roots and jerky and not talking much. Joel couldn’t help wondering if his bedroll would keep him warm, but since it was all he had, he didn’t see the sense in worrying about it. After he finished his meager meal, he saw that there wasn’t much fuel for the fire, and got up to hunt for some more.
“Where are you going?” asked Frayne.
“I thought I’d grab some more firewood while it’s still light enough to see.”
“Not alone, you’re not,” said the short warrior. “Think you can survive out there if you get lost? Or if something decides you look tasty?”
Before Joel could answer, Athena spoke up. “I’ll go with him,” she said, and jumped to her feet. Without another word, she walked past Joel into the forest, and he quickly followed her.
The falling snow masked the sounds of the forest, and it was quiet as the two of them walked, neither one saying a word. When they had traveled a few hundred yards from camp, Athena stopped and put her hand on Joel’s arm, making him stop as well and drawing him closer to her.
He didn’t know what to say. “Athena, I –”
“Shh,” she told him, and put her finger to his lips. “Just listen for a moment. There is something happening here, and you know it as well as I.” She was looking intently up at him as she spoke, and her eyes were incredibly large and bright. He nodded without saying a word, and she continued, “I need to tell you this. Carpe diem, as you told me, right?
“I don’t know when it happened. I didn’t plan for it to happen at all, but I understood it yesterday, when I woke up without any pain and found you watching over me. That’s when I realized it, Joel. That’s when I realized that I love you.”
He didn’t answer immediately, and she went on. “I’ve always stayed away from relationships. When you’re a Scout, you never know where you’re going to be from one day to the next, and if you get romantically involved with a member of your platoon you risk losing him or her the next time you go into battle. Besides, it’s frowned upon for Scouts to get involved romantically. It’s a distraction.
“And for that reason, I didn’t want to love you, even though I was attracted to you when I first saw you. I didn’t know how this journey would turn out, and I didn’t want to get hurt or to hurt you. I still don’t, but it seems that I don’t have a choice anymore. It happened, and now I’ve told you, and I really wish you would answer me instead of looking at me with that silly look on your face.”
Joel felt a goofy smile forming on his lips. “I noticed you the first time I saw you, too,” he told her. “I thought you were beautiful, and I still think that every time I see you. When you got hit by the jakar, my heart stopped, and I think that’s when I knew I loved you.
“That’s why I had to save you. I had already sworn to myself that I wouldn’t let anybody else get hurt, and seeing you like that, broken and bleeding and maybe dying, I knew that I couldn’t lose you. I love you too, Athena.”
He opened his arms, and she melted into them, still looking up at him. There was only a moment’s pause, and then their lips met fiercely. The snow continued to fall, but Joel wasn’t cold at all.
Finally she broke the kiss, but didn’t pull away entirely. “Well! I’m glad that went well!” she said, smiling. “But we do need to find some firewood before the others start to worry.”
“Let ‘em worry,” he said, and kissed her again, but then reluctantly pulled away. “No, you’re right, of course. It’s too dangerous out here, and we shouldn’t stay out here too long. Let’s get some wood.” They proceeded to collect what they could find, trying to locate pieces that were likely to be dry. The collection probably could have gone faster, but they stopped frequently to kiss, smiling and giggling like teenagers.
Finally they both had an armful of wood and they headed back to camp, aware that they had been gone a bit longer than they had planned. As they approached the camp, Joel was aware of the goofy smile on his face that refused to go away, and wondered if the others would notice or say anything.
Nobody did, however. Frayne greeted them with a grunt as they dropped their armloads next to the fire, and they hunkered down next the flames, holding their hands out to warm them and still touching shoulders. Bowen seemed to be sleeping, and Fender and Withers were staring into the flames, lost in thought.
As his hands warmed, Joel looked across the fire to see Jared watching him carefully, a very faint smile on his face. When his eyes met Joel’s the Prince raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Joel could feel his face turning red. That was all the sign the Prince needed, and he broke out in a huge knowing smile and then bent to rummage in his pack. Nobody else seemed to notice anything, although Step did seem to be looking at him strangely.
When the chill had left Joel’s fingers, he brought out his guitar, intending to practice levitation again. He had barely slung it into position, however, when Withers held up a hand, quietly motioning him to be silent. Joel took his hands off of the instrument and glanced at Gaen, who was motionless and seemed to be listening. Without a word, Gaen and Frayne got up and silently disappeared into the forest, their footsteps muffled by the falling snow.
Joel turned to Athena, confused. “What was that ab-” Quickly, Athena put her hand on his mouth, silencing him. She was alert, her eyes darting around the clearing. Joel could see that Bowen was also awake, though no one had said a word. Jared had drawn his sword, and Fender and Withers were also vigilantly looking around. Joel strained his ears, but heard nothing.
Without warning, there was a muffled shout from the forest, and then silence fell again. Joel quickly got to his feet, as did the others, but there were no other sounds. They waited for what seemed like hours. Finally, just as Joel was about to suggest that they investigate, there was the sound of breaking branches and Gaen and Frayne emerged from the forest. Held between them was a struggling creature not unlike the goblins they had met on the road to Gerund, although this creature was taller and not as stocky. Gaen had the thing’s arms locked behind its back, and Frayne was holding his knife to its throat. Apparently the threat of harm was meaningless, since it was thrashing frantically, but remained quiet.
As Bowen trained his bow on the creature, Jared reached into his pack and brought out a coil of rope. Within short order it was bound and gagged tightly and lying on the ground next to the fire.
The Prince spoke first. “What in Yath’s name is this creature? It looks rather like a goblin, but then again, it doesn’t. And where did it come from?”
“It’s called a gibberer,” said Gaen with a look of distaste, “and we found it skulking around the forest, watching us, about fifty yards away.”
Fender’s eyes grew wide. “A gibberer? Really? I’ve never seen one, though I have read about them.”
“Aye,” growled Frayne. “A goblin wizard. Luckily we were able to sneak up on it before it realized we were coming, or we would have needed your help, wizard.”
Fender nodded. “Oh, of course. We should be all right now, however, since we covered its mouth.” He knelt beside it, inspecting it. “I should like to know what it is doing here, however.”
“As would I,” responded Gaen. “Seems a bit cold and a bit far north for goblins. Unfortunately, I don’t see how we can find out, since we don’t dare remove the gag.”
Fender looked at Joel. “You see, Joel, there is always a way to keep yourself safe from a wizard – keep him or her from speaking. If the spells cannot be spoken, the magic won’t work.” He paused. “At least, it works that way for every wizard except you, it seems – something I must meditate on further.” He turned back to the gibberer. “All races, it seems, have individuals capable of working magic, not just humans. This is our counterpart in the goblin race. Unfortunately, since goblins hate almost all other forms of life, it is extremely likely that this wizard is going to be very unfriendly. Thus the gag.”
“How about threatening it?” asked Athena. “It seemed quiet enough when you captured it.”
“Only because I told it that if it made a sound I’d slit its throat,” said Frayne. “I’m not sure I trust it to speak only when spoken to.”
“I’m not sure we have a choice,” said Fender. “The Warmaster is correct – goblins do not normally venture this far north. Something about its presence here is extremely disquieting. I think we need to find out why it is here and if it is alone.”
Frayne sighed. “All right. Both of you magic-workers be on your guard. Bowen, aim at its head.” He turned to the gibberer. There was a look on his face that Joel could only describe as murderous. “Listen, you miserable slug,” Frayne told it. “I’m going to remove the gag so we can ask you some questions. The moment – and I mean the moment – it looks like you’re going to try some magical funny stuff, you’ll have an arrow in your forehead and a nice big slit in your throat. Understand? Nod if you do.”
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