Ray tended to True, cleaning his friend’s coat until it shone finely. True was growing sleek and long, and there was a continual bulge in his midsection as Ray saw to it that his small companion was fed well. There were rodents about, and other small hapless creatures that True fancied.
The last of the great orange bubble had disappeared, or at least that is how Kerry thought of the sunset this night when she finally broke away from the window. “Tell me more of your dreams?” she asked, “Are there really such places? Tell me of the bridge… I mean, crossing,” she said using his word.
Ray didn’t look up. “I don’t know if I can. I don’t think I was supposed to tell you in the first place.”
“You’re not supposed to tell me? What is that supposed to mean?”
Ray slumped back onto the bed. He was more tired than usual. “This friend of yours you spoke of, when is he going to return?”
Kerry laughed, “I don’t think very soon.”
“What do you mean by that? Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?”
Kerry spied the glare in his eye, “Silly, Waring is not a man. He is a beast,” she stopped, corrected, “Well he is a friend of mine, that part is true.” She hesitated again. “I led you to believe he was a man so you wouldn’t think I was alone here. Waring is a beast of flight.”
“A buzzer?” asked Ray. He could only imagine an insect.
“No,” shot back Kerry with a frown, “a beast with wings.” She gestured with her hands to give him an indication of size.
Ray’s eyes grew wide, his face flushed. He didn’t understand how a winged beast could be nearly as big as a man. “Are you playing with me again?”
“Well maybe a little, he’s not that big actually. More like this.” Kerry raised one hand above the other, showing that Waring was as tall as her forearm, and then she gestured with her hands to show Waring’s impressive wingspan again.
The wingspan was what confused Ray. He had never seen a bird with such a wingspan. “And he flies?” Ray registered the look in her eyes. “Where is this flying beast then?”
Kerry searched for a more suitable word, a word that had a clearer meaning to her, though it was not a word she would use to describe her Waring. “He is a falkish,” she said thinking it would enlighten Ray, not realizing until too late that it just confused the matter. Hastily, she cut him off, saying, “Tell me of the colored bans in the sky again.”
“Rain wash,” tossed back Ray, throwing the word out as an insult, just as she had done to him—the way he saw it.
A lull fell on them once more. Ray allowed his eyes to slip closed as he listened to the swaying of the rocker, allowing it to ease away his tensions just as if he were seated upon it, just as he knew Kerry used it to cure her own woes.
“I only dreamt of it that once, but it was like nothing I ever saw. Ephramme’s father said he saw one once, said it was just floating in the sky like nothing he ever saw before, golden, red and blue. I suppose he’s the one that brought on my dream, but I could see it on the sky so clearly. It was almost as if I could just reach out and lay a hand on it,” Ray said as if Kerry was in Third Village that day, going on and on and on.
“…and then I woke up,” he said, returning her from the dream. What he neglected to tell her though was that was the day Waddymarre returned from his journey, and that was the day of his second-father’s passing, all before Ray was even born. “…and then I awoke,” Ray said again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE STONE LAND
“Ray, wake up, wake up! Hurry, please!” Kerry intoned, bending low, screaming into his ear, her voice stricken with anxiety. “Hurry, Ray, hurry! You have to go!”
Ray stirred, sleep still embroidered onto his eyes. “What? Is something wrong?”
Kerry ran to the window, mumbling to herself, “Oh, it’s too late, quickly, under the bed. Go, go!” She gave him a tempered glare, reinforcing her words. “Go, Ray, and remember, no matter what happens—” Kerry moved to the door, checking the bolts. “—No matter what happens, you must not move! Promise me this, Ray… Promise?”
“Okay, I promise,” Ray said, still rather sleepy. It was early. There was scant light in the room. He eased under the bed.
Feverishly, Kerry straightened out the edge of the sheets as she surveyed the chamber and tossed Ray’s pack into a corner, concealing it as best she could. She slipped True’s cage down to Ray, whispering after it, “Remember your promise.” Ray grumbled that he would.
It was then that a heavy pounding stifled a breath in Kerry’s throat. The door shook violently under the weighted blows.
“Y-e-e-sss?” answered Kerry, feigning a yawn. “Who is it?”
A stoic voice returned, so powerful in fact that even if Kerry had covered her ears with both hands and thrust her head under the nearby pillow she would have heard it. “You are mandated to open this door in the name of the Great High Wizard of Adalayia!”
Kerry didn’t move. The pounding did not stop. “Yes, what is it?” she calmly asked despite the order.
Faces pressed into the windows just then, and Kerry knew enough to move to the door. The summons was repeated. “You are mandated to open this door in the name of the Great High Wizard of Adalayia!”
“Just a moment,” flashed Kerry, seemingly angry at the disturbance. “What is it that you seek?”
The blows at the door increased. “You have until the time I finish my words to open this door or we will bash it down. What is your response?”
Kerry swung the door open not a moment to soon, the ram swished through the air in front of her, pulled back by strong hands. “Yes?” she asked, brushing pretended petals of sleep from her eyes.
With the door unsealed, the others did not stop. Kerry could only watch and count them as they stormed into her house. They took table, chairs and her favored rocker, flinging them against the walls and out the windows, dashing them into a thousand tiny splinters. Kerry ran to the bed and plopped down on top of it. “No please, take no more, I beg of you!”
“This is the punishment for refusing my call,” warned the stern-voiced man.
“I was asleep,” cried Kerry, hurrying tears to her eyes, both real and feigned. The rocker had held a dear place in her heart and now it lay splintered, half of it splashed beneath the window and the other half teetering upon the window’s broken frame.
The other did not turn his cold, probing eyes away from her. “When we return tomorrow, see that you act accordingly.”
“Return? What do you mean return? I have nothing, there is nothing I can give you. You are weeks ahead of schedule,” screamed Kerry.
“Watch your tongue or I will have it removed,” the man spoke with venom and in such a way that Kerry wholly believed he would, “You gave no tithe and so this is your punishment. You are warned. We will return tomorrow.”
“The promised delivery was for three weeks hence, I’ve only just returned from Adalayia. His lordship vowed by City and Country the debt would be put aside until then.” Kerry gulped for air, cooling her temper, “I truly have nothing to offer you. I did not know I was to give tithe until three weeks hence.”
“Is this your scrawl upon the book of markets?” he demanded as another at his side produced a large tome.
“I’m not sure,” stated Kerry, taking a step forward, “maybe it is…”
“Either it is or it isn’t. There are no maybes…” Anger flowed to the man’s gruff face.
Kerry took a closer look, “Yes,” she said, lying. She couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t read—reading wasn’t a skill Stirling had taught her. She had only made a mark as Stirling had showed her. Suddenly, she recalled something she had forgotten, something that she only now understood. Stirling was a proud man, and even while her mother had been there, he had told them both to wait while he went into the market house. Now she understood the purpose of the quarter stack that was laid carefully aside come winter collection time. The quarter stack her father carried into the market ho
use that was never seen again.
“When we return, we will take three times our normal share,” and then he tossed in, “Good day…” as he beckoned his men to withdraw.
“I cannot get that much meat in one day. The trees do not produce that much so fast. You have to give me more time,” argued Kerry, feeling a sudden surge of bravado as they swept from her home.
“Fine, fine,” chuckled the man, “you shall have all the time you will require…” He stopped, his grimace broadening as he watched a look of gratitude grow on Kerry’s face. “One day, no more no less, and if you do not produce the tithe, perhaps we will take something else next time… Something more precious that you can ever imagine.”
Kerry shuddered. “But I can’t…”
The man adeptly cut her off as he took a step toward her and reached a gloved hand out to her face, grabbing hold of the underside of her chin. His hand was large and powerful and his fingers stemmed from ear to ear. He twisted her face up as if in a vise. “You will,” he intoned, his face pulled so close to hers that Kerry felt his stank breath on her skin and smelled it as she inhaled painfully.
With his other hand, he slapped her face. “Don’t ever speak back to me again. You will do what I command.”
Kerry heard a faint scratching from behind her. Hastily, she slumped back onto the bed, concealing the low moan, with a mighty sob, “I will, I will do it. Please leave now, please.”
The other seemed to like the desperate look on her face and it made him smile wryly again. “It is good that we understand each other. You know, City would probably suit you best. This is no place to be alone.”
“I’m…” Kerry yanked to a halt. “I’m thinking about it.”
The man smiled in approval, exiting without further delay. Kerry watched him go, real, thick, vibrant tears issuing forth the instant the door clicked closed. She curled up onto the bed, shivering uncontrollably, fighting to pull herself together.
Ray could cower no longer. He sprang out from under the bed, wielding his fists into the air wildly. He had not heard the other leave and he was indeed surprised when he found the other had gone.
“Kerry, are you alright? Did he hurt you? So help me if he did—”
“No, he didn’t. Get back! They may return. You mustn’t be found,” her words were sincere.
“I am going nowhere!” persisted Ray.
Kerry put a hand to his shoulder. “There is nothing you can do. This is my own problem, and I will deal with it.” With a final shudder, she seized up the tears in her eyes, and collected herself, touching a cloth to her face, and pushing back her hair. She stood and walked to the door then. “Stay here,” she commanded, “I will return soon.”
Ray ran to the door and cut off her exodus. “Where are you going? You’re not going anywhere without me,” he objected.
“I must talk to the trees and gather the wet…” she stopped and corrected herself, “the life liquid… You must remain here.” The mistake showed just how much of an influence Ray had on her life at the moment. If he had stopped to put his arms around her and to tell her everything would be all right, perhaps she would have stayed and listened to his words, but he did not. Instead, he backed away from the door.
