The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds

by Catherine Beery

  Faintly, very faintly he felt a touch of warmth. It played upon his senses like a delicate song. So faint that he was sure he was imagining it. Subtly it pulled him toward it, southeast. Unconsciously he let it. The entire time, his senses were on alert for signs for marana. Soon the Teheadra was under him again.

  It was afternoon when he became aware of a slight tugging on his mind. A wish that wanted him to go back home. He shook his head. I will continue. He thought. Unconsciously, his mind built a mind wall in case the thought was someone trying to control him. The thought subsided. Soon after, he truly felt it. The delicate song raised it voice and called to him. It made him feel like there was something missing to his soul and that it was that something.

  There was only one other time that he had felt this. He had felt it last during the war against the dragons. Their magic always affected him so. There are dragons. Kaishan beat his wings faster, flying south.

  ***

  Aritéfelt it, the magic of the Nirami; it struggled harder to get through to Kaishan’s mind. Curious, she watched it and helped it near the end. By the time it had worked through his mind wall it was late afternoon and they were flying above the small town of Plarn. Plarn was nestled in a valley. Forest dominated most of the valley bowl. A quarter of it was turned into farmland. The town itself was above the grain fields. Above the town were the pasture fields of cows, sheep, and pigs. It was over Plarn that the marana dome appeared.

  The dome had been aging over the past nineteen years and now was thin. It wouldn’t take long for Kaishan to destroy it. By the way Kaishan was circling, Aritécould tell he was measuring his options. She could feel his mind coming to the conclusion that there was at least one dragon here. One dragon he could take on easily. Kaishan started to dive, his mind busy fingering the weave of the shield.

  The Nirami’s magic slipped into his mind and made it seem that there were many dragons. Kaishan back winged with a shriek. He hovered for a second, his echoing cry silencing the wildlife of the valley. His surprise was obvious as she peeked in his mind. He knew that none of his kind could imitate dragon magic. Therefore he would see it as truth. The apparent strengthening of the shield would make it more so. Kaishan was many things, but foolhardy wasn’t one of them. Kaishan turned on a dime and shot north just as the sun set.

  Chapter Nineteen–Interesting Meetings

  Pershara

  Perela sat in the tent she shared with Duncan, cleaning the few scrapes he had suffered from his the rough treatment in the city.“So, the Guild will steal the food for the people?”She asked dabbing gently at a shallow scrape.

  Duncan nodded slowly. He turned to Perela, his brown eyes thoughtful bordering on concerned.“Ryan Shadehand said something…he kept asking if we knew what we were doing. Which just seems strange to me. It is like I’m missing something important. Then there was the last thing he said, something about‘power belongs to those with the trump cards…and valuable commodities.’”

  “Do you think he was warning you that the Guild is going to use the food to gain power?”

  “Maybe? The city is desperate... If Tommy was here, I would feel safe in the knowledge that the food would get to the people. But I don’t feel that I can trust the Guild without him.”Duncan paused for a moment.“I just wish I knew where Ryan stood. It would seem that he was with the Guild; the leader when Tommy is absent…but why would he warn us?”

  Perela smiled.“Why don’t we ask Tommy?”

  Duncan looked at her in surprise.“He is here? I thought they were still at Mortia?”

  “Duncan, no. they are not here.”

  “Oh.”Duncan sagged a little.“You mean to communicate through Bendon.”

  Perela patted his shoulder. She understood his disappointment. He had desperately wanted to be part of the group who went to rescue his friend. She started to focus on her father when she felt his voice. Perela…

  Father, your timing is amazing. I was just about to call you. She answered warmly.

  Perela…There was something in his mental voice. Something that worried her.

  Is something wrong?

  She felt his mental snort. No. It is just that we have come full circle. Gawin, Jewel, and the baby have gone through the portal, but didn’t come out in Thioden. At least, Gawin and baby you didn’t in the right time.

  And mother?

  She felt his grief. I still don’t know where she is.

  We will find her.

  If she doesn’t find us first. Bendon’s voice was wry, but she could still feel his pain.

  Father, you always said that you knew she was alive. Has that changed?

  No. I just…I lost her all over again…

  It wasn’t your fault. We will find her. I just know it.

  Bendon sighed. What did you want to talk to me about?

  I am wondering if Tommy is there to talk?

  Just a moment…

  As she waited, Perela walked over to the small table. She murmured the spell to included Duncan.

  Tommy and Bendon appeared as small figures on the table. Tommy smiled as Duncan joined Perela.“So, what can I do for you?”Tommy asked.

  Duncan quickly filled Tommy in on the food situation in the city and their strategy to save the people and weaken the palace. Duncan described how they had enlisted the help of the Guild.

  Tommy grinned.“I bet the kids loved the challenge of that one.”

  “Well, they agreed, but…don’t take this wrong. But I don’t think I can trust them to give the food to the people without trying to grasp power.”

  Tommy nodded slowly.“There is that risk. I’ve tried to run the Guild so that they had some sense of propriety. There are some good people in the mix.”

  “What about your second in command, a Ryan Shadehand?”

  Tommy blinked.“Why do you say he is my second?”

  “Um…because he seemed to be in control. And he asked how you were.”Duncan replied, really starting to feel very uneