by D. H. Dunn
Nima blinked in surprise, even if that was the answer she had hoped for. She had been worried Tanira would refuse. Nima wondered if she had just misinterpreted the woman’s reactions.
“It is fate that has brought us together with you Val,” Tanira continued. “Praise the Line! We shall come with you to your village and help you face this burden.”
Nima felt a spark of excitement at the decision. Finally, there was a path forward, a goal. A clear summit to attempt. They would help Val reach his village, and there Tanira might be able to find a guide to her island.
Val’s mouth hung open for a moment as he looked at them, the crystal in his head gaining intensity.
“I do not know how to respond,” he said. “I do not even know why you are here, but to just agree to come with me . . . it is an imposition I could not ask.”
“You didn’t ask,” Nima said with a laugh. “We offered.”
“We would merely like to help, as Nima says,” Tanira said. “It would be unjust to walk away and leave you alone with this.”
Val stood, and bowed with his hands wide. “I accept your offer. Perhaps your strange appearance will help my people see things with new eyes.”
“Thank you for accepting our help,” Nima said.
To see Valaen’s people would be so exciting, and Val himself was unlike anything she had ever seen. She had taken care not to stare at him too much, but his exotic appearance, the stories of his people and their customs, they were all so different and new.
“Is there anything we should do with your father’s body?” Nima asked. “In my culture, the dead are kept in the family’s home for a week so that friends and family may pay their respects.” She recalled seeing visitors after her mother’s death, spending days in her room. It was not a good memory.
“That is a noble practice,” Tanira said, her tone softening. “My people would do well to adopt it.”
“We have no such customs,” Val said. “We are one with the world, in life and death. When possible, we leave the bodies where they are, as the wave from the next Tempest will reclaim them. I do have a few words I would like to speak to him though.”
“Are you certain it is safe?” Tanira looked at the cave entrance with uncertainty.
“It is fine,” Val nodded. “I have been detecting the eels and keeping a good sense of them. They have left the area and my father is not far from here.”
“Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you?” Nima asked. She walked over, putting her hand on Val’s shoulder. She knew she had only met the man a few hours ago, and he could not appear stranger, yet there was something about him that connected with her.
Val shook his head. “No, thank you. I would prefer to be alone. It should not take long, and I will be safe.” He paused for a moment, closing his eyes. Nima watched as the crystal in his forehead pulsed for a moment.
He then picked his pack back up, Nima watching Tanira’s eyes follow the object as he did so.
“My friends,” Val said, bowing again. “It is a dark day for me, yet you have added calm to my waters. I am grateful to have met you.”
“Be careful,” Nima said, watching him as he left. The man took a few glances around the forest, the light from the sun cutting through the trees to the west. Within a moment or two, Val was into the deep brush and out of sight.
Better now than later, Nima told herself. It would do no good to keep her questions inside. She would have to word them to Tanira the right way. She wished Drew were there. He was better at these things.
Taking a deep breath, she turned around only to find Tanira standing right behind her, less than half a meter away.
“You have questions for me, yes?”
Nima gasped a bit, taking a step back. Tanira was larger than her, leaving Nima in shadow. The woman still wore a smile on her dark face though, the light still present in her eyes.
“Uh,” Nima started, taking a breath. She spread her feet a bit, the action making the ground feel more solid. She had every right to ask questions, she reminded herself.
“I do, Tanira. I wasn’t sure you were going to agree with my idea to go with Valaen to his village.”
“But then I saw his pack,” Tanira said with a laugh. She clapped Nima on the shoulder. “You do not miss much, do you, Nima? Wherever you come from, I am sure you are valued for that skill!”
A little of the tension released from Nima’s shoulders, rolling off her in waves with Tanira’s laughter.
“I know it is difficult when the Line forces me to keep answers from you,” Tanira said. “It is difficult for me as well. You have already been more patient than I could have expected, or may have been in your place. Therefore, I will explain what I am allowed to.”
“Thank you.” Nima felt relieved Tanira was willing to share, but did not want to push too far. She wished Drew were here, he often helped her know when to stop talking.
“I know being a knight, there are vows you must keep.” She thought of her grandfather’s story books, the ones he brought back from his travels. Pages and pages of knights in their castles and the large round tables they all gathered at. Wizards and kings and dragons on green hillsides.
“You were correct earlier.” Tanira took a few steps back, then sat down. “I was not sure accompanying this man to his village was appropriate. I have much I need to accomplish here, Nima. My quest is very important, my people are depending on me. I did not wish us to part ways, as I like your company and value your observational skill. Not to mention, you saved my life.”
“But you saw something, on his pack. The island.”
Tanira nodded. “Yes. If Valaen or his people can tell me more of this island, or even guide me there, then a journey with him is within the Line.”
“I am glad to hear that,” Nima said, going back to Tanira and sitting next to her.
“As am I, great climber Nima.” Tanira laughed again.
Nima took a deep breath. This had gone better than she had expected, but there was more she needed to say. She was not Drew, she saw no value in keeping things inside, waiting for “the right time,” as he would say.
“I do respect your commitment to your quest, to this Line,” Nima said. “I know there are things you feel you need to keep from me. That does make it hard though, Tanira. There may come a time when I need you to--”
“Let us make an agreement. When you need to know something, ask. I will answer if I can.”
“That seems fair,” Nima said. “And telling Val about the portals and why you are here?”
“In time,” Tanira said, running her fingers through the dark braids of her hair as she sighed. “Once told, it cannot be untold. I must be cautious. The weight of my people is-“
“If we are to leave, it would be better to do so soon,” Val’s voice echoed into the cave, his form silhouetted in the entrance.
Nima stepped away from Tanira and decided to drop the subject. Tanira had been clear on what she could and could not do, it would be better to respect her, Nima decided. If she needed to know more, she would ask.
“Why is that, Val?” Tanira asked. She gave Nima a smile as she walked by, and Nima felt reassured that all was well.
Val looked to be in better spirits after saying goodbye to his father. “There is a herd of grun on the move nearby, and where they travel the darkeels will often follow. It is nearly midsun, we could be to the outskirts of Caenola by nightfall if we leave now.”
”Then we make haste,” Tanira said as she threw her own pack over her shoulder and grabbed her long, silver blades. “I am anxious to see more of this forest of yours.”
Nima scrambled to the mats she had been sleeping on, thinking of rolling one up and bringing it with them in case they had to sleep in the forest. Deciding that there wasn’t enough room, she cast it back down on the cave floor. She had slept on the ground many times with Drew and Pasang in the Khumbu Valley, it would be fine to do so again.
Tanira and Val waited for her at the cave e
ntrance, the sunlight gleaming into the cavern and framing them both like a golden painting. For the first time since arriving, she wished Drew and Merin could have come with her, to see all the amazing things she was seeing.
Nima followed the others out of the cave and back into the mixture of oaks, pines, and mihya trees, wondering about Drew and what he might be doing in his own far off world.
Chapter 4
Drew Adley was happy, but he knew it was only in the moment. Outside the flap of this tiny tent, the problems of his old world and this new one still waited for him.
Yet inside the tent, he smiled. It was an honest thing, not the wry grins or gallows humor that had become constant companions these past few years. In his heart was a feeling of contentment that was warmer and cozier than any blanket he could imagine.
If only he could stay under it.
Drew lay on his side, the snow’s cold seeping through the layers of cloth underneath him, despite the morning sun. Above his head, a similar sheet of fabric formed the roof for their makeshift tent, built inside the outer wreckage of the library. He was surrounded by a new place, a new world, but none of that had his attention.
He ran his finger lightly over the curve of Upala’s exposed shoulder, his light skin contrasting sharply with her olive tones. She had been sleeping for hours, but Drew’s rest had been short. She shifted lightly against him, the sensation of her movement was like tiny sparks lighting off inside him.
Only a few hours after arriving through the portal from the Under, he and Upala had first fallen into each other’s arms, and then into the nearest tent.
None of that had been the plan. Drew had planned to assume nothing regarding Upala’s feelings, or even what might be in his own heart.
He had only wanted to talk to Upala, get to know her as a person and allow her a window into who he was, and who he felt he was capable of becoming. The plan had been to simply talk and see where that led them.
Things had not gone according to plan, but Drew supposed sometimes what life gave you was better than what you tried to design.
He was lying next to a woman he had only seen once before, in a smoke-filled restaurant in Kathmandu. A woman who represented opportunities for peace, forgiveness and love for Drew, things he had been unable to find anywhere else.
For one night, she had given him these things and more, only to vanish like smoke in the morning, as lost to him as he often felt his own happiness was.
Now after all his searching, he had found her again.
Just as before, there had been no need for words between them. Once their escape from the Under had been secure, they had fallen into each other’s arms at the first opportunity.
There was a new life waiting outside this tent, a life that would bear little resemblance to his previous one. All his failures now lay on the other side of an inert portal, an obsidian oval of stone that would act as a grave marker for the previous life of Drew Adley. A life that had been spent mostly disappointing others, leading people astray and causing far too much unhappiness and death.
His brother Artie was not here, any more than the other doomed sailors of the USS Machias. His mother was buried in an Oregon cemetery that was another world away, visited daily by his angry father. In all the slammed doors and missed opportunities that were now closed to him, only the thought of never again seeing his adopted little sister Nima brought melancholy to his heart.
Upala’s deep-brown eyes opened, looking back into his as his cheeks grew warm with embarrassment. He was staring, and now that he was caught he still could not pull his gaze away.
“It is good to see you in the morning light, Drew Adley,” she said, her voice like a musical instrument, the highs and lows dancing in his ear. She smiled, reminding Drew that the face he had been dreaming of for months was now only inches away from his own. Her hand curled around the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss.
He pulled back, her fingers sliding away, bringing goose bumps to his skin. He wanted that kiss, could feel his body resisting his own actions. She raised a dark eyebrow in response, propping herself up on one elbow, the grin still on her face.
