Even as they spoke, a middle aged woman came running from the other side of the wall behind which they were crouched. Cairn could see her head bobbing up and down as she sped toward them and he watched her brown braid rising and falling in the air as she moved. In seconds, she was beside Emmeline and she wasted no time. She stooped down next to the boy, placed her left hand upon his and she put her right palm on Filaree’s forehead. With her eyes tightly shut, she began to hum in a high pitch. As if that was a cue, Davmiran followed her lead and he too was soon humming again, now in harmony with the sister.
In the meanwhile, Rose too had returned carrying a flask of kala sap and another of Lalas tea, the smell of which was unmistakable. She bent down next to Robyn and offered it to him. The Chosen took the syrupy kala first with a smile, and drank some of it. He then greedily poured the tea into his mouth and drank greedily until the container was empty.
“Thank you, sister,” he said, his voice already sharper and more steady than before. “That has helped me beyond measure.”
Rose bowed her head in acknowledgment and blushed.
Davmiran and Dahlia swayed slightly in harmony with the sounds, and within an instant, a white light began to spread around Filaree emanating from where the sister’s hand lay upon her. It grew in size rather quickly at first, and then it seemed to stall and hover silently for a moment or two. Suddenly, another zephyr of spinning light formed above her feet and rapidly swathed her entire body, consuming the original light in its greater intensity. It did not take long before the stricken warrior was barely visible beneath the shimmering blanket of luminosity. The brightness encircled her like a multicolored cocoon, and it sparked and crackled as it wove a healing web around her. Just as quickly, she began to stir. Her fingers moved involuntarily and her knees rose up slightly. Her body convulsed, rising and falling with her movements.
“Assist them,” Robyn instructed Cairn. “She could hurt herself if she is not restrained,” he said painstakingly as he was still not fully recovered. “The poison is being drawn out from her veins.”
Cairn rushed to her side and as gently as possible pressed his weight against her, though the upheavals were growing more violent and difficult to still. He had to lay almost across her entire prone body in order to keep her from thrashing around. The light flowed over him as well as he lay, pressing down upon her, and it relaxed him immeasurably as he fought to keep her from further injury.
Dahlia shuddered from head to toe and Dav swooned beside her, blacking out, or so it appeared to those watching. Filaree shrieked that put the fear of the First in the others, and just as quickly opened her eyes. The thrashing about stopped and she looked around suspiciously at first, seeing the strange sisters gathered beside her. She then noticed Cairn atop her and she shoved him hard.
“Is this really necessary?” she asked him, as a slender smile crossed her lips.
Cairn sat up abruptly and turned as red as a ripened beet.
“It is good to have you back, my Lady,” he said, regaining his composure. “But if you are not careful, I will ask Calyx to replace me the next time my services are requested,” the scholar laughed with relief.
“Would you do that for me?” she asked the Moulant who stood protectively nearby.
Calyx bellowed affectionately and stood up as tall as he could, dwarfing everyone else.
Davmiran and Dahlia also opened their eyes and seemed back to normal, though fatigue and surprise showed upon both of their faces.
“How did you weave that healing blanket?” Davmiran asked the sister.
“I thought you were the one who did it. I was simply adding what power I could to the mesh,” she replied, rather stunned at the boy’s question.
“No, it was not my doing.” Turning to Robyn, he asked, “Was it you?”
“No, it was not me either, though I would love to take credit for it. It was a beautiful casting, full of the earth power,” he replied.
Emmeline crouched still in the background beside Rose and Robyn. She let her gaze fall to the ground and said nothing.
“Sister?” Robyn inquired of her. “How did you do that?” he asked, realizing suddenly who was responsible for the event.
Emmeline was reluctant to lift her head and answer the Chosen, though shyness was never a component of her character.
“I have been practicing of late,” she replied. “I did not think that I would be strong enough. These things are new to us all here in Parth.”
“The method was quite unique. There is much power here and you drew upon it well,” Robyn complimented her. “Have the other sisters developed their skills as well as you two have?” he inquired.
“We have all been studying hard and practicing even harder. Some have the gift while others seem unable to discover it yet,” Emmeline explained.
The expression upon Rose’s face grew sad and the sister fidgeted uncomfortably. Emmeline noticed her discomfort, and she reached out her hand to console her.
“Though it is new to us all, it comes more easily to some,” she said.
“For many, the path to discovery is like walking through a maze. Not all who enter reach the end at the same time,” Robyn replied. “It is indeed a gift notwithstanding, but as with all gifts, it creates an obligation too. In some cases, a gift can become a burden. Tread carefully, sister,” he warned.
“Thank you for the advice,” Emmeline said with a nod of her head. “It is still so new to us that we have yet to understand the responsibilities that come with the power. We have embraced the study wholeheartedly, and we have adopted our new purpose humbly. We have much to learn. Perhaps you may be of assistance to the sisters during your stay in Pardi?” she asked, and her pale grey eyes sparkled against her dark skin.
“It would be my pleasure, sister, though I have other pressing responsibilities as well,” he replied, and he dipped his chin in Dav’s direction. “Perchance we can assist one another?”
