Spring Showers Box-set

by Avell Kro

  her body. “I don’t want her to be involved with Beacon of the Night either! Give me a chance to

  prove that I am a good parent!”

  Sun of the Morning glanced at her companion briefly before responding.

  “Atlan principles dictate that we allow everyone the opportunity to change and improve,”

  she said with a distinct tone of skepticism. “We shall observe and consult with you again

  accordingly,” she said as she turned to leave.

  Rhuna let herself fall onto one of the large seating cushions and released a deep groan of

  anguish.

  “What do they mean, emotionally involved? How can that be?” Rhuna squeaked as Aradin

  lowered himself onto the adjoining cushion and placed his arms around her.

  “We’l talk to her as soon as she returns,” Aradin said.

  “I don’t understand this,” Rhuna said shaking her head.

  “Let’s summon the Gazing of the Waters to learn what this is all about,” Aradin suggested,

  squeezing Rhuna’s hands encouragingly. Rhuna nodded, but approached the basin with

  trepidation.

  Seated next to Aradin, Rhuna began the summons for visions of Lozira’s involvement with

  Beacon of the Night, and then watched the swirls of colour change until the reflection became

  opaque before clearing to reveal the visions.

  Rhuna gasped when she saw Lozira seated next to Beacon of the Night, their faces close to

  each other as they spoke softly. Beacon of the Night reached outto gently hold Lozira’s hand, and

  Rhuna watched with disbelief as her daughter smiled and continued to gaze into the mysterious

  green eyes of the man Rhuna associated with the Dark Master.

  “He must have put a curse on her!” Rhuna hissed vehemently.

  “Wait!” said Aradin in a loud whisper, pointing to the changing images in the water.

  Rhuna heard herself gasping once again as she watched Lozira and Beacon of the Night

  standing near the Great River, warm sunshine surrounding Lozira’s yellow-gold hair. She watched

  disbelievingly as Beacon of the Night leaned towards Lozira and kissed her.

  “Oh, no! Oh, no!” Rhuna said in dismay as the kiss lingered and Lozira’s arms folded

  around the man’s neck.

  The images faded, and Rhuna pushed herself away from the basin with a loud groan,

  realizing that she had been holding her breath.

  “How can this be happening?” Rhuna asked in anguish.

  “It’s an unexpected and grave turn of events,” Aradin said gloomily.

  “Could he really have put a curse on her somehow?”

  Aradin shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “We saw no evidence of such kind of

  curses in our observations, but we are not infallible, and Beacon of the Night is shrewd and clever.”

  “We have to stop this immediately,” said Rhuna, suddenly aware that she was shaking all

  over.

  “Even if wecan prevent her from seeing him again, we can’t stop feelings – unless it’s a

  curse that can be removed,” Aradin admonished.

  “What feelings? She can’t have feelings for him!” she scoffed angrily.

  “Why not? Beacon of the Night is a charming man with many appealing attributes, not to

  mention a handsome appearance – everything a young woman would find attractive,” said Aradin.

  Rhuna remained silent and tried to calm herself.

  “At her age, after being under Tozar’s restrictive domination, it would be natural for her to

  develop feelings for the first appealing man she met here in Safu,” Aradin continued.

  “But not him!” Rhuna shouted, her agitation increasing again.

  “Be careful what you say,” Aradin said after a moment. “Strong opposition might only push

  her more towards him.”

  Rhuna nodded solemnly as she held her head in her hands and waited for Lozira to return

  home. Thoughts raced through her head, and she wondered whether she could affect Lozira’s

  feelings in The Infinite, or even stop Beacon of the Night in the same way as she had intercepted

  Tozar’s message to the innkeeper at the land of the isthmus. Deciding it was better to do

  something rather than sit and wait, she told Aradin she would rest a while and entered the

  adjoining chamber where she could recline on seating cushions.

  Rhuna breathed in slowly as she tried to enter the deep and silent state of mind in

  preparation for her Extended Consciousness to explore outside her body. The process took longer,

  and she assumed it was her agitated emotional state that hindered her usual immediate

  relaxation. When she finally entered the tranquil darkness of her inner mind, she willed her

  Extended Consciousness to find Lozira.

  At first, her Extended Consciousness felt heavy as it rose from Rhuna’s body, and she felt as if

  she were underwater and swimming to the surface. Suddenly, she felt freed and entered areas of

  moving light and colours before recognizing the exterior of her home seen from above the nearby street. Focussing on Lozira, she felt herself pulled swiftly to a nearby street lined with shady trees,

  and under one of them she recognized Lozira standing with Beacon of the Night.

  Rhuna willed her Extended Consciousness to hover above them so that she could hear their

  spoken words and see their faces clearly.

  “I still feel strange,” Lozira was saying as Rhuna’s Extended Consciousness neared them, and

  Rhuna was shocked to see her daughter’s face flushed pink from laughing, and her long hair rather

  disheveled. “Do you really think Rhuna would not suspect?” she asked Beacon of the Night before

  suddenly bursting into laughter.

  “And what if she does?” Beacon of the Night said dismissively as he shrugged his shoulders

  and joined in Lozira’s laughter. His hands slid around Lozira’s slim waist as she raised her arms to

  embrace him, and Rhuna’s Extended Consciousness seemed to vibrate with the tension of

  witnessing this scene.

  Lozira stopped laughing as she raised her head to meet the man’s lips on her mouth, and

  Rhuna realized that their long and deep kiss indicated a relationship already far progressed. As

  she watched her daughter in the embrace of the leader of the Dark Master’s followers, her

  Consciousness became aware of another sense alongside the flashes of colours which Rhuna

  associated with thoughts and emotions. The sense was unpleasantly familiar, and after a while

  she recognized it to be intoxicating beverage.

  Feeling suddenly unwel , Rhuna let her Extended Consciousness return to her body, landing

  on the seating cushions like a heavy wet sack. Opening her eyes, Rhuna let out a groan of dismay

  as she struggled to accept what she had experienced in The Infinite. She rose to her feet and

  decided to summon images of Lozira partaking of intoxicating beverages by means of the Gazing of

  the Waters.

  Rhuna summoned the specific visions of the present day concerning Lozira and Beacon of

  the Night, and with Aradin at her side, waited for the images to appear in the water. Almost

  instantly, Rhuna saw her daughter entering a building with Beacon of the Night, and emerging

  from it with drinking vessels and an earthenware ewer which was used solely for fermented

  barley beverages.

  Still feeling shocked and alarmed, Rhuna held her breath as the next images appeared and

  she saw Lozira and Beacon of the Night sitting on grass, drinking and laughing. Beacon of the

  Night was recounting amusing tales
of what people had done in a state of extreme intoxication, and

  Lozira curled up with laughter as she listened. The images faded, and Rhuna took a deep breath.

  “Nothing else happened,” she said with a sigh of relief.

  “You thought he would take advantage of her intoxicated state,” Aradin said, nodding in

  agreement. “Yet it appears they did not indulge to excess, and everything we just saw was

  harmless.”

  “Harmless? Harmless, Aradin? How can you say that?” Rhuna screeched, feeling distraught

  anewat the thought of her daughter being emotionally involved with the leader of the Dark Ones.

  “No, I meant the drinking of intoxicating beverages…nothing happened besides normal

  laughter and merriment,” he said as he tried to sooth Rhuna’s jagged nerves.

  “Drinking intoxicating beverages is against Atlan principles!” Rhuna spluttered. “Lozira has

  never had such beverages, and normally she would never consider it! He has already undermined

  her Atlan principles, and who knows what else…”

  “We’l talk with her as soon as she returns home,” Aradin said soothingly. When she

  responded to his touch, Aradin embraced her and silently held her for a while.

