The Exercise Of Vital Powers

by Ian Gregoire

  Kayden’s suspicion that Fay had brought her to this place under false pretences was now vindicated. She grabbed the hilt of her sword, unsheathing it in one swift motion, to point it at the Sanatsai’s back. Did that woman really think she was gullible enough to believe that decades’ worth of protocol would be discarded just for her benefit? Everyone knew apprentices were never told the location of Temis Rulan, much less actually taken there. The idea that Fay Annis would insist on having any apprentice—never mind one she had it in for—accompanying her to the headquarters of the Order was absurd.

  Fay spun round to see Kayden with drawn sword tightly gripped in both hands. “At ease, Kayden,” she said, calmly. “There is no danger here, we are perfectly safe. You can put your weapon away.”

  “Do you take me for some kind of idiot?” The vehemence of Kayden’s tone signalled she had no intention of disarming. “This is not Temis Rulan.”

  Frowning at the apprentice, Fay retorted, “Of course it’s not.”

  The lack of denial threw Kayden off, momentarily.

  “For security reasons,” Fay began to elaborate. “No portals open directly inside Temis Rulan. In the event that any of our locations are compromised or infiltrated by a hostile force, the portals cannot be used to launch an attack.”

  Kayden reluctantly conceded that the explanation made perfect sense. And the way Fay spoke didn’t appear to be in any way evasive or calculating. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  “Well, I’m telling you now.”

  It was another matter-of-fact response that Kayden found so irritating. Almost as vexing as the woman’s obliviousness, or unconcern that she was being threatened with a deadly weapon.

  “But you need not fret, Temis Rulan isn’t far from here. We’ll be travelling most of the way by horse.” She turned her back on Kayden then calmly walked towards the open exit of the windmill. “Now, come along!”

  “No, wait!” Still in a fighting stance with her unsheathed blade, Kayden’s demand prompted Fay to halt in the doorway and turn back around to face her. “Who are you?”

  Fay looked at the apprentice quizzically. “That is a rather odd question to ask me, Kayden.”

  “Before we arrived, Master Dionardo addressed you as ‘Danai’ more than once.” There was an accusatory note in Kayden’s voice. “I know enough about the hierarchy of the Order to realise that any Sanatsai who holds the rank of Danai would never be assigned to a position on campus, not even as the administrator. Not to mention you’re far too young to have attained that rank. So why would he address you as Danai?”

  Fay sighed, evidently aggravated by yet another delay.

  “Technically, you are correct,” she said. “The Council would not assign a high-ranking member of the Order to the position of campus administrator. However, there is no prohibition preventing such a person from volunteering to assume that role.”

  “You asked to be the administrator of Antaris campus?” Kayden was dubious, to say the least. It didn’t seem credible. “Why would you do that?”

  “Kayden, my reasons are my own, that is all you need to know,” said Fay. “Now, if you are coming with me to Temis Rulan, then follow.” With that she exited the windmill, walking to the right and out of Kayden’s view.

  Remaining where she stood, her sword still drawn, it suddenly dawned on Kayden that Fay was no longer behaving like a woman who wanted to kill her. In fact, she was becoming increasingly uncertain as to whether or not Fay ever had been. Aside from the disturbing expression that briefly masked her face, coupled with the even more disturbing look in her eyes during their confrontation the night before, Fay had never actually said or done anything genuinely threatening during her tenure as administrator. Perhaps they really were going to Temis Rulan together after all.

  But, why?

  Kayden still couldn’t buy into the idea she was somehow Fay’s favourite apprentice; the Sanatsai had never once given her reason to believe that. And yet, by the same token, if Fay’s true intent was expulsion, why go to the trouble of dragging her all the way to Temis Rulan? She could expel an apprentice just as easily on campus, like the expulsion of Vartan that very day.

  Whatever the reasons for their journey to Temis Rulan, the only way Kayden could learn the truth was to go along with the Sanatsai. She quickly sheathed her sword then dashed out of the disused windmill after Fay.