“I will go with you,” insisted Ray.
Kerry’s strong-minded spirit took over, “No, you will remain here! If they see you, there is no telling what they will do to you. You must stay inside and out of sight. It is for your own protection.”
Although Ray said nothing more, he appealed to her with his eyes. “Let me go with you,” the expression read, “I will be alright. We will be alright.” Kerry had a differing opinion; she closed the door behind her as she departed.
Ray began clearing the mess within the house. His heart was shattered, similar to the broken rocker. While he picked up the pieces and straightened out the mess, there wasn’t much else he could do. He did not know the art of the builder, and so all he could do was look at the pile of shattered dreams, wishing they would become chairs, table and rocker again.
Meanwhile outside, Kerry greeted the fallow sun, which seemed so remote and indifferent to her plight. She whispered words of the winter harvest to the trees, chasing after them words of her own. “I know, I know,” she said, “you have just given, but you must give again. There is need, great need. Will you do this for me?” She asked permission, even though she knew they would do as she bade regardless. “Will you do this for me?” she repeated.
Kerry hummed to calm her nerves, telling herself that it eased the frets of the trees as well. She applied the life liquid, a full day’s supply in one dosage, and then she was off to make the long trek to the edge of the world. The edge of the wet, she corrected herself.
As she hurried on her way, Ray slunk out of the house, crouching low, sometimes walking on hands and knees to stay abreast with her. There was no way he was going to let her go alone and his thin form slipped in nicely amongst the shadows.
Ray stayed at the top of the hill. He did not venture into the open, though he remained alert watching for the smallest hint of movement from either the wet or the dry. Morning was a favored feeding time for slither and bull, but Ray did not scrutinize for them alone, he also kept a close eye on the edge of the Out, knowing those men could return at any time. As Kerry started up the hill, Ray pulled back, remaining out of sight.
Kerry sang to the trees again, and this was the very first time Ray ever discerned the words. The song was beautiful. Ray had never heard a voice carried thus, so pristine it seemed. He could almost envision the words floating on the air, each radiating out to one by one, setting leaves to quivering and the trees’ bowels to action.
Ray was sad when the song ended, its conclusion so unexpected that he almost tumbled from the shadows. He had been leaning his chin against his hand, head down and heavy, and while he had not noticed it then he had been swaying to the song.
Ray followed Kerry to the edge of the wet three more times that day, wondering at her strength of conviction. He also listened to her song three more times that day and by the time the last word drifted across to the trees, the words and the song were etched indelibly into his mind where they repeated ceaselessly. Kerry truly had a gift and Ray was in awe of it.
Ray watched her stroke the trees now, coaxing them with kind words, words that Ray could no longer understand. Taking advantage of opportune timing, Ray slowly graduated towards the house, slipping indoors without making a sound. He crawled past the window, eased onto the bed. He pulled the covers up around him, sealing his eyes and feigning deep sleep.
Indeed Ray was asleep when Kerry came into the abode. The day had been draining and he was in the midst of a dream as her footsteps awoke him. Her eyes were downtrodden as she turned to greet him. He rubbed true sleep from his eyes. “Sunset so soon?” he asked.
Kerry nurtured the surprise from her eyes. Asleep! She was outraged for an instant. She had fancied him her champion and instead, he slept. “Yes,” she responded glumly.
“What do you think they will do when they return tomorrow? Will they take the…” Ray searched for the proper word, “fruit and leave? Or do you think they really want something else?”
Ray’s words only reinforced Kerry’s worries. She hoped they would leave if she provided what they asked for. “I think so,” she said as if offering to the very air around her to make the choice.
Ray sat straight up, moved to the end of the bed, his eyes wide. “What if we left before they arrived? What then? We could go. In hours we could be far away from here and you would not have to worry about anything.” Ray stopped, his head sagged heavily as his words seemed to be lost on her, wasted.
Ray began again, his voice containing a rare quality, the portent of known truth. “There is nothing here for you, Kerry. You told me this yourself. What I saw is real; it is out there. We have only to believe and we will find it. I saw the truth of it upon the old smoot’s face and in his eyes, in Waddymarre’s eyes, my father’s eyes. I
will reach the place he could never find. I will find the place of dreams and make it real. He knew this when he sent me out and he all but told me so with his eyes, powerful probing eyes.”
Ray believed and that simple truth was enough to make his views not only reach out to Kerry, but to shake her soul violently and rend apart simple thought. However, one thing held her back. “Ray,” Kerry drank in Ray’s deep stare, “I cannot leave. I made a promise. I must stay…”
“If you made a previous promise to stay, make me a new promise that you will go. And then we will go together, you and I! It’s not safe for you here, you must know that.”
“Ray, I cannot. I must stay here. I must tend to Waring. He will return and if I am not here… If I am not here, who knows what will happen to him.”
Complete Magic Lands Books 1 & 2 Omnibus Page 9