by Mary Coffin
~~~
Tannis walked briskly down the hill, heading back to the compound. His body felt energized and he looked forward to working on his plan. Through the trees up ahead, he glimpsed the southwest corner of the wall that surrounded their post. As he reached it, he turned left and headed for the gate.
He saw a man standing outside the gate, talking over it, to someone on the inside. Tannis stopped and watched. Was this someone from one of the villages? He assumed the man was speaking to James, who was on guard duty on the other side. Tannis was just tall enough to see over the wall but was far enough away from the gate that the angle prevented him from seeing the person on the inside. The conversation must have ended because the man outside turned and quickly walked away. Tannis proceeded toward the gate and, before he opened it, he turned to look down the trail where the man headed but didn’t see him. He stepped through the gate and closed it.
Just then, a man on horseback burst out of the trees, ran across the trail and into the trees on the other side. It appeared he was heading away from the compound. Tannis thought it looked like the same man who was just at the gate but he was shocked to see that the man had donned a black cape. Brethren of Darkness!
Tannis turned back to the compound and expected to see James standing nearby but no one was at the gate. He looked farther into the compound, toward the buildings and had just glimpsed the back side of one of the Guardians before he went around the corner of the nearest building. He saw dark hair but didn’t get a good look at the man before he moved out of sight. Tannis ran toward the building to see who it was. Once he reached the courtyard, he saw two of the Guardians’ sisters crossing the courtyard toward the clerk’s building and one of the brothers heading toward the dining hall but this brother was shorter and had lighter hair than the person Tannis had just seen.
He looked around and glanced back toward the gate but didn’t see James anywhere. He turned back toward the compound. It was now empty.
By all appearances, this was suspicious, to say the least. Why would a member of the Brethren even consider approaching their compound? They didn’t require round-the-clock guards at the gate but definitely kept someone there during the daytime hours, until the evening meal. So, why had James left his post and who was it at the gate, speaking with the Brethren? He thought about telling Noya but then decided he should get more information first. He needed to find James.
FORTY EIGHT
_______________
Elwyn, Grasslands
East of the Desert
Elwyn sat at the table and quietly ate her breakfast. She felt Jonathan and Amanda, the couple who had been caring for her, watching.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Amanda asked in her motherly voice.
“Yes, I’m sure. You’ve been very kind to me but I need to…” Elwyn purposely paused for the effect. “It’s just a sense I have that there might be something out there that would trigger my memory. I might be wrong but I have to try.”
Jonathan placed his hand on his wife’s arm. “We understand, don’t we, honey? There is probably a family somewhere that misses you.”
Elwyn smiled slightly and stared at the table, as if she was actually wondering the same thing for herself, but she wasn’t. She had other things on her mind. Between her dreams and her wakeful memories, she recalled most of the events that surrounded or, at least, led up to having her hands placed on the crystal. She still couldn’t recall how she got to this house where Amanda and Jonathan had cared for her. She didn’t know the identity of the man inside the earth who grabbed her hands and held them tightly to the crystal. In fact, she couldn’t even recall what he looked like. Every time she tried to picture him, it was like watching a puzzle come together and discovering that certain critical pieces were lost. She remembered the cave and the crystal-lined walls and ceiling. She recalled the man’s robe and his wrinkled, boney hands forcing her to hold the crystal. But when it came to his face or other distinguishing features, there was nothing. The man was faceless in her memory.
But everything up to that point had come back with full clarity. She was a member of the Brethren. She was trying to prove herself to Draevil. She had been increasing her own powers through the use of magic and had kept it a secret from him, with the hope that she could move up the ranks in the brotherhood. She even recalled how she believed she could possess the crystal for herself, that she might become more powerful than Draevil, but the visions of a dismal, dead world still haunted her. No. She didn’t want anything to do with the crystal now.
She didn’t doubt that the faceless man, the one that drew her into the earth, had also prevented Bortundo and Carlos, and even Tannis, from getting it as well. In fact, she wondered whether they could be lost somewhere, having a similar experience right now. If they weren’t, though, if Bortundo and Carlos and the other men made it back to the desert, Elwyn feared that Draevil would suspect she had the crystal. It would be one thing if she truly had it. Then she could use its power to put an end to Draevil, if it didn’t kill her first. But she didn’t have the crystal and, if Draevil believed she did, it would be too risky to return to the Brethren.
Even though her memory had returned, for the most part, she didn’t dare let Amanda and Jonathan know that it had. They might feel differently about being so kind to her if they learned that she was a member of the Brethren of Darkness. She felt their eyes on her as she took another bite of food.