  Outside, Kayden caught sight of the burgundy-haired woman, already several yards away, striding down the shallow incline of a hill, towards a cluster of farmhouses in the distance. She also noted with interest the position of the sun in the cloudless, blue sky. It was further west and lower than it had been just a short while ago back at Antaris campus. The temperature was noticeably warmer, too. She surmised that either the journey through the portal that seemed to have taken no more than two or three seconds had actually taken two or three hours, or they had travelled so far east of Antaris they were now some place where it was two or three hours later in the day.

  Kayden swiftly caught up with Fay and fell into step alongside her. While they drew closer to the farming village ahead—for that’s what it was, Kayden now realised—she could make out a small group of people gathered together outside one of the buildings.

  “It looks like we have company,” she said to Fay. “Do you know who they are?”

  “Friends.”

  Glancing at the woman, Kayden promptly decided it was a waste of time to ask for elaboration.

  For the next few minutes the duo trudged towards the farmhouse in silence. As they made their approach, Kayden could see there were numerous people milling about the village and the surrounding fields. While most of them were presumably just civilians, she did notice a small number of women wearing the cream and beige garb of the Sisterhood, including a tall woman standing amid the group gathered outside the building they were nearing.

  The group was comprised of eight people, and they made to welcome the newcomers, or rather Fay, with enthusiasm. There were two adult men standing to one side of the gathering, each gripping the reins of a horse. At the centre of the group was an older man holding the hand of the elegant Jaymidari beside him. In front of the couple was a young girl with pigtails, no older than seven, squeezing a ragdoll in her little arms, and standing nearby were an adolescent boy and girl who were evidently brother and sister. Further behind the group, leaning against the farmhouse, was a young man, maybe a year or two older than Kayden, armed with a short bow and a quiver of arrows on his back.

  Once Fay’s warm welcome had abated, she introduced her travelling companion to the Sister, Larinda, and her husband, Miro.

  “You’re married?” Kayden blurted.

  “Yes, my dear,” replied Larinda. “Why does that surprise you?”

  “Pardon my ignorance. It never occurred to me that a Jaymidari could, or even would, get married.”

  “Well, duh!” muttered the young teenage boy, rolling his eyes.

  Kayden glowered at him. That’s right, I heard you, pip-squeak.

  “Fenrik! Could you not be so rude to our guest?” Larinda chastised the boy. “Please forgive my son, Kayden, he’s at that awkward age.”

  “Oh, no harm done,” she managed to utter, grudgingly. “So, you have children too?”

  “Yes. That’s our eldest, Arlo, lurking in the background.” Larinda gestured towards the archer leaning against the farmhouse. He casually inclined his head in acknowledgement. Kayden did the same. “This is Fenrik and his twin sister Faynara.”

  “Nice to meet you,” chirped the girl.

  “Likewise,” said Kayden.

  “And this little bundle of joy, right here,” continued Larinda, placing her free hand on the shoulder of the young girl standing in front of her and Miro, “is our youngest, Lara.”

  “Hello,” said the little girl, smiling up at Kayden. “You’re so pretty!”

  Kayden squatted down on her haunches in front of Lara. Compliments for her looks were usually unwelc
ome but not on this occasion. “Thank you, Lara, I think you’re adorable yourself.”

  “This is Bess,” Lara said, holding out her ragdoll. “She thinks you are pretty too. And she says she likes your eyes.”

  “It’s a doll, stupid,” said Fenrik. “It doesn’t think or say anything.”

  Kayden glowered at the adolescent dunderhead. “Don’t call her stupid.” Her voice carried just enough threat to warn the boy not to test her patience.

  “Ma! Are you going to let her speak to me like that?”

  Larinda seemed to sense the situation could turn ugly, prompting swift intervention to diffuse the tension.

  “Fenrik, you have chores you can be getting on with, now run along.” His sullen expression prompted her to add, “Don’t make me tell you twice.”

  Kayden smirked at Fenrik before he reluctantly skulked off back into the farmhouse.

  “Your uniform is unfamiliar, Kayden,” observed Miro. “Has the Order instituted new uniforms for the Sanatsai?”

  “No,” replied Kayden, rising up from her haunches. “I’m still just an apprentice. This is our ceremonial outfit; we don’t get to wear it often.”

  Miro flashed a confounded look at Fay.

  “I thought apprentices weren’t permitted to go to Temis Rulan.”

  “That still remains the case.” Fay glanced at the apprentice beside her, adding, “But Kayden isn’t like the others.”

  Kayden wasn’t sure she liked the way those words were just uttered. The comment sounded more negative than positive, no doubt intended as a veiled criticism. She was distracted from that line of thought when she felt something tugging at her leg. Looking down she saw Lara trying to get her attention.

  “Can you make me float?” asked the little girl.

  “Uh...” Kayden glanced at Larinda, seeking guidance. The Sister smiled back, giving a silent nod of the head. “Do you mean like this?”

  Lara was lifted gently off her feet and floated up to eye level with the apprentice. Slowly, she began to spin around in the air, causing her to laugh out loud in unconstrained delight. Yuksaydan had so many destructive applications Kayden never contemplated the idea of ‘the unseen hand’ being a source of joy and wonder to a young child. As she continued to enthral Lara with the simple demonstration of Zarantar she kept an ear on the conversation between Fay and the young girl’s parents.

  “As you see, horses for you and your apprentice are ready when you are,” she heard Miro say. “Though we hope you don’t need to depart right away.”

  “Yes,” said Larinda. “We’ve missed your company these past three years. Please stay for tea, I’ve just baked some apple turnovers.”

  “Thank you, both,” replied Fay. “But we really need to leave at once, we are already running a little late as it is.”

  “As you wish,” said Miro.

  “Just promise we won’t have to wait another three years for your next visit,” added Larinda. “You’re always welcome in our home.”

  “I promise,” agreed Fay.

  Kayden peered at the couple. It was surprising how they both looked even more disappointed than they sounded. Though why anyone would miss Fay’s company was beyond her comprehension.

  Fay turned to address the little girl bobbing up and down in the air, orbiting the apprentice. “I’m sorry to have to steal your new friend from you, Lara,” she said, “but Kayden and I have an important appointment elsewhere.”

  Lara stopped laughing. “Oh, all right.” The disappointment in the child’s voice was palpable. “Can she come back with you later?”

  “Maybe, one day,” Fay replied.

  “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away,” added Kayden, setting Lara down gently at her mother’s feet. “As long as your parents say it’s all right.”

  “Well, Lara has taken quite a liking to you Kayden,” said Larinda. “You are more than welcome to return.”

  “Any friend of Fay is a friend of ours,” said Miro in agreement.

  Kayden found she didn’t have the heart to shatter the illusions of the couple by pointing out that she and Fay were not friends. They didn’t need to know she actually disliked the woman a great deal, so she simply said, “Thank you!”

  “We should get going,” Fay prompted Kayden. Addressing the couple, she added, “I apologise for the brevity of this visit. I will make it up to you as soon as I can. But for now, farewell.”

  Miro, Larinda and their children bid Fay and Kayden farewell as they ambled towards the two men holding their waiting horses. Accepting them, first Fay, then Kayden, mounted their respective geldings.

  Fay gently urged her mount forward into a slow trot, and Kayden did likewise, pulling alongside her and following her lead. For the next few minutes she and Fay proceeded onward towards the woodlands in the distance without exchanging a word. Once some distance had been put between themselves and the village, Kayden noticed, from the corner of her eye, that her travelling companion was sneaking the occasional look in her direction. She resisted the urge to look back and challenge Fay as to what she was staring at, choosing instead to maintain their silence.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Kayden’s hopes that the journey would be completed in silence were thwarted. Moments after reaching the first trees of the woodlands they had to travel through, Fay finally decided to speak.

  “It will take about a half-hour to reach our next stop,” she announced. “We should use that time to talk.”