Emmeline bowed humbly. “It would be an honor, Robyn dar Tamarand,” she responded, flattered by his charm and magnanimity.
“We should all return to the Tower now. Though we are safe behind the shield, I am sure you are all tired and weary from your travels. You can refresh yourselves and we can discuss the future,” she said, no longer shy.
“The future,” Robyn echoed. “Yes, we can discuss the future.”
Filaree had risen slowly from the ground, as had the others who had gathered around her. She thanked each of the people who had helped her; Cairn with an affectionate squeeze; Calyx by standing upon her toes and kissing him on his fixity chin; Davmiran she hugged warmly; while Dahlia she shook hands with rather formally but respectfully. She saved her gratitude for Emmeline until last. The older woman projected an unassuming aura that she took to immediately. In fact she reminded her of her mother in more ways than one; her humble attitude coupled with a noble demeanor, her silent strength and her underlying confidence all mirrored Queen Esta’s character.
“I am thankful that you have been ‘practicing’, as you so stated a moment ago. I do not know what would have become of me had you not been present in my hour of need.”
“Do not thank me, my Lady,” Emmeline said. “We are all merely dust swept away by the same wind. Those who can, must assist whenever and wherever they touch down.”
“I thank you nonetheless,” Filaree replied. “Gratitude need not be excluded simply because we all face the same peril. I acknowledge your effort and commend your skill.”
“Luck, perhaps. Skill? I am merely a novice. You have a true master in your entourage,” she said, deferring to Robyn. “We all hope to learn under his tutelage.”
“Are we welcome here then?” Robyn joked, and they all laughed a hearty laugh. “The barrier you have constructed around the tower seems quite impenetrable. It would tax even my skill, I imagine, if we needed to break through it in order to escape.”
“No need to think of escape. You are most welcome! You may remain here as long as need req
uires you to,” Emmeline replied.
“The sisters have somehow managed to unearth some manuals that have aided us immeasurably in understanding all that is occurring. Perchance you will peruse them yourself when you find the time,” Dahlia added.
“Yes, by all means,” Emmeline concurred. “We have only just touched their surface.”
“I welcome the opportunity, sisters. Cairn?” he addressed his companion. “Did you hear what the women said? After all, you are the most studious of the group.”
Cairn poked his finger in and out of the barrier, much like a small child who had been handed a new and mesmerizing toy. It was pliable and it stretched in response to his prodding. He turned abruptly when his name was mentioned, and once again, the usually somber scholar blushed deeply.
“No. I am sorry. I did not. I was quite fascinated with this wall here,” he replied. “It is amazing! Is it meant to keep you in or the enemy out?”
“We are unsure,” Emmeline replied, thinking to herself how fortunate it was that Tamara and Angeline departed before the shield manifested itself.
“Did you not erect it in defense?” Dav inquired.
“We did not erect it at all,” Dahlia answered.
“No, it was not of our making, my son,” Emmeline continued. “We thought at first that it arose in response to something from without, yet there was no apparent threat at the time. Now we see that our suspicions were correct. We certainly are grateful for it now. But it was a product of the earth, not the sisters of Parth.”
Robyn looked upon it with renewed interest after Emmeline spoke and Davmiran cocked his head in consternation.
“Whatever its source,” Filaree proclaimed, “I am happy to be behind it now.”
“Aye to that!” Cairn agreed. “We have been running for long enough. It is time for us to settle in and get on with our charge.”
“Your purpose and ours may yet coincide,” Emmeline replied. “It is good to have you all here. Shall we proceed to the Tower?” Emmeline asked them, extending her arm toward the imposing stone building in the distance.
Chapter Twenty
Tomas walked down the narrow stone path in total darkness. He required no illumination to find his way back to his friends in the cavern below. The ring hung heavily around his neck, and a comforting warmth emanated from it, spreading throughout his entire body. He reached into his shirt and grasped it with his fingers. It was ice-cold to the touch, despite the heat that it seemed to generate all around it.
It must come from somewhere within it, he speculated. The warmth is real. I feel it on my skin, but the object itself is freezing!
Tomas continued down the dark corridor until he reached a V shaped juncture. Without hesitating, he followed the left most fork and descended a narrow, winding passage. He could see where he was going irrespective of the blackness. Even with his eyes closed, the path he needed to follow was obvious to him. He proceeded without bumping into the hard, cold walls and without tripping upon the loose rocks that littered the floor of the cave, until he found himself near the chamber within which his friends still lingered.
During the time that Tomas had been gone, Elion, Esta, Preston and Stephanie took turns reassuring one another that he was safe. They were all so intricately bound together emotionally and in other ways as well that they seemed even to share the fears and the doubts which first surfaced in one of the group and migrated to another and another in turn.
“I know in my heart that he will return to us,” Stephanie said as they sat around a small fire and shared a meal of mushrooms once again.
“I hope he does so soon,” Preston replied. “I don’t know how many more days I can eat these things,” he commented, trying to lighten the gloomy atmosphere.
“Thank the First for them!” Esta remarked. “We would have had to have left here by now if it was not for them.”
