by J B Cantwell
Was there really a chance that my dad could be cured, too?
“Do you think—” I began, then stopped. The question I wanted to ask seemed childish, pathetic, even. But I couldn’t stop myself. “Do you think that he can be cured? Of his sickness?”
Cait didn’t speak. Her eyes searched the group of sleeping bodies, finally landing on that of Father. He had awakened without me realizing it, and he gazed serenely in our direction now.
“I don’t know,” she said. She turned back to me. “All I know is what I see. I can’t tell what’s going to happen.”
She was right, of course. She couldn’t tell the future any more than I could. All she could see was her perception of whether someone was good or bad, deep down. But no matter how good my dad was behind his possession, and behind his madness, the fact was that he attacked me every time the opportunity arose, every time that his possession waned.
The time was coming, and soon, when I would need to leave Cait behind and start judging people for myself.
More tea served as our breakfast, and though I was happy to have it, it seemed that my stomach was too empty after having felt so full the night before. It seemed the tea was merely a trick to make us think we were happily full. That is, until the liquid finally left our systems and we were left as starving as ever. Kiron’s magic over a pot had been used on me before now. I knew that it was quite within his capabilities to fool us into thinking water with a few leaves floating in the cup was actually a hearty meal.
Slowly, as the morning fire died and the villagers began to rise, several wizards I recognized from Stonemore began to make their way to the circle around the fire pit. I recognized every one of them, though I couldn’t remember their names. I had met them only once, after Kiron and I had wrestled our way through the enchanted Stonemore, kicking the men made fools by the spell until they came to their senses. These were the men who had guarded Stonemore during the battle against the Coyle’s army. They came together now, all faces hollow and sunken, steely resolve in every pair of eyes.
I noted with irritation that Jade and Erod joined the meeting as well. They sat on the outskirts of the group, taking their seats as far from me as they could while still being included in the meeting.
Kiron spoke first.
“Now that you’re back, now that we know it’s really you, we can make our plan,” he said to me. “Did you succeed in your mission on Earth?”
A tiny bubble of hope, hope that had been absent since reconnecting with him, flared inside my chest. My gold combined with Jade’s would be more than enough to do the job. I opened my pack and fished out several pieces of the stuff. Some little bits inside bags. Some nothing more than a fine dust in one thin, glass canister. And one enormous piece, the one Father had contributed, significantly larger than even Jade’s.
I placed it all in front of me on the stone floor. Everyone, even Jade, gasped at the pile of riches that lay before us.
“That would be a yes,” he said. “But you still have some explaining to do. I believe you are the real Aster, that our time of being made fools is over, at least by that particular trick. But you must explain why this one is in your company.”
He inclined his head toward Father, who sat tranquilly beside me now, eyes as black as the deep of space.
“This is my father,” I said. “We were … reunited on Earth.”
“I determined as much,” Kiron said. “But why is he here. It was your job to find the gold and return, and now you’ve brought another. Why should we trust him?”
“It’s only when he’s not possessed, when he is truly himself, that I’m in danger.”
A murmuring broke out among the men.
“I don’t understand,” Kiron said over the hum.
I sighed.
“When I first found him, he was mad,” I said. “He came at me, tried to choke me. Then, when his eyes clouded, he became calm. Normal. Well, not normal. He doesn’t remember anything from before his possession. But, honestly, he’s been really helpful.”
Something inside me hurt to admit that.
“He’s the one who gave us most of the gold,” I went on. “And Cait. Cait’s not a normal kid. She’s got powers of her own. She can…see people. She understands what’s going on inside them. She wanted to bring him along with us, and I couldn’t deny her.”
The murmuring grew in volume. I caught only snippets of phrases.
“Just a child…” said one.
“…atrocity…” said another.
“I know it looks bad,” I said, raising my voice above the others. “But she’s been right every time. Anyway, I was hoping that if I brought him here, that he might, you know, get better.”
My cheeks flushed hot with shame at such a childish wish.
“What are you talking about, child?” It was one of the older wizards, and he scowled as he spoke. “There is nothing here to heal him. We can barely keep ourselves alive as it is.”
I tried to catch Kiron’s eye, but he averted his gaze.
“It happened to me,” I said. “When I first came to Aerit I was sick. Really sick. And almost as soon as I got here, I got better.”
Disbelief clouded the features of the men.
“Why is it so hard to believe?” I asked. “There are all kinds of magic here.”
“For the body, yes,” the old man went on. “But not for the mind. The mind is isolated, separate from the body. The mind makes up who we are, defines our truth, defends our spirit. But there is no healing a broken mind. If any one of us possessed the power to do that, our path would be so much easier, yes. But nobody does. Nobody ever has.”
Jade stared at the ground, her fingers trembling as they picked at her tattered robes.
My heart fell into my stomach.
So there really was no getting him back.
Unless … maybe … the balancing of the Fold…
I stared at Father, who looked from face to face as the wizards spoke. He was taking it all in, though he said nothing.