Amanda’s voice sounded shaky. “I still think you look like an Anna. Promise that you’ll let us know your real name, when you find out? Please?”
“I will,” promised Elwyn, although she had no intentions of returning to this place. She was tired of acting like the sweet daughter that Amanda always wanted but never had. In fact, it was suffocating Elwyn to have to play the part.
Jonathan placed an envelope on the table and slid it across to Elwyn. “Here. We thought this would help you.”
Elwyn appeared uncertain.
“Go ahead,” Amanda said. “Open it.”
Elwyn set her fork beside the plate. She glanced at them both and then picked up the envelope. There was money inside.
“I can’t take this.”
“You must,” Amanda said.
“You’ll need something for food and shelter,” offered Jonathan. “We insist.”
Elwyn glanced at them. “You’ve been so kind. How will I ever repay you?”
“Just come back when you can and let us know how you’re doing.” Jonathan smiled.
“Thank you. I will.” She wiped her mouth one last time and set the napkin down. “I guess it’s time to go then.”
They walked her to the door. Amanda handed her a bag with some food inside.
“It’s not much,” she said, “but, no matter which direction you decide to go, it should last until you get to a town.”
Elwyn hugged them goodbye and knew they watched her from the doorway, as she headed west, across the open fields.
FORTY NINE
_______________
Elwyn
Outskirts of the Desert
Inside the small cave, a rock wall protruded toward the center creating a barrier behind which Elwyn could do her business. The afternoon sun glared at the cave opening which, she knew, prevented light from the candles to be seen from the entrance should anyone else be in the vicinity.
The candles were placed around the bowl of water at her feet, the bowl that she stole from a merchant in a nearby village. That was after she took the cape that was wrapped around her shoulders. She didn’t know what had happened to her Brethren cape, perhaps it was left inside the earth, but she couldn’t be seen wearing that now anyway. She needed to be inconspicuous, blend in with the commoners. She wasn’t far from the Brethren’s territory but Draevil’s reach was far and one never knew where he might have spies lurking about.
Elwyn hadn’t come up with a full plan yet, only pieces, f
ragments of what she still hoped to accomplish. To get the full picture, she needed to call upon the black panther, to learn what it had to show her and to see what had transpired since she left Draevil’s company.
She pinched the powdery substance between two fingers, grateful to have obtained the ingredient from one of the villagers. She tossed it into the bowl full of liquid. As she expected, the fluid boiled and sizzled with venomous energy. Her hand circled in the air above as she whispered the spell, persuading it to reveal the information she sought.
She waited. Finally the liquid stopped churning, a faint vapor appeared above its surface and began to swirl, as she anticipated it would. As it churned, round and round, in its upward climb to meet her, it began to take form. It wasn’t the form that she was prepared to see; it wasn’t the panther. It was a condensed blob that met her at eye level. Distinguishing features began to appear. The mist turned dark.
Draevil’s face suddenly jumped out at her. His baritone voice bellowed and his eyes were as black as bottomless holes. “The cat serves me!!!”
Elwyn jumped with fright and accidentally kicked the bowl. Water splashed onto the candles. A few flames sputtered out and Draevil’s face disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
She quickly extinguished the rest of the candles and, in the solitude of the cave, heard someone breathing heavily. She quietly stepped back until she felt the cold stone wall against her backside. She pressed her body into it and listened. It took another moment but then she realized that the heavy breathing was her own. She let out a long sigh.
Elwyn wasn’t prone to being so easily startled. The very thing she had wanted to avoid was happening. She had crossed Draevil and failed. She was certain that he had seen it all clearly by now.
The cold, earthy feeling against her back was grounding and helped to clear her mind. She considered her options. After several minutes, it all became clear. She needed time to practice her skills, to grow stronger…stronger than Draevil. That was the only option that made any sense. In the meantime, she must disguise her physical appearance so that she could remain in the area, while keeping an eye on the Brethren’s activity. She also needed to disguise her psychic energy as best she could, so that Draevil wouldn’t detect her presence.
Her nerves were calmer now, her breathing was more relaxed. Things weren’t as bad as she initially thought. It felt like she was regaining control. Then a new thought popped into her mind and a shrewd smile formed on her lips. If taking possession of the crystal meant death, to the person possessing it and to all the life around it, then perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to help Draevil get it after all. All she had to do was to ensure that the Brethren got hold of it. Then it would just be a matter of time before Draevil and the current Brethren membership began to fall deeper into the hands of darkness…into the palm of death itself.
FIFTY
_______________
Loki, Overseers
Great Mountains
“Wait up. I’ll go to breakfast with you,” Waysu jumped out of bed, grabbed her clothes and began to dress.
She and Loki had only slept sporadically during the night: sometimes talking, other times being alone in the solitude of the night with their own thoughts. Somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, Waysu had drifted into a sound sleep. Then she woke to the sound of Loki opening their bedroom door and caught her before she left.
“Hang on. I’ll just be a minute,” added Waysu as she slipped on a pair of pants underneath her nightgown.
Loki looked at her with weary, sleepless eyes. “I’m not going to breakfast.”
Waysu immediately grasped her meaning and slowed her movements. Waysu hadn’t fastened her pants yet. Her nightgown was bunched around her waist and her feet found their way into boots but the laces weren’t tied. By her appearance, it was hard to tell whether she was just going to bed or had just gotten up.
Waysu studied her roommate for a moment. “Are you okay?”
Loki half nodded. “I just want to be with her.”
“Oh. Okay.” Waysu smiled. She understood. There wasn’t anything more to say.
Loki had fallen into quietude since Silas returned with her mother. It was a sober state of silence that sometimes accompanied a deep sense of loss. Waysu had been there. She had responded similarly to the loss of her mother. She did what she could to be receptive to Loki’s needs in this situation. Sometimes Loki wanted to talk but most of the time she needed space and Waysu simply provided her company, when it seemed appropriate.
Loki closed the door behind her and strolled through the tunnel. She appreciated the fact that she didn’t have far to go to visit her mother, as Silas had carried Gwynn from Adele’s cottage to her room in the cave. The idea was that Gwynn would be more comfortable in her own room, even though she wasn’t conscious to know it.
The blue cocoon still surrounded her and the fragments continued to work on her body. Although, when Loki sat with her the night before, she noticed that there were less of the healing fragments. The prognosis wasn’t looking good for her mother.
Prior to their leaving Adele’s cottage, Adele had pulled Loki aside and hugged her. Then she gazed into Loki’s eyes and spoke directly. “She wanted to go, Loki. She wasn’t open to discussing it. Her mind was made up and there was no changing it. Do ya’ understand?”
Loki recalled nodding. It was more of an autonomic response that broke through her numb, emotional state than it was from truly understanding but as she walked to her mother’s room, she gave it some thought.
She wondered why her mother felt so compelled to go to the Northland and destroy the journal. Well, in actuality, she understood that destroying the journal was beneficial to the events that were threatening the crystal and the fairies. But, why did her mother go alone? Why did she take it upon herself to do it? Why wouldn’t she tell Silas what she was up to? They apparently had some history from years past. There was much that Loki didn’t understand.
She turned down the tunnel to her mother’s room. She reached the door, which was open, but stopped when she saw Silas sitting on the edge of her mother’s bed. He held Gwynn’s hand and was talking. Loki noticed that the healing fragments inside the bubble had dissipated even more than the night before and suddenly her throat felt dry.
She took a couple steps, so she was just inside the doorway. Silas hadn’t heard her and continued to talk to Gwynn.
“I wish you had stayed with us, all those years ago. I wish you had never left but it’s a moot point now, isn’t it?”
He stopped talking for a moment and Loki was about to say something when he spoke again.
“I love you, Gwynn. I always have.”
He gently laid her hand down and stood. Loki was about to step back out of the room so that Silas wouldn’t know that she heard him but he turned and saw her. For a moment, they simply looked at each other. Loki searched her tired mind for something to say but her mind didn’t comply. She wondered whether Silas would say something to her. He let his eyes fall to the floor for a moment. Then he glanced back at Gwynn, for one last look, and walked to the door. As he stepped past Loki, he laid his hand on her shoulder and left it there for a moment, before he headed out of the room.
Loki walked over to a chair and carried it next to the bed. She sat and faced her mother and watched the fragments inside the blue light. They remained scattered throughout the bubble, indicating that Gwynn’s entire body was being worked on, but there was only about a quarter of what was there when Morten first created the enclosure.
Loki had the sense that Silas was saying goodbye to her mother. She supposed she should do the same thing but her mind was blank; the words weren’t there.
She stared at her mother for the longest time. Finally, thoughts began to churn and one question pressed on her awareness above everything else.
She heard herself faintly ask, “Why? Why did you go alone
?” Her head shook slightly in disbelief. She looked up and down her mother’s body, encased in the blue cocoon. Fragments seemed to be disappearing before her eyes.
“It’s not fair, you know. You’ve still got some explaining to do. You said you would tell me about everything that you’ve kept from me all these years.” She paused as though she were giving her mother one last chance to speak. Then she whispered, “You promised.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and Loki was too tired to fight the emotion. She let herself quietly weep. Then she wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve and rested her head on the back of the chair. Before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep.