Salvation

by James Wymore

  Elwood held up the disconnected pole. Jewel giggled. "We're probably going to want to put that back on," she said.

  "I'll get to work on that." He jabbed the stick through the ground between the goats and the sleigh between the yokes. The slopes out of this smaller valley were steeper, except where the water cut a stark 'V' on the west. The clouds were covering the sun again and turning pink above the peak as the hidden light drooped.

  The snow was only half as deep in this clearing. Elwood found a shallow spot near the south rise, where there was enough snow to pad the tent bottom, but close to the rocks so they would have some ground to anchor in.

  "Does this valley have a spring, too?" Elwood asked.

  "No. The water just runs down the sides of the cliffs. Off to the west is a pond that collects by those rocks until it is high enough, and then spills over." Jewel stood up to get out.

  Elwood froze and held up a hand for quiet. She sat back down, trying to listen.

  "Does the pond stay there through the winter?" Elwood asked.

  "Yes," she said.

  "How deep?"

  "It can't be more than two feet."

  Elwood glanced toward the opening without taking a step closer. He could see the ocean. He had planned on checking the path this water followed before connecting below the higher meadow. Now, he thought he knew enough. He looked to the rising road, following it toward the peak until it blended in with the massive drifts of snow where the land was not sheer cliffs of rock.

  "Does that road pass over the peak, or to one side?" he asked pointing to the high mountain north of them.

  "It passes on this west side. Nobody could travel on the other side. It drops straight down halfway to the sea."

  "We need to go back," Elwood said.

  "Okay. We should be able to get to the first meadow before dark."

  Elwood pulled the sleigh around as Jewel failed to suppress a laugh. Then he yanked out the rod and tossed it in the back as he jumped into his seat. As they pulled out, following their own tracks back, he vigilantly searched for any sign of hunters that might come out in the dark.

  "You really think a monster could be hiding in such shallow water?"

  "No point in risking it, I know all I need for now." He whipped the goats into a trot. "Our best defensive position is along this road. We'll build the wall, but we can set up along this path with traps. Does anybody in Winigh know how to cut stone?"

  "We keep the road to Sel cleared in the summer," she said. "Most of that is just pushing off the rocks and trees blocking the way. Sometimes we have to break down a big one and move the pieces."

  "That's a start."

  "After a cold day, a little fire will be nice," she said.

  "I don't think we want a fire tonight," he said. "It will draw unwanted attention. Luckily, it looks like you brought plenty of furs and blankets."

  She blushed, but it didn't show beneath her already pink cheeks.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I just hate to lose another day," Jewel said. They were inside the large triangle tent with goatskins draped over wool canvas. Heavy snow fluttered down around them, blurring the few remaining details with the already white ground and gray skies. "It can't be helped," Elwood said. His smile indicated he wasn't unhappy with the circumstance at all. "Besides, you brought enough food to last a week, if we have to. Although the goats may get hungry if we hold out that long." He nodded toward the back of the tent, where he had rigged a lean-to to shelter the animals. It had the added benefit of sharing their heat without actually having to look at or smell them.

  "We definitely don't have an extra week," she said. "The thaw comes fast in Winigh, almost overnight. The snow lingers for months on the peaks, but once the stream starts, it runs fast."

  "They will have plenty to do," Elwood said. "Even indoors they can sharpen weapons."

  "Most will have gone back to their houses for supplies. The snow will put them back into their old patterns."

  "It can't be helped," he said. "It's as simple as that." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. Then he settled back into the cocoon of blankets. He adjusted his quilted hat so more of it served as a pillow.

  "I just always want to be doing something," she said, slipping deeper under the covers and sliding a little closer to him.

  "Maybe there is something we can do."

  She reached out and ran her finger along his sleeve, wrapping her fingers through his.

  "I meant, you could tell me about your magic."

  She giggled. "I don't know what to tell. It's just part of who we are and everything we do."

  Elwood furrowed his brow, hoping the dim light would help conceal his skepticism. "How do you know it's even there, then? I mean if it's just part of your everyday life, what evidence do you even have that it is real?"

  "Oh, it's real. I can see it like halos of colored light centered on the object of the attention. It was there in Macey's stew after our wedding. The stuff glowed with a yellow aura. It was there in the men working to build a barn faster than they knew was possible, orange rays exploding out like sparks every time their hammer struck or a saw cut in."

  "And those men saw it, too?"

  "No. Only the women in our family can see it. But some of those men can feel it. They know when something is made better by magic. They know when their saws cut twice as deep or the hammer strikes true and sinks a nail in one blow. They know when their woman kisses their cuts before bed and they are gone the next morning."

  "So it just makes everything work better or faster?"

  "Most of the time, that's all we care about in Winigh. But, mind you, this whole place couldn't exist without it."

  "Why?"

  "Goats can't be made to pull a wagon or sleigh without it. Grapes don't grow on mountain crags alone. Our magic drives their roots into the bare rock, with green light emanating from the patches of soil. Our magic seeds the clouds with blue glitter, which brings the rain so the shallow roots don't wither in the summer heat."

  "So you, my sweet Jewel, you walk around all day, seeing everyday objects glow?"

  "Not all day," she said. "We all have our limits."

  "What are your limits?"

  She looked away from him as she said. "My limits are less lately. In a day, I can spend magic a few times. Yesterday, I used all of mine on the goats. The day before, it was the men building the shed."

  "You got more out of the men," he noted.

  "Because they helped. They knew the magic was working, so they helped increase it."

  "Your magic is weak because of me," he said with horror.

  "No," she said. "My magic remains. It just has less fuel."

  "If I believed in your magic, then it would have more fuel?"

  "You seem to be believing it now," she said.

  "I don't know what I believe," he said. "I was hoping to untangle all of that now."

  "Hearts and minds don't come apart like rope stored poorly," she said. She turned to face him again. "You have your own kind of magic."

  "What? What do you mean?"

  "We can all see it. It's red. It glows in your sword when you touch it. It glows in this ring." She lifted the leather thong the ring was tied to, demonstrating. "It burns in your heart when you speak to large groups."

  "You think that's me? Maybe it's just Macey projecting her magic on me."

  "Macey's magic is always pastel," Jewel said. "I've seen it since I was born. She used it on you at first, but she said it was hard. It was as if she had to fight against you to help heal you. If Bowen hadn't been helping, she couldn't have done anything, she said."

  "I have my own magic?" He waged his head. "That's just impossible to believe. I would know if I used magic, wouldn't I?"

  "Only if you looked for it," she said. "And using it doesn't mean you can see it. Most of the people in Winigh can't see it. They have to feel when it's working."

  "And you have always had the ability to see it?"

  "Since I
was born. My first memory is my mother's face, beaming white. I was very young. But she used her magic to help an infant never forget her."

  "So you could possibly use your magic to help me remember?"

  "No. We've tried. It can be used in groups to make it stronger. We tried to help you remember, when you first came to Winigh. The men were hunting, but we joined our magic to free your memories. It was a beautiful weave of every color in the rainbow, but we could not penetrate to your center. A dark red barrier remained around your head and kept us out."

  "Wait, that's when I remembered the ring," he said.

  "Really?" She smiled. "I'm glad it went to some purpose. Macey said you'd be no good as a husband until you had your past back. They all did. But I didn't agree."

  "You disagreed with all of them about me?"

  "It's not like they knew what they were talking about," she said. "Nobody's ever encountered someone like you before. They don't know what it means."

  "And you think you do?"

  Jewel looked in his eyes. "So impenetrable," she said. "I can see and feel what almost everybody is thinking. It's not like I read their mind. I can just sense their fears and desires. When Macey found you, I knew she hoped you would love me long before news of you reached our house. I felt it, glowing baby blue, even across the leagues between us."

  "You're avoiding my question," he said gently.

  "None of us can read you," Jewel said, "but it doesn't follow that you are bad because of it."

  "That's why they didn't trust me at first," he nodded.

  "Macey trusted you with her little sister and best friend. Bowen trusted you would be able to save Winigh. I trusted you with my life and my heart."

  "But they didn't."

  "Not at first."

  "So what do you think I am?"

  "I think you are sent from God to save Winigh."

  Elwood reached into his feelings when she said it, trying to feel if it might be true. He couldn't be sure he even believed in God. "I don't feel that."

  "What you 'feel' couldn't fuel enough magic to sprout a potato in the dark," she laughed.

  "I have feelings," he said. "I know how I feel about you."

  "I do, too," she said. "But it's not magical. It's the most normal of human love."

  "That makes it sound common."

  "No," Jewel said, "it's not common. It's higher than magic. It's the greatest human condition. People in Winigh think too much of magic. It's wonderful, but it's not better than real life. It's nothing compared to love and friendship. People the world over live lives of wonder, with no magic whatever."

  "You are wise and beautiful," Elwood said. "How is it possible no man chose you?"

  "Who says they didn't? I'm the one who didn't choose them."

  "You passed by all the men of your village and accepted a near stranger?"

  "I always knew there was something big coming. I felt it from the instant my mother imparted her magic to me. But until Macey blasted me with waves of baby blue, I never understood it."

  "So you planned on marrying me before I even woke from my battle coma?"

  "No. I planned on helping you. The wedding was just a bonus."

  "You are so wonderful. It's unbelievable."

  "I wish you would believe it, though," she said. "If I had a little more fuel, I could cut this snow storm short and get all those slackers back home on track."

  "Even if I believed, I wouldn't wish for that." He turned and kissed her, long and slow.

  "Mmmmm."

  "I don't remember it, but I must have stood among friends who died in war. Yet, I can't bring myself to let you fight with us," he said, pulling back. "We have so few men here. The women and strong men will have to fight. But if you were to die in a war of my making, I swear I would relinquish my own life."

  "I won't be in the fight," she said.

  "People will not trust me if I refuse to take the risks I ask them to take."

  "Nobody will expect me to fight."

  "Why?"

  She took his hand and slipped it up under her blouse, resting it on her stomach. "Can you not feel the magic there?"

  Elwood pulled his hand back, with eyes wide. Then he slowly touched her warm stomach again. "How can you possibly know so soon?"

  She didn't answer, just beamed a smile at him.

  "What color is the glow?"

  "Green, the color of life," she said, "but he has a red heart, like his father."

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dumbstruck, Elwood simply held Jewel's stomach in the dark tent. Emotions warred in him between worry for her safety, elation for having a part in bringing a new life into the world, and enough love to encompass two beings, where before there had been only one. Jewel waited patiently, letting him sort out all the feelings.

  "This is so incredible," he said. "What will Macey say?"

  "I don't know what she'll say," Jewel said, "but she already knows the news."

  "Maybe we can use that to communicate faster in battle," he said absently. "And you know it is a boy already?"

  "Yes. Knowing the gender isn't the strange part, though."

  "It's all pretty strange," he said. "Even without magic."

  "What's strange is our family doesn't have male children, usually."

  Elwood thought about it. He had seen a disproportionate number of women at Aunt Lanny's homestead. He hadn't really made that connection, until now. "Never?"

  "It has something to do with the magic." She shifted out from under his hand and turned so she could face him. "We've had women in our family for so long, nobody remembers having a boy before."

  "What does it mean?" Elwood turned to face her, but his eyes kept darting to her stomach.

  "It has something to do with you," she said. "That's the only explanation."

  "Your magic doesn't tell you?"

  "Magic doesn't speak," she said. "It just colors what we see. It just pushes our will out to help other people."

  "So, if you were alone, your magic couldn't work at all?" He still wanted to know exactly how they could use this in battle, despite the life changing news. Also, he didn't want to admit the dark feelings that were trying to surface again. Just as when he managed to suppress them from preventing his marriage, he wasn't about to let them cast a pall over the news of his first-born son.

  "No."

  "And it works when you are alone with me, but less?"

  "Yes. Only, now I won't be alone for most of a year." Jewel smiled and touched her own stomach with wonder.

  "Now you say the same dark red light you see in me is in our baby?"

  "It's not a disease," she said with a scowl.

  "No, no, I didn't mean it like that." Elwood caressed her cheek. "I'm just trying to understand. Believe me, I'm very happy for this news. I'm just trying to figure out how this magic could be useful against the Hyzoi."

  "It can't work against anybody or anything," Jewel said. "It only helps. It can help the people fighting the Hyzoi. It just can't be used to hurt them directly."

  "And if they were using magic, you would be able to see it, right?"

  "I assume so."

  "That's good," he said. "There are only two explanations for how they are extending their borders. Either they have some new machine, or they are using a new magic. Either way, I am sure it came about late last summer or early fall. Only the cliffs and dry streams saved Winigh from the same fate as Southwall."

  "Fish magic," Jewel mused. "I never thought it. If they have magic, then they are not just monsters."

  "Believe me, plenty of monsters use magic."

  "How do you know?"

  "I don't remember seeing it, of course, but it must exist. If any magic exists, there will be evil and good, human and monster. Nature has many faces, and not all of them are human or good." He turned to the side, taking deep breaths.

  "You think you possess evil magic," Jewel said, guessing his implication.

  "No. I would remember feelings of using
magic, I'm sure."

  "You think evil magic has been used to take your memory? Maybe that's why we couldn't help to heal it."

  "That doesn't explain why our son would also have that same color signature," Elwood said.

  "Or why I would have a son at all," Jewel added.

  "If it was a curse of some kind, I can't imagine it would be passed from father to son."

  Jewel's eyes went wide. "You have magic!" Her eyes lit up.

  "What makes you think so?"

  "It's passed down in families. Think about it. In my family, it is passed from mother to daughter. It must be so with you. Your family must have magic, which gets passed down to your sons. That is why I could even have a son, because your magic was working, too."

  "How could I have magic I can't remember or use?" Elwood asked.

  "Maybe your family doesn't even know," she said. "If it doesn't include the sight, maybe people forgot. Or tragedy separated one of your ancestors from the people who knew. Maybe you have a grandfather, whose father was killed in war and mother died in childbirth, and he was raised never knowing he possessed magic at all."

  Elwood let all these ideas wash through his faulty emotional analysis system. He tried to remember. He tried to feel. None of it registered any kind of interior reaction. "Anything is possible," he said. "As long as I can't remember any of it, it doesn't make any difference."

  "It could," she said.

  "True." He kissed her forehead. "Are you hungry?"

  "What, because I'm pregnant you think I automatically need to eat all the time?"

  "No, I'm just hungry and I thought you might want some."

  "I could eat. I really wish I had brought some spicy meat, instead of all sweet stuff."

  "You couldn't have guessed what you would crave," he said.

  She turned to the side and began rummaging through one of the sacks. She handed him some cold meat and bread. He pulled it under the covers to warm up some before eating.

  Just before they reached the broad valley, Elwood stopped the goats and began looking around. The road was wide enough for one sleigh, but not two. On the west, the path had a thin row of trees lining a dramatic drop, down a sheer wall of rock for a hundred feet. He looked up to the east, where the dense trees rose up the hill and met the steeper slopes.