I thought hard. Cait had insisted that he come. Hadn’t she been the one to say that he was completely pure? Completely clean?
“We need him,” I said, trying to recover. “I don’t know why yet, but Cait chose him for a reason. Just like she chose Jade.”
Jade looked up at the sound of her name.
“I don’t see why we should be listening to the advice of a five-year-old,” one man grumbled.
“You don’t need to listen to her,” I snapped. “But I’ve followed that little girl all over the place, and I’m telling you she’s been right every time.”
I stared at the pile of gold that sat at my feet. For the first time since coming back to Aeso, the idea that these people needed me, even more than I needed them, began to form in my mind.
I stood up.
“You all need to listen to me,” I said, staring at the men around me in turn. “I’m going to balance the Fold, one way or another. I’m taking this gold and starting the journey … tomorrow.”
I hadn’t planned the start date of our trip, not until now. But suddenly I felt that there was no time to lose. I looked down at Father. If there was any chance of getting him back …
Some of the men looked shocked at my pronouncement. Some seemed like they were holding back laughter.
Heat crawled up the back of my neck.
My eyes sought Jade’s, but hers were still downcast, staring at her feet as though ashamed to even be forced to show her face.
And I made a decision.
“We found the Book of Leveling,” I snarled, staring at her. “We got rid of Cadoc. We’ve been fighting this whole time. We are going to do this. And he is coming with us.”
Jade looked up, stared at me in disbelief. Then, slowly, her eyes filled with tears. She broke away from Erod and ran to me, stopping just inches from me. Then she wrapped her arms around me so hard it practically knocked the breath out of me.
It took me a long moment, my heart beating hard
and fast, half elated, half terrified. But eventually my arms encircled her, too. I found I was fighting back tears of my own.
Erod stood and moved in our direction. It seemed he was nervous being so far from Jade, even though he was only a few steps away. I wondered if they had been separated before, if her possession had taken hold of her once again when he had found himself too distant.
As I watched him approach, several things happened in quick succession. First, Jade’s grip on me faltered. Then, she screamed. And then I was thrown again, back on the ground, the clear blue eyes of my dad staring down at me as if I were the devil, himself.
“NO!”
Erod’s voice boomed across the valley, and he ripped Father from me, this time before he was able to encircle my neck with his hands.
And, suddenly, I got it. I understood what had happened, though I felt sure no one else in the circle did.
“No!” I shouted as Erod wrested Father from me, throwing him fifteen feet from me in a single toss. He crumpled against the stone like a pile of rags.
Erod stomped after him, ready to strike him again.
And I saw, just visible from this distance, Father’s eyes begin to change. They flickered back and forth, black, blue, black, blue. And the closer Erod got to him, the bluer they became.
“Stop, Erod!” I yelled. “Don’t get any closer to him!”
Erod paused, waiting, his body tensed for the fight.
Father’s body shuddered. It was like watching a television screen where the clarity was flickering in and out.
I ran for him, suddenly sure of what I needed to do. His eyes widened with every step I took, and he raised his hands in front of him, whether to push me away or try to harm me, I couldn’t tell.
But it didn’t matter. I reached him in a few long strides, my own power bursting through me, grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the group.
We didn’t need to go far. Within ten steps I could feel his body relax beneath my grasp. I stopped then, breathing hard, but out of exhilaration, not exertion. I turned to face him, and it was just as I had predicted.
Black eyes.
I smiled, elated and comforted by the fact that my prediction had been right.
Erod moved in our direction, Jade at his side now, her hand held firmly in his to keep her close.
“Stop!” I yelled, holding up my hands. “It’s you!”
Confused faces surrounded me.
“Erod, it’s your power that’s making him do this!” I went on. “Don’t you all see? Erod’s power makes it so the Corentin can’t control Jade. It’s doing the same thing with Father! And every time Father’s eyes turn clear, every time whoever’s doing this to him loses control, he—”
“He attacks you,” Kiron breathed. The truth of my words dawned on his face. “Get away, then, boy!” he commanded. He seemed ready to spring, himself, just as Erod did, to save me if needed.
I turned, not questioning his command, grabbed Father’s arm and moved further away from the group. Another ten paces out, I stopped.
Kiron relaxed. Everyone else still looked confused, but the proof was standing beside me. Father did not make another attempt to attack. Instead, he looked placidly down at me.
“What happened?” he asked, perplexed.
“You—he—came after me again,” I said.
His eyes widened in alarm.
“It’s ok,” I said. “You’re safe now. You won’t attack me when you’re like this, when you’re Father.”
He fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable by our close proximity.
“Erod, move away,” I called. “I need to bring him back with me.”
Erod did as I said, but not without sending concerned glances my way. He took Jade’s hand and led her from the circle.
“Come on,” I said, taking a few steps back toward the group.
Father followed me, worry outlining his features. We took the distance a few steps at a time, and when we were halfway there he seemed relieved that he had managed to control himself. By the time we reached the group, he was staring around sheepishly, clearly apologetic for what he had almost become.