  After some time, Rhuna heardLozira enter the house and immediately rushed towards the

  doorway to confront her, despite Aradin’s urgent whispers to stay calm.

  “Has something happened?” Lozira asked as she looked at Rhuna and then at Aradin.

  “Where have you been?” Rhuna asked with a shaky voice.

  “With friends,” Lozira answered casually as she looked away and began walking towards

  her chamber.

  “Were you with Beacon of the Night?” Rhuna asked sharply. Lozira stopped abruptly and

  spun around with anxious wide eyes.

  “You know?”

  “We were told by Sun of the Morning and others from the new Atlan Council of Safu.Your

  father told them! He has been observing you and accused me of being a bad parent,” Rhuna

  prattled as her distress rose to the surface again.

  “Your father is very upset,” interrupted Aradin. “Why did you keep it secret from us?”

  “When I told you about the long conversation I had with him near the pyramids, you got so

  angry and told me not to see him again…so I kept it from you,” Lozira answered unapologetically.

  “You must really like him, to disregard your mother’s warning,” Aradin said emphatically.

  Lozira looked at Aradin and then at Rhuna.

  “I love him,” she said softly.

  “Oh no, Lozira!” Rhuna said with dismay. “Love? But he’s more than twice your age!”

  Rhuna argued.

  “Like Tozar was, when you came to Atlán!” Lozira shot back. Aradin let out a quick laugh,

  then shrugged as he glanced at Rhuna.

  “He doesn’t have any true feelings for you, Lozira!”

  “He’s not like that anymore!” Lozira shouted angrily.“He told me that you’d say such

  things!”

  “Rhuna is just afraid you’ll be hurt,” Aradin interrupted.

  “He won’t hurt me,” Lozira stated loudly. “I know all about his old life; he told me

  everything!”

  “He’s devious and clever,” Rhuna said firmly. “And there are other things that you don’t

  know about. Oh, why did you have to choose him of all people!” Rhuna wailed in dismay. “Try to

  forget him, Lozira. There are so many other nice men you can meet here!”

  “You cannot control me like a child anymore, Rhuna!” Lozira cried angrily. “I came to Safu

  to be free of Tozar’s control, and now you also tell me what I must not do! But you cannot, cannot,

  cannot!”

  “I can and I will!” Rhuna screamed back.

  “Then I shall leave here!” Lozira thundered as her face turned red.

  Rhuna felt Aradin’s hand grasp her arm and she understood that she had gone too far. A

  moment later, she heard Shandi’s high-pitched wail, and turned to see the little girl standing in the

  doorway.

  “Din-Din!” she wailed between sobs, and Aradin rushed to scoop her in his arms.

  “The screaming has upset her,” he said as calmly as he could, and then carried Shandi away

  as Rhuna breathed deeply to quell some of her heated emotions.

  “Don’t be angry with me, Rhuna!” Lozira spluttered though an eruption of tears. “I cannot

  do anything about my feelings!” Lozira sobbed, turning away and hiding her face in her hands. “Do

  not send me back to Tozar! I would rather die!” she wailed desperately.

  “I know you can’t help it,” Rhuna said, remembering her dilemma when she met and came

  to love Aradin while still bound to Tozar. “I didn’t know you felt this way…and that you kept seeing

  him after I told you not to,” she said as she laid her hands gently on her daughter’s shuddering

  shoulders.

  “I so much wanted to tell you! I needed to talk about it, but after what you said about him, I

  was afraid you’d be angry,” Lozira said, turning and wiping the tears that had begun to flow down

  her face. “And if you also criticize and disapprove of me, like Tozar, I shall…”

  “Oh no!” Rhuna said emphatically as she remembered Aradin’s words of caution.“I could

  never disapprove of you, Lozira! It’s Beacon of the Night I disapprove of, and…”

  “But it’s the same thing!”protested Lozira.

  “What is? How is it the same thing?”

