by Alan Black
Gadon’s voice roared out of the darkness, “Feet first or head first?” A moment of quiet and then he said, “Your choice, I guess. Tuller said he doesn’t know which is best. He went head first, so that’s the way I’m going.”
A wordless shout floated through the air, marking Gadon’s departure. Seenger moved forward a few feet, followed by I-Sheera and Tanden. No one said a word, waiting with their own thoughts.
Seenger said, “My turn.” He was gone with a splash of water.
I-Sheera moved up a few spaces and said, “Captain?” She paused for a moment, “Tanden, I’m frightened.”
Tanden reached forward and patted her ankle. “It’s all right. I’m here with you. Are you too frightened to go forward?”
Tanden felt her hand cover his own. “I think, I would be if I had any other choice,” she hesitated, and added, “and if you weren’t here with me. Tanden, I trust you. If you tell me it’ll be all right, I’ll go.”
For the first time, Tanden heard Tuller’s shout echoing through the cave. His voice sounded distant and hollow, but it was clear enough to understand I-Sheera’s turn had come.
Tanden said, “Are you ready?”
Her voice shook, “No.”
“All right. Listen. Turn around so your feet are facing forward.” When she was in position, he added, “Check on anything you carry. Hold your sword close to your side so it won’t catch on anything. Then scoot forward and slide.”
“Oh, Tanden—I want to...I will if you tell me I have to. I’m scared.”
“Hold on.” Tanden twisted himself around. He heard more than felt something catch on a rock and snap.
He said lightly, “I sure hope that wasn’t my neck that just broke.”
I-Sheera agreed, “Or any other parts, useful or otherwise.”
“Damn,” he said. “Sorry. I broke the bow trying to turn around. Wait a moment.”
Tanden quickly removed the string off the bow. He wadded it up into a ball and stuffed it into his shirt. He ducked his head under the strap of the quiver and set it down beside him. There was no sense taking the arrows when he had no bow.
He scooted forward, slipping his legs on either side of the woman until he could wrap his arms around her waist. He pulled her against his chest. She leaned back against him, relaxing in his grasp. Her warm back made him realize how cold and wet the tunnel made him feel. Her body heat comforted him.
“We’ll slide together. Ready?”
“Not yet, hold me, please.” She leaned her head back against his chest.
Tanden would have stopped himself if he actually thought about what he was doing. Sliding his right hand up, he caressed I-Sheera’s left arm. Brushing his fingertips along her neck, he felt her shiver, but she did not pull away from him. He stroked her chin and then turned her head toward him. Tanden bent forward and caressed her lips with his. It was a gentle dance of lips on lips.
I-Sheera twisted sideways. She put her left hand flat against his chest as if to push away. Tanden held his place, not wanting to force his kisses on her, yet not wanting to let her go. She slid her hand across his chest and to his neck. Her fingers lay flat against the bare skin of his neck. Her lips darted forward to touch Tanden’s lips and then she withdrew.
Tanden felt her warm breath against his face. His mind shouted, “Stop this! Now is not the time. She’s tired and vulnerable. Gadon is right. I’m acting like an adolescent boy in heat.” Still, he held her tight. His lips searched again for hers. He kissed her softly, then harder. He wrapped his right arm in a cradle around her head, holding her lips captive with his passion. She kissed him back, matching heat for heat. Her tongue darted forward, flicking and probing to lie against his.
Tanden removed his arm from around her head, sliding his hand into her tangled hair. He twisted his fingers deeply into the mass of black hair, slowly pulling her lips away from his mouth. He felt her stretching toward him. Rather than release her, he dropped his head to kiss her chin, then her cheek and back to her lips.
He caressed her neck with his fingertips. Slowly and deliberately, he slipped his hand down along her chest. He cupped a breast in his hand, silently cursing the leather strap protecting his palm. Even through the leather, he felt her small, firm breast pushing up to meet his hand. His fingers flicked over her hard nipple.
His hand retreated to cradle her head, intertwining his fingers in her hair as he pulled her away from his lips.