“He’ll need to come with us,” I said.
Leaving Father behind seemed like a bad option. And compared to the danger I had been in around Jade when she was under Corentin control, traveling with Father seemed like it would be a breeze.
“You understand,” Kiron began, “that bringing him along will mean you are unable to travel with Jade.”
I nodded, teeth gritted. Jade dropped her head, defeated by my rejection. But it was the right decision, I knew it.
“As far as the others in the company,” he said, looking around, “I think it best that Finian, Donnally, Tristan, and Elidor be the ones to join us.”
Grumbles ripped across the group.
“Zacharias, Dillion,” he said, “you know that your health is fragile at best.”
Dillion had been the first wizard attacked by an impostor, and the young scars on his arms and neck, along with his stilted gait, were proof that Kiron was right. Zacharias, the oldest of all the wizards, simply seemed too ancient to accompany us. He was good for his counsel and his detailed knowledge about the myths of these lands. But I doubted his body would survive a quest as long and difficult as ours was surely to be.
“You two will hinder the progress of the group and do more good here. And Eghan, I will need you here, too, to mind the disbursement of food, when there is any. The three of you will stand and protect the group. You will need to take missions in turn to gather food from the fields which Aster speaks of.”
He began taking the necklace of stone links from around his neck. Choosing two, one a thin shard of stone, another fat and round, he handed them to Zacharias and Eghan.
“You’ll need these to get in and out of the range. Bring as many as you can with you to collect the fruits and any other food you can find. As many as are willing, that is. But be careful. Travel becomes difficult with more than a handful of men jumping at one time. And bring only the strongest. You can see on Aster’s and the others’ faces what travel through the storm can do.”
My hand automatically went up to my chin, where one of the gashes in my skin was beginning to itch as it healed.
“And Cait,” I said.
Groans erupted.
“We’ll need her help,” I said. “You’ll just have to trust me on this one. No one will be able to guide us like she can.”
In the distance, just out of earshot of the wizards’ circle, Cait sat in Larissa’s lap, talking animatedly to her about something that looked to be entertaining to both of them.
“As helpful as she may be,” Kiron said, “she is still just a child. She cannot last the entire journey. You know this.”
“I don’t,” I argued. “Cait has been through plenty already.” And I knew it was true. A stab of guilt throbbed in my chest. But I didn’t see any other way. To travel without her would mean that the journey could take months, maybe even years. Much longer than if we had her powers to guide us.
Kiron considered, inspecting the resolve on my face, trying to decide.
“I will take care of the girl,” Father said, stepping up to stand beside me.
“You’ll do no such thing,” Kiron said, grimacing. “Larissa will go.” He nodded toward the duo in the distance. “She is attached to her. I think it would be cruel to expect her to travel any further without her.”
I nodded in agreement.
“We’d better get planning then,” he said.
He picked up the big, ancient book he had left on the ground near the fire circle. The Book of Leveling. Within it was written the instructions, the recipe, for leveling the Fold. The planets, the amount of gold needed, the location where to replace what had been taken by Jared, the wizard driven mad with greed, millennia ago.
As I watched Kiron, the new truth of my situation solidified in my mind. My dad could not be healed by any potion Kiron could make. His mind would be unto
uchable. But if we were to succeed in leveling the planets in the Fold, it should result in the health slowly returning to the earth, slowly returning to the people. And in the end, I knew, the leveling would not be enough to guarantee our safety. We would need to destroy the Corentin, the one responsible for all of this suffering. Only in destroying him would I really have a chance to get my dad back.
I fingered the chunk of gold I had kept in my pocket since finding Father in the deep mines of Earth. It was finally time to put our treasure to use.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“I’m sorry,” Jade said after the meeting had dispersed. We sat side by side away from the rest of the group. Erod, though, stood nearby, ever watchful, making sure that Jade didn’t stray too far. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop it. He was inside my head. He had control over my body and everything I did.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t get you out of there. And you … I mean, he … tried to kill me. You understand why I had to leave, right?”
Tears streamed down her dirty cheeks.
“Yes,” she said. “I probably would have done the same thing if I were you.”
“So what happened?” I asked. “After I left, I mean.”
“It was more of the same,” she said. “He had the giants slaving in the city, bringing me every type of stone imaginable. And then he would force me to destroy them. You remember what happened when I threw the stones at you?”
I nodded. The stones had burst into dust with the force of her power.
“Well, imagine that times a thousand,” she said.
She shuddered with the memory. All of Jade’s power was tied to stone. Destroying the very elements that she had worked with so intimately for so long must have been torture.
“How did you get out?” I asked. “I mean, I understand that Erod saved you, but I don’t get how you got away from the Corentin.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s hard to explain. It’s like Erod is like water, washing away the evil. When he’s near me, the Corentin can’t get in. Erod’s power is like the sea. Stronger than the sea. Every time the Corentin tries to take me again, he’s just washed away.”