“He would still find us no matter where we were,” Stephanie asserted. “Anyway Preston, how can you be concerned about food when Tomas is missing?”
“It is depressing enough in here already, Steph, without me adding to it. I meant no harm,” he apologized, and the girl smiled understanding back at him.
Elion sat with his head in his hands beside the others, but he did not join in the conversation. He appeared to be lost in reverie, though by his expression, the memories or thoughts he contemplated could not have been fond ones. They had all grown accustomed to the dim illumination provided by the phosphorescent particles that lay abundantly in the crevices and cracks of the walls and floors, and it was easy now to see each other despite the semi-darkness.
“What troubles you?” Esta asked the young elf.
He had been contemplative and quiet for most of the day now, and though Elion was never as lively and quick to enter into conversation as Preston, he was always affable and polite. Elion raised his head and stared into the darkness before him.
“Until now, I too have been confident that Tomas would return to us within a matter of minutes. Now that the minutes have turned into hours, I am not so sure,” he admitted.
“What has changed?” Preston asked surprised. His confidence had not yet wavered. “Why? It really has not been that long since we discovered him missing. We all know that he is a very independent person. He always does things on the spur of the moment, inspired by things I do not even understand.”
“Exactly,” Queen Esta agreed. “He is quite whimsical in his own way. For him to wander off without a word is not all that surprising.”
“What is disturbing you, Elion?” Stephanie asked, her intuition piquing her curiosity and infecting her own mood. “What exactly is bothering you now?”
“I cannot tell you for certain. But since this morning I have had this odd feeling that we are not alone here,” he admitted. “In fact, since we arrived here, I have sensed another presence, but I was too concerned with other things to focus on it. Since Tomas disappeared, this issue has prayed upon my mind much more, as you can all imagine.”
“I know that your sensibilities are far more attuned than any of ours to such things,” Esta remarked. “Is it anything specific that has triggered your concern?”
“No evidence, if that is what you mean by specific. I have seen no one nor have I heard anything. But I cannot help but feel that there are others present in this mountain.”
“Could Tomas have known that? Do you think he went to find them?” Stephanie asked. “I think that you know more than you are telling us, Elion,” she said. She grew more concerned by the moment.
“Was he spirited away whilst he lay unconscious? Is that what you think?” Preston asked alarmed. “Do you know something we do not know?”
“Taken from us as I took his brother outside of Pardatha?” Elion asked, addressing his first question.
“Yes, exactly,” the young dwarf replied.
“No, I do not believe anyone or anything has either kidnapped him or taken him against his will. And I have this sense that he was awake and in control of his faculties when he departed.”
They all sat perplexed and bewildered. It was disconcerting enough when they first discovered Tomas missing, but to now discover that Elion harbored suspicions that the premises were inhabited by creatures other than the five of them was even more disquieting. Elion appeared to be deep in thought, and he hung his head pensively.
“I have not told any of you this yet for fear of disturbing you unnecessarily,” he said, breaking the silence. “Since there was nothing we could have done with the knowledge that would have helped us or Tomas, I have kept it to myself since we arrived here.”
“Speak, Elion,” Esta urged. “What is it you wish to tell us?”
They all leaned in closely in order to hear what he was going to reveal.
“The seconds before Tomas collapsed just prior to when I carried him in here, he said something to me,” Elion related. He raised his head and looked first at Esta and then at Preston and finally he rested his eyes upon Stephanie’s you
ng face. “He exclaimed that he had been betrayed,” Elion announced.
Esta swayed. “Betrayed? Who by? Was he referring to one of us?” she replied, shocked at the implication,
“Never!” Stephanie exclaimed, shaking her head back and forth. “That’s impossible!”
“It cannot be!” Preston reiterated, taken aback by the thought.
“No,” Elion said. “Twas none of us, my friends,” Elion replied quickly to their concern. “Though I cannot say which would have been worse.”
“Who then?” Preston demanded.
“I find it hard even now to say it,” Elion said, and he stared down at the floor.
“Please do not make us suffer any longer. Tell us,” Stephanie beseeched him. “Why would anyone other than the Dark Lord or one of his kind want to hurt Tomas?” she asked astounded.
“It is difficult to say this,” Elion stumbled.
The eyes of the other others were glued on Elion’s face, and they waited in silence now as he gathered the strength to speak. His anguish was almost tangible.
“Ormachon!” he uttered quietly and quickly.
They all gasped simultaneously and shook their heads in denial.
“You must have heard him wrong!” Esta exclaimed. “That is inconceivable!”
“He is his Chosen, his bond-mate! There is no way this can be true!” Preston agreed.
“I will not believe that!” Stephanie said, and she hugged herself tightly with both her arms while she shook back and forth vigorously.
“But it is what he said nonetheless,” Elion insisted. “I heard it myself the moment before he fell unconscious. If I was not absolutely sure, I would never make this assertion.”
“I am frightened,” Stephanie said suddenly. Preston put his arm around her comfortingly.
“What could this mean?” Esta asked. “There must be some other explanation. A Lalas would not do such a thing.”
“I have spent the past few days asking myself that question too, my Lady,” Elion said, and he bent his head.
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