“Right, if it is water, then it will have to listen to me,” Riff said.
“What are you talking about,” she asked.
He knelt down and hopped off the walkway and into the black waters below, sending the duckweed spreading out in a growing circle.
“Just trust me,” Riff said.
He motioned for Two Elks. “Bring him to me, in the water.”
Two Elks didn't move. “He is bound to pole,” he said.
“Craluk, cut him free of the pole,” Riff said. He didn't wait to see if his orders were being followed, but began running his hands through the water and taking deep breaths.
Gaidel moved to the side as Craluk drew a jagged knife and stepped past her. She could see the concern in the chieftain's face. She knew Riff was afraid of what would happen if they couldn't help the boy, but she would not endanger the child further.
“Riff, what are you planning to do? I don't understand,” Gaidel said.
Riff motioned for Two Elks to join him once he saw Crulak had cut the leather straps that secured Ollin to the pole.
Two Elks looked to Gaidel and waited. She didn't know what Riff had in mind. Sorcerers could not affect the living.
“Gaidel, listen to me. I am pretty sure what I'm about to try is going to hurt Ollin. A lot. I need your help. I want you to start healing him once I begin,” Riff said.
Gaidel didn't know what to do. She looked at Riff and then at Two Elks. A part of her resented Riff telling her what to do. He had been against this entire idea before. What if he hurt the boy?
“Gaidel! We can do this.” He glanced at Craluk and the others. “We have to.”
She cursed, but nodded and jumped down into the water next to him.
As soon as Two Elks moved out from the protection of the hut, Ollin began to scream and doubled his efforts to break free. His skin immediately began to discolor and become blotchy. It was as if the sun was bruising him.
Two Elks jumped down next to Gaidel and Riff. As he sunk into the soft soil, he almost lost his balance and his grip on Ollin.
Riff had already began chanting under his breath, both hands beneath the surface of the water.
Other villagers gathered behind Craluk and along the various walkways. Their curiosity overriding their fear.
As soon as Riff touched Ollin's flesh, it began to hiss and bubble. His skin split, spraying black blood. An equally black smoke poured forth from the wound, snaking down towards the water.
Gaidel entered the song. Having found Ollin once, it was easier this time. She sang higher until she found him. Riff was right. Whatever he was doing, it was killing the boy. In the song, it sounded like Riff was ripping Ollin's song apart.
Then she realized the parts of the song that remained were dropping in pitch, sounding more human. Gaidel concentrated on those parts of the song. She began to sing with it, filling in what was missing, healing it, and with it, Ollin.
She concentrated on the high pitched tearing. With each section that Riff freed, she waited for it to fall in pitch and right before it drifted away, she would wrap it in her song, fill the holes left by the magic Riff worked. Little by little, she was coercing Ollin's song whole again.
Gaidel lost track of time, focusing on the song, the next missing piece. She had to keep singing.
She didn't think about how much healing she was doing or how much still needed to be done. She focused all her attention on the next piece and then the next.
When Gaidel finally opened her eyes, Two Elks was holding her.
She was disoriented, like she always was when she left the Dreamsong. Two Elks was the only thing that kept her from slipping into the murky water. She was cold from the waist down, her body numb.
But if Two Elks was holding her?
She saw Ollin in Craluk's arms. Craluk must have jumped in while she was healing the boy. Ollin's skin was a healthy shade of pink and he was asleep, breathing deeply. Beside him Riff was nodding to her.
“We did it,” he said. “Together.”
The one named Lotte had also jumped into the water next to Riff. Riff had a hand on Lotte's chest, holding his attempts at hugging the sorcerer at bay.
Lotte was grinning from ear to ear.
Part II
9
Akira Dreamwalker
Ghile reclined on one of the lower branches of the Great Oak, the thick bark rough beneath his hands. He was still well above most other trees on the island, but the Great Oak was an adult among children. Above him, its massive trunk and numerous limbs disappeared in shadow. He had been higher since his return to the dreaming, his powers were growing. There was a time when even its roots seemed out of his reach. The new soulstone not only introduced new abilities, it strengthened the old ones.
A full moon hung low in the sky tonight. From his vantage point Ghile could see out over all of the forest and the surrounding lake beyond. The moon's gentle light reflected in the still dark water, coloring the surrounding mountains in varying shades of grey. It was a calm night with nary a breeze. The air hung heavy with the smells of damp soil and that comforting smell Ghile found in all growing things. The perfect time to relax and think.
Upon first returning to the dreaming, he had been too tired to do anything but collapse at the end of a day's training. As his skill increased, Ghile spent his early evenings thinking of home and the family he left behind. He missed the warmth of his bed, his mother's cooking, Tia's laughter and even his father's stern gaze. He wondered where his clan was, now that Last Hamlet was gone, razed to the ground by the dwarves.
But as his time in the dreaming went on, more and more often these quiet times were spent contemplating more what lay before him than what he had left behind.
Ghile knew he would have to return to Allwyn soon. If he was honest with himself, he had been putting it off. At first he convinced himself it was because he needed to train here with Adon and Muk. He definitely had honed his skills. His ability to leap from the tall roots of the great oak up to its lower branches, where he was now, was proof of that.
Under Muk's tutelage, Ghile gained better control over his ability to mind-link with animals. Besides the numerous birds, there were also hare and deer on the island. He even used his new gifts to summon fish to eat.
At first this bothered him. It felt unfair somehow. Adon asked him if he would prefer spearing them or piercing their mouth with hooks. How was using his now natural gifts any different? If anything it was kinder.
The idea of shredding a creature's mind still made him queasy, but he had discovered a way to cause the animal to go unconscious. He discovered it first with the fish and had since used it to call and collect all his meals.
No, the training was why he was here, after all, but not why he had delayed his inevitable return to Allwyn. More and more recently his thoughts always seemed to return to her. He had secretly hoped she would return. The girl made of mist, the other stonechosen.
He wished he had asked her name before she vanished. She was like him. Chosen to fulfill a prophecy she probably knew as little about as he did. He couldn't help wondering if she was afraid like he was. Did she question her every decision? Ask why it happened to her? But his questions would have to go unanswered. He had not seen her since.
Ghile knew he was imposing on his new companions back in Allwyn. Either they were still waiting for him in the swamp, in which case Riff would by now be completely devoured by the bugs or they had moved on and were carrying his body. He felt a surge of guilt at the thought of Two Elks being burdened by his sleeping form. What of the others? If they were on the move and encountered trouble…
No, he had waited long enough. He was being selfish. It was time to return. He would find Adon and Muk to say goodbye and go.
Having made up his mind, he stepped off the branch and fell rapidly. The moonlight would have made it possible for most anyone to see well enough, but Ghile could see perfectly well in almost complete darkness. Yet another gift of the soulstone
s.
His descent was leading him towards another limb. He focused and used his force energy to push off and go around the branch as he fell past. He did this with a casual flick of his head. It came so easily to him now. He did this once more before the final drop to the ground.
He landed softly, his force energy dissipating at the last second. To anyone watching, it would have appeared Ghile had stepped off the limb a couple of hundred feet above him and continued walking when he reached the ground. Ghile couldn't help but smile at something Adon had said earlier that day, “You are coming along, nicely.”
It was strange how much Adon's praise meant to him. Even the approving nods from Muk brought with them a sense of pride. From his earliest memories, he had never been good enough at anything. He grew too quickly when he was young and as a result was awkward and self conscious. As the second born son of Last Hamlet's chieftain, it had originally been easy to stay in the background. That all changed when Adon was culled. All eyes turned to him after that and he had struggled under the weight of the collective gaze. He suspected that was why Gar and Bralf had singled him out for their bullying. His thoughts lingered on Gar and turned dark before he pushed them down.
He had changed so much since finding the soulstones. Here was something he was good at. No, he corrected himself, something he excelled at. As his control of his new found powers grew, other tasks came easier to him as well. He didn't feel so awkward when he moved. Training with the fangblade and spear felt more natural. He had confidence in himself and his abilities.
In his short stay in the dreaming he could easily sense the presence of nearby animals and reach out and touch their thoughts. He could temporarily touch minds and see through their eyes, control their movements. It was almost second nature to extend his force shield through another creature he was in contact with. It wasn't difficult to control two, three or even four different force shields at a time now.
If the animal was large enough, he could leech some of its life force to share some of its abilities for a short time. He was careful with this power, though. If the animal was small, it would kill it. Ghile refused to hurt an animal if it wasn't necessary, regardless of what Muk said.
Of all the animals on the island, the raven and the stag appealed most to him. There was such a primal feeling of strength when he mind touched a stag. He most enjoyed leeching life force from them and then running alongside them through the forest.
Ravens were such intelligent animals. It had surprised him how observant and curious they were. He found they were the easiest to mind touch of all the birds on the island.
Ghile reached out with his mind there at the base of the Great Oak. He sensed the life force of the islands tiniest forest denizens, but there was nothing larger than a dozing rabbit nearby.
Ghile looked down the various trails that lead from the clearing around the Great Oak. He wasn't sure which one to take. Without any nearby animals to allow him to scout the area, he was on his own. This was the first time he had decided to leave the limbs of the great oak in the evening after settling down. He wasn't sure where to look for Adon and Muk.
Movement on the edge of the clearing caught his attention. Crouched down beside a lone beech tree the shadow creature watched him. If not for his enhanced vision, the creature would have been impossible to see. It was wringing its hands, an action Ghile now associated with it. Whatever the creature was, it was no animal. Ghile had not sensed its presence.
Ghile had been wondering when the shadow creature would make its next appearance. He didn't reach for his pouch of stones or make any other quick movements, he didn't want to scare it off this time. He had made up his mind to see what it wanted.
He walked slowly towards the creature with his hands up and open in front of him. When he was halfway into the clearing the creature cautiously slid out away from the safety of the trees and motioned for Ghile to follow.
Every time before this, Ghile either ignored the creature or attacked it. Adon warned him from the beginning the shadow creature meant them all harm and was not to be trusted. Even after he learned enough about his situation to question whether it was really Adon he was learning from, Ghile blindly followed Adon's lead. Until now. No, now was the time to find out if this skulking creature of shadow really meant him harm.
“Lead on,” Ghile said.
The shadow creature looked ready to leap into the air, but settled on nodding its head enthusiastically. It motioned again for Ghile to follow before turning and heading deeper into the forest. It had an odd shuffling gait and Ghile had no trouble keeping up with it. It stopped every so often to look back over its shoulder and make sure he was still following.
Ghile studied it as they made their way through the moon dappled undergrowth. It was easily as tall as he was, though because of its timid posture, it only came up to just above his waist. Like him, it was lanky, ungainly looking. Ghile couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the thing, the way it skulked about. Even now, it constantly tried to watch everywhere at once, seeming to be afraid of everything.
The creature reached a small outcropping of rock, scurried up on one of the lower stones and turned to wait for Ghile, arms wrapped around its knees, hugging them close to its chest.
Ghile stopped and waited for it to do something. But, it seemed content to wait as well. Ghile supposed he was going to have to start this off, whatever this was.
“Well, you finally have me here…”
The shadow creature took one last look around, and seeming satisfied they were alone. It slowly rose to its full height.
Ghile couldn't breathe. All those times before he knew the shadow creature seemed familiar and now he knew why. The shadow was his own. Ghile stood alone in the middle of the forest, moonlight shining down through the canopy, staring at his own shadow.
The realization seemed to set his shadow self into motion. It took two steps back and dissolved into a black swirling smoke. The smoke settled into a large open space under two of the stones that made up the outcropping. Within their confines a swirling black doorway formed.
Ghile somehow knew he was supposed to step into it, that this was the reason, the purpose the shadow was here in his dreaming. Was this the trap Adon had warned him about? Was this some trick to lure him into this black doorway? Where did it lead? Well, only one way to find out. There was nothing for it now.
“I hope you don't mean me harm,” Ghile said, stepping forward.
“I do not,” a young female voice said from behind him.
Ghile stumbled and spun around.
The fear of being surprised was instantly replaced by a fire-like heat that washed over his skin, a warmth he only felt when he was in the presence of another soulstone. The slight irresistible pull he had been following since leaving the Cradle felt like the tug of a fast flowing river rushing around him, dragging him along.
She was just as he remembered her. She was human, not much older than he was. She wore the same simple gown, the same swirling grey color as the rest of her. She looked like she was made of smoke from her long loose flowing hair to her tiny perfect bare feet.
“What is your name?” The words tumbled out of Ghile before he knew he had said them. The question had been with him since they had last met.
“Akira,” She said in a soft melodious voice.
Ghile didn't know what to say. He just kept repeating her name over and over in his head, as if he was afraid he might forget it.
“You are?” Akira said.
“Huh? Oh, uh, Ghile.”
“You are closer, Ghile.” She looked from his face to his chest.
“I can feel your presence now.” Akira tilted her head and closed her eyes as if listening for something.
“You have entered the Deepwood,” she said.
Her accent was still difficult to understand, but there was something so intriguing about it.
Ghile wasn't really sure where his physical body was. But if what she said was true, then Gaidel
and the others had continued on and left the Ghost Fens.
Ghile remembered his shadow.
He turned. The shadow door was gone along with any sign of the shadow creature, his shadow self.
Ghile quickly turned back to Akira, for fear she too would disappear. She still stood before him, watching him curiously. She leaned her head to the side to look past him.
“Before you had said something was wrong. That you couldn't wake up?” Ghile asked.
Akira nodded. “Yes. I do not understand why. But I cannot.”
She must be in her dreaming as he was now in his. But somehow she had the ability to project herself into his dreaming. Was this the power granted to her by her soulstone?
“You mentioned your brother?” Ghile said.
“Yes. His name is Ashar.” Akira looked away then.
Ghile was afraid he had somehow upset her. “Is he alright? I didn't mean to upset you.”
“No, it is not that. Ashar is well. He protects me, my body, while I am asleep. We do not know why I cannot wake up.”
“How long have you been trapped in your dreaming?” Ghile said.
Akira reached up and touched her soulstone. “Since I found this.”
“In the Fallen City?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know your brother is with you?” Ghile asked. There was a part of him that feared her brother had fled and left her lying alone, abandoned in the middle of some ancient human city.
“I visit him in his dreams. He is trying to discover a way to wake me. He protects me. But we are alone and there are things in the mists.”
“We journey to Dagbar and from there-”
“No, you must not,” Akira said. She had stepped forward and tried to place one of her small hands on his arm. The smoke that made up her hand dissipated as it reached him. When she drew her hand back, the smoke drift together and reformed.
“Dagbar is a dwarf, he is dangerous. He will turn you over to the cullers,” Akira said.
“Do not go to him. Please there is no time. You can feel the pull of the soulstone. Follow it. Please I need your help,” Akira said.
Time of the Stonechosen (The Soulstone Prophecy Book 2) Page 11