  “Talk about what?” Kayden replied with disinterest.

  “There are several personal questions I’ve been meaning to ask you, and it is long past time that I asked them.”

  Kayden peered to her left to look at Fay; her curiosity was piqued, in spite of herself. What questions had the administrator been wanting to ask? And, just how personal?

  “You can ask me anything you like,” she said. “As for whether or not I give you any answers, or if you like the answers you are given if I do…” She left the rest of the statement unsaid.

  “Very well.” The acknowledgement seemed to indicate Fay was satisfied with that response. “First question: how long have you been able to sense Zarantar?”

  Well, now! thought Kayden. That was not the kind of question she’d been anticipating. It was trivial. Not to mention the distinct lack of judgement, disapproval or reproach in Fay’s voice when she asked the question. She sounded genuinely curious to know. Kayden decided there was no harm in answering truthfully.

  “I guess I’ve been able to pretty much since my Zarantar first manifested when I was fourteen.” She spied no discernible reaction on Fay’s face. “But it wasn’t until I had been at Antaris for a few months that I finally understood what it was I was sensing.”

  “I see.”

  Kayden couldn’t tell if the Sanatsai was impressed or disappointed by her answer.

  “Why?”

  “Apprentices are never taught how to sense the presence of Zarantar, because it’s not something that can be learned. A Sanatsai’s senses simply aren’t attuned to Zarantar. Under normal circumstances, it is an attribute that only develops in the women who pursue the calling of a Jaymidari.”

  It was an eye-opening revelation, shedding light on a mystery that had been gnawing away at the back of Kayden’s mind for much of her five years at Antaris. She had frequently wondered why no other apprentice had ever mentioned sensing the presence or wielding of Zarantar. None of her instructors had done so, either.

  “However,” Fay continued, “a small number of Sanatsai do develop this ability naturally. But it is an extremely rare occurrence.”

  A feeling of smug satisfaction swept over Kayden.

  “So, I’m one of the chosen few.” It wasn’t a question, merely a statement of fact.

  “Perhaps.”

  The less than enthusiastic response didn’t quell Kayden’s desire to crow about her gift. But the discovery would be so much sweeter if she possessed this attribute, while Fay didn’t; then she could ru
b it in the woman’s face.

  “Can you sense Zarantar?” she asked innocently.

  “Perhaps.” Fay’s response was noticeably more guarded this time. “But I’m more interested in how many people you’ve told about your ability.”

  “I… I haven’t told anyone, actually.” Though there had been no hint of accusation in Fay’s voice, Kayden felt a little defensive, nonetheless. “It never escaped my notice that no one else ever mentioned having the ability to sense Zarantar, so I thought it prudent not to draw attention to myself by claiming I that could.”

  Was that a wry smile that briefly touched Fay’s lips? Kayden wondered.

  “Clever girl!” Fay murmured to herself. She then glanced to her right to address Kayden, directly. “It would be wise to continue keeping it to yourself,” she said earnestly. “You may find that having this ability in your repertoire will be advantageous in the future. For one thing, as I said a moment ago, it is not an attribute inherent to Sanatsai. As a result, when the time comes for you to face adversaries who also wield Zarantar, the ability to sense your foes’ attacks before they are invoked will allow you to defend yourself more effectively.”

  The conversation paused momentarily as they both fell silent once more. The only sounds were the trotting of their horses mingling with the myriad sounds of the woodlands they were traversing.

  Kayden began to ponder the purpose of the conversation started by the administrator. She had now completely ruled out the notion that Fay intended to murder her; even the idea of expulsion from campus after the binding of her Zarantar was looking increasingly unlikely. After all, why would Fay bother to reveal the things she just had, or speak about what may be advantageous in the future, if she was intending to expel Kayden once they reached Temis Rulan?

  “I don’t understand why you’re telling me any of this,” she said.

  “There’s no reason to conceal this knowledge from you.”

  “But how did you know I was able to sense Zarantar if Sanatsai are not supposed to possess this ability.”