I-Sheera sighed, “Oh, Tanden. I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first day I saw you on the docks. You stood there so handsome and confident with the wind blowing through your hair. I was sure you’d never even look at me.” He started to respond, but she shushed him. “Let me say this, please, or I’ll lose the courage forever. After a time, I knew you were a good man. No matter how nasty I acted, you always treated me kindly. No. Don’t say anything. I know I was Yasthera il-Aldigg’s voice and you treated me as you would treat the lady herself, but you didn’t have to be so nice. I cried myself to sleep on the White Wind. The lady thought I was homesick, but I was sick because of how she made me treat you.”
He interrupted, “Gadon and the others?”
She sighed and laid her cheek on his chest, “Gadon was fun to pick on. I think he enjoys the arguments, but you…all I ever wanted to do was please you. I know I’m not the prettiest girl you’ve known. I’m yours. I won’t ever ask anything of you, just to be near you. Should you marry another, I’ll serve her if it pleases you.”
“I-Sheera, you please me.” He cut off her reply by pulling her face to him and covering her lips with a kiss. He withdrew and continued, “You are much more beautiful than you give yourself credit for. You’re a constant pleasure to my eyes. You please me in more ways than just your lush hair, deep eyes, and rich full lips. I’ve seen great compassion in your heart. I’ve seen fire in your eyes and iron in your arms. No man could ask for more than you have to offer. Yet, I can’t give you any promises. I’m set on retaking the White Wind. I can’t promise anything else until that’s done.”
“Tanden, I don’t ask for a promise. I’ll serve as you see fit and go when you tell me to go.”
Tanden shook his head, “You have your freedom. Have you forgotten the pouch about your neck?”
“I haven’t forgotten anything. I haven’t forgotten it was you who set me free. I don’t know much about freedom, but what good is it to be free if I can’t choose to be with the man of my own choosing?”
“I-Sheera, you’ve set me on fire, but I can’t turn away from the commitment I made to retake the White Wind. Right now, we have to keep moving forward. Kiss me again and we’ll go.”
He wanted the kiss to last forever. When she finally drew away from him, he could still feel the soft kiss against his lips. He would remember the feel and touch of her for as long as he lived, be it a day, ten days, or ten years.
He commanded, “Turn onto your back.”
I-Sheera turned in his arms until she sat with her back against his chest. Before he could utter another word, she took his hands in hers and guided them across her body to her breasts. She pressed his hands hard to her and rocked back against him. Then just as quickly, she released his hands.
She said, “Let’s go before I lose the courage you’ve given me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Tanden was certain he had not given her courage. She was courageous of her own accord. He said, “Lean back against me and keep your head down.”
He leaned back as flat as he could. Pulling with his heels and hands, he dragged them both forward until suddenly, they slid forward without any effort. I-Sheera’s hands gripped his legs. Sliding downward, the water pulled and pushed at them trying to tear them away from each other. I-Sheera didn’t utter a sound, but Tanden felt her body tense. She tighteded her grip on his legs the farther they slid and the faster they dropped.
Without thinking, Tanden shouted, not out of fear, but of exhilaration. His heart raced as it always did in a strong wind o
ff the beam reach of the ship. The wind would drive them faster, as if to push them into the sea in one strong sensation of excitement. As on the ship, he was absolutely sure he would survive. He had proven many times he could overcome and master air and water. He was convinced he would overcome and master water and earth in his current situation. He had no need for magic, just the power of his thoughts, his strength, and his courage.
Tanden shouted to I-Sheera, “This is fun. It sure beats crawling on our hands and knees.”
She didn’t speak, but he felt her relax against him.
Tanden thought he saw a dim light ahead. He wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him or if they had finally adjusted to the dark. The two shot around a curve and then quickly banked the other way. They slid with the water high up the wall of the tunnel. Light flooded the tunnel before them, hurting their eyes. Tanden squinted trying to dampen the bright light. Through the slits of his eyes, he saw an opening directly ahead. Faster than thought, the water pushed them out of the tunnel and into empty space. I-Sheera screamed as they dropped, splashing into a pool ten feet below.
The pool was only four or five feet deep. Tanden stood, shaking water from his face. He looked around and saw I-Sheera flailing about. She was slapping the water in an unsuccessful attempt to keep her head above water. Reaching to her, he secured a tight grip on her collar, then lifted her up until her head and shoulders were out of the water.
Gadon shouted, “Put your feet down, girl. The water isn’t that deep.”
Tanden said to her, “I guess we need to teach you to swim.”
She stood sheepishly. She was short, but standing on her toes and balancing herself against Tanden, she could keep her face clear of the water. She hopped to the edge of the pool, bouncing through the cool water. She sloshed to the bank to join the others sitting there enjoying the scene.
Tanden stood in the pool where he surfaced, looking at the sky. It appeared to be only late afternoon. He would have wagered they had spent hours inside the earth, yet they had been underground for two or maybe three hours at the most. The sun was high enough to light the sky, but no direct sunlight reached the pool.
An unusual rock formation surrounded them. The area had once been a large, upside-down bowl-like cavern. The uppermost part of the roof had collapsed, opening it to the sky and flooding the area with light. Over time, dirt collected on the floor, seeds blew in, and a few stunted trees and bushes grew on the banks of the small stream. The stream angled around the wall of the bowl to disappear through in another opening.
The wind and rain had carved the walls into twisted inward curing spires making them utterly impossible to climb. Tanden thought it looked like he was standing in the palms of a giant’s hands with the fingers curling around and over them.
A sneeze caused Tanden to look to his men. Gadon sneezed again. He shook himself like a large wet dog. “Curse this sensitive Holdenite nose of mine. There’s enough dust in this hole to choke an oliphant.” The large man sneezed a third time.
Tuller said, “You look a bit chilled, brother.”
Gadon snarled, “When I get chilled, I’ll let you know. I wouldn’t be surprised if we all froze to death in this sink hole. We’ve spent more time in the water the last two days than we have in the last twenty years on the ocean. Some leader you are, Tanden. My skin has wrinkled up so much that I look like Grandfather. All my natural oils have washed off my body so I squeak when I walk. And there you stand in water up to your chest, without the sense to stand on dry land. Chilled! Ha! I wouldn’t be surprised if all you puny, skinny looking people caught the croup and died. Hear me boy, I’ve never been sick a day in my life that wasn’t due to bad wine.”
Tanden waded out of the pool to stand over Gadon. “Or too much wine.”
Gadon snorted, “That’s what you think. There isn’t any such thing as too much wine.”
Tanden said, “Nevertheless, Gadon, Tuller is right. You do look like you’ve taken a chill.”
“It’s just cold here, Tanden. I’ll warm up when we get out into the sun.”
Tuller reached across to Gadon and put a hand against his brother’s cheek.
Gadon slapped his hand away. “Tuller, don’t you start pretending that you care about my well-being.”
Tuller replied, “I only care because if you get sick, I’ll have to drag your fat butt out of here, or Father will skin me alive for leaving his oldest son behind. Besides, you do feel feverish.”
“Nonsense,” Gadon said. “Your hands are just cold. Tanden, let’s get moving before this young pup starts acting like Mother and tries to change my diaper. I swear, I may be wrinkled from all of this water, but I’m not an old man, Tuller. I’m still strong enough to slap you so hard that your children will be born dizzy.”
Tanden nodded and said, “I don’t see any way to climb out of this hole. Our best way out is to continue underground. The stream flows south toward the sea and the water has to go somewhere. We shouldn’t rest until we reach the sea. I don’t clearly remember the coastline along the south of the isthmus. Gadon, do you recall if these hills stretch to the sea?”
Gadon shook his head before suffering a sneezing fit.
Tanden could not decipher what Gadon’s head shake meant. Did he mean the hills did not reach the sea or that he did not remember? Tanden decided it did not matter. Backing up would not help them reach their goal. Going forward was the only logical direction to go. Continuing onward while they were able was best even if Gadon had taken a chill.
Tanden looked to Tuller, “Do you want someone else to go first or are you still willing?”
Tuller said, “As you command, Captain. First or last doesn’t matter. It’ll be just as dark and cold whoever goes first.”
Tuller stood. He held his hands out to Gadon and Seenger. Gadon slapped his hand away and slowly rolled to his knees, groaning as he stood. Seenger took the offered hand and allowed Tuller to pull him to his feet. Both Tuller and Seenger offered hands to I-Sheera.
She said, “Thank you, my good men.” She took each of their hands and they lifted her lightly to her feet.
Seenger grunted. “That’ll be the first time anyone called me a good man.” He poked a big thumb against his own chest. “I’m ogre and proud of it, but I thank you nonetheless.”
Tuller walked to where the stream poured into the rock opening. Without looking back, he dropped to his hands and knees and crawled into the darkness. Gadon, Seenger, and I-Sheera fell into line and followed. Tanden, last of all, took one more look around like he was trying to bodily draw in the light and heat to store it for the journey ahead.
For a sailor used to the open seas, the cramped space inside this cave network was more uncomfortable than just being cold and blind. Tanden shook his head to stop any thoughts of doubt. Analyzing his concerns would not prove profitable. Dropping to his knees, he followed his crew into the darkness.
Darkness seemed to ooze from the rock walls around him. As he moved into the cave, it wrapped him up, swallowing him whole. Rather than dwell on unbidden worries, Tanden began an old argument with himself, “Air, water, fire, and earth are the four elements of the world. Why aren’t light and darkness considered elements? Or rather just one or the other being an element? Is light the absence of darkness or is darkness the absence of light?
“No. Darkness can’t be an element of its own if can’t exist without light.
“No, fire is paired with air. Air can exist without fire, but fire can’t live without air. Light can exist without the dark and I‘ve now seen dark without light.”
He remembered his studies in the sciences at Allexia. A scientist, a man without magic, had been studying the myth of white magic. One day he invited Tanden into a darkened room. Lighting a candle inside a box, he then closed the lid. The candle light could only escape the box through a small hole covered by a glass lens tinted in red. The light formed a small circle of red light on a wall.
The man repeated the procedure with a s
econd candle set in a box having a blue-tined glass lens. Facing the glass lens to the wall, a small circle of blue light appeared.
Finally, the man lit a candle in the last box, allowing the light to shine through a green colored glass lens, forming a small green circle on the wall. Once the man finished creating his three dots of light, Tanden thought he understood what the man was trying to explain about the three separate orders of magic.
Shining light through tinted glass was nothing new. He had seen it more than once in the homes of rich men who paid artisans to craft colorful windows with fancy scenes that would appear to play games when the sunlight shined on them. Even the three magic systems in the world used colored glass in their lanterns to advertise their training centers and businesses—at least they did in Holden where all three orders of magic were welcome.
In Drohnbad, the seat of red magic, the Red Wizard only allowed red light. Although he had never been there, he assumed Tunston was awash in blue lights at the command of the Blue Wizard. He wondered about the Green Wizard. If there was one great wizard who ruled over all the green wizards, magicians, and priests, he was unknown to Tanden.
Still, colored lights on the wall had not impressed Tanden until the man said, “All men believe that white magic is a myth and that the red, blue, and green cannot mix. Watch.”
Shifting the boxes slightly caused the colored circles of light on the wall to converge, forming one bright circle of light. The single circle of light was brighter than any of the colored lights separately. The green, blue, and red colors blended to become white.
The man grinned, “This is just a child’s illustration, one that I wouldn’t dare show a wizard. As a scientist, it proves to me that mixing red, green, and blue light will make white light. Someday, I’ll find a magician curious enough to test my theory. Does mixing blue, red, and green magic produce white magic? If so, then we can stop this silly stratification of man and be one once again.”
Tanden thought the man was delusional about getting people to agree on anything. However, he might have had some valid arguments about combining magic. Even with cold water numbing his hands and knees, he reasoned, “Okay. Red magic uses the movement and heat from the element of fire. Blue magic uses the movement of the sky and wind, the element of air. Green uses the movement of living things grown from the element of earth. Why isn’t there an order of magic that uses the movement of water, not just the waves because that’s just the wind and the moons moving the tops of the water, but the currents and tides? What color would that—”