  “Tozar doesn’t understand you, what you did, and thinks you are a bad influence on me, and

  now you also think the same way about Goram…I mean Beacon of the Night…you don’t understand

  him!”

  Rhuna decided she could not tell her everything about Beacon of the Night without the

  protective field of the special room, so she determined to silently comfort Lozira until her tears

  stopped flowing.

  “You can talk to me now,” she said softly as she moved Lozira’s long golden hair away from

  her face. She stepped towards the seating cushions and waited until they were both sitting

  comfortably.

  “It’s so hard!” Lozira said, anguish in her face as tears welled up in her eyes again.

  “Tel me how you feel, Lozira…what is so hard?”

  “I did not think love could be like this,” she answered.

  “Like what, exactly?”

  “That it hurts! It hurts all the time when I cannot be with him, and then when I am, it hurts

  in a different way!”

  “Tell me how it started,” she asked her daughter. ”When did you start to love him like this?”

  Lozira began to release her pent-up emotions as Rhuna stroked her hair and listenedto her

  description of several outings on beautiful days, withtender sweet kisses and conversations unlike

  any she had ever had.

  “He was so open and direct about everything he told me,” Lozira explained. “And I felt I

  could tell him absolutely everything, and that he would always understand.” Rhuna nodded and

  smiled, holding back the misgivings and turmoil broiling inside her.

  When Lozira had unburdened herself and dried her tears, Rhuna explained to her that Sun

  of the Morning was waiting for her to act on this matter before the Council stepped in on Tozar’s

  request.

  “The first thing I have to do is go talk to Beacon of the Night,” Rhuna said decisively as she

  stood up.

  “What will you say?” Lozira asked alarmed.

  “Whatever is necessary,” Rhuna answe
red.

  “They cannot stop me from seeing him!” she said with renewed vigour. “They cannot send

  me back to Atlán!”

  “No, they can’t,” Rhuna said reassuringly, and then told her daughter to stay home and

  comfort Shandi. When Lozira had reluctantly agreed and gone into the nearby rooms, Rhuna

  entered the room in which Aradin had been summoning visions by means of the Gazing of the

  Waters.

  “He has seduced many women throughout his life,” Aradin said gloomily, and then

  described the visions he had summoned as he accompanied Rhuna outside.

  “What are we going to do?” asked Rhuna as they walked along the paved road.

  “Forcing her to do something against such strong feelings usually causes even worse

  problems,” Aradin said.

  “We’ll tell Beacon of the Night to leave her alone,” Rhuna suggested.

  “Do you really believe he would do anything we ask of him?” Aradin snorted.

  “We have to at least try,” said Rhuna, deflated.

  “Such a decision has to be made by her, not you,” explained Aradin.

  Rhuna reluctantly agreed after a moment’s thought. She stopped as they neared the house

  in which Beacon of the Night resided, and Aradin squeezed her hand reassuringly.

  “Keeper of Wisdom and Keeper of Justice!” Beacon of the Night exclaimed with genuine

  surprise. “Welcome inside my home!” he said with a sweeping gesture of his arm, guiding them

  through the entrance way and into the first main room. He stopped in front of a large window

  overlooking the garden and turned to face them with an expectant look.

  “We have just found out that you’ve been seducing my daughter!” Rhuna charged at him. “I

  forbid you from ever seeing her again!”

  “A-ha,” he said nodding, and paused to prepare his defensive speech. “This reaction was to

  be expected, and therefore I shall harbour no offence or resentment,” he began. “You despise me,

  and you cannot tolerate any personal involvement between your daughter and me,” he said

  nodding again, and then slowly paced across the room in front of them.

  “However, may I make this one fact clear at the outset, namely that I am not seducing,

  deceiving or misleading Lozira,” he said firmly. “It is true, for a brief moment I was indeed tempted

  when I realized that such a young and innocent woman looked at me with interest and desire…”