A small wave of relief washed over him. “You’re not mad.” The urge to get up, to pace conflicted with the urge to fall back into her, to throw all other thoughts off the mountain and give in to his desires. He ignored both impulses. “I just need to talk a bit, Upala.”
She laid back, crossing her hands behind her head to form a pillow. He looked at her dark hair, tightly and intricately woven against her skull, keeping his eyes on her face and forbidding them to wander to other places.
“Of course, Drew.” She pulled the makeshift blanket that had laid at their waists up to her neck, the coverage reducing Drew’s distraction. More embarrassment ran through him.
I’m in my late twenties, why am I acting like a teenager?
“This is a new world for you, an incredible sacrifice you have made on my behalf, as well as Merin’s. I owe you all the talk and answers you could ever ask for. If not for you and your friends, I would still be trapped in that crystal in the depths of the Under, if not suffering a worse fate at the hands of my brother.”
Drew rolled onto his back, it was easier to think without looking at her. Now that he had the opportunity though, there was only one question he wanted to ask, only one question that mattered.
“What happens now?”
He heard her intake of breath, could sense the air moving into her lungs as if it was his own body. He had not been with many women, but the connection had never been like this. It was so all-consuming that even her answer was hard to focus on, the music in her voice threatening to transport him away.
“That will be your choice, of course. You and I are in a similar position, Drew. I find myself returning here as if I am a stranger, a new person with a new look at the world. It will be a challenge to reintroduce myself to these people.”
Her hand found his, fingers intertwining underneath the thin blanket.
“It would be easier with your support, your advice.”
There was a frantic crunching of snow from approaching boots, Drew sitting up just as Merin pushed her head into the tent.
“My lady, I am sorry to disturb.” Drew noticed Merin kept her eyes on the ground. The morning sun streamed past her tall body, Merin’s short, raven-black hair blowing in the high wind.
“It is fine,” Upala said, sitting up and holding the blanket to her chest. “You do not need to address me so anymore. Is something the matter?”
Drew could see the slight clench of Merin’s jaw, visible only for a moment. He wondered if Upala saw it as well before it vanished.
Merin’s intensity reminded Drew of the children who waited for them farther down the mountain. He felt a blush of shame rising to his cheeks. They may have needed rest, but the time for rest was surely over.
“Flares, my lady. Your forgiveness--I mean Upala. Red flares from the lower library. We must make haste. I will begin to prepare us for the descent.”
Upala leaped out from under the blanket, apparently no longer concerned with her modesty. She began pulling on her clothes, taking a moment to toss Drew his, which were balled up in her corner of the tent.
“Red flares?” Drew asked, pulling on one of his leather pant legs with effort. Upala and Merin had found new clothes for him in the remains of the library guardhouse after they had arrived. Unfortunately, they were not an excellent fit. “What does that mean?”
“It is a distress call from the Lower Library. There are many more of Merin’s people, the Rakhum, assigned there.” Upala grunted for a moment as she struggled with her pants. “I believe administrator Harliss also stationed several of the children there, perhaps including Merin’s.”
She didn’t know for certain Merin’s children were there? The thought bounced around his mind as he pulled on his trousers. How could she not know?
The question lived in his mind for only a moment before it was pushed away
, his body pumping adrenaline in an all too familiar sensation. General quarters sounded in his head, no different than if a torpedo had been launched at them.
There was an attack on the building below, and that meant it was time to act. The only question was, an attack from whom? With Kater dead, who would still be attacking Upala and her libraries?
Drew burst out of the tent, surprised at the temperature change as the cold air nipped against him. He was still fastening the leather jacket he had acquired, wishing more of his gear had survived their trip through the Under. At least he still had his ice ax, which swung from his belt. A gift from Nima, though he realized he’d never asked her where she’d gotten it.
He looked out across the small, snow-filled clearing outside the entrance to the former site of Upala’s library. Upala was still in the tent, finishing dressing.
The path out of the clearing led along the side of the mountain, before dropping hundreds of meters into a gulley. Were this Everest, he would have considered them close to the South Col, but he reminded himself this was not Everest. The features were the same, but it was not as cold. The oxygen was richer as well.
This was Ish Rav Partha, a twin of the mountain he knew. The Everest of another world.
Slightly above them lay the ruins of Upala’s library, the majority of it destroyed when Kater’s attack caused it to be translated into the Under. All that remained were a few tents now partially shredded by the wind and a stone entrance leading into the mountain.
Running over to Merin, he wished he could see past the layer of clouds to the lands below. How different would they be from the Nepal he knew?
“Upala says your children might be in the lower library?” Drew asked, walking over. Merin was lacing her boots, looking as tall and strong as she had in the Under, a perfect contrast to her late husband.
“Yes, perhaps they are,” Merin said. “Arix, my daughter, and Lam, my son. I suppose the flares could be a misfire, that has happened before. I remind myself that there are many of our guards and attendants stationed there to keep them safe.” She paused, putting a hand to her eyes and peering down into the snowy mists of the lower reaches of the mountain. “Still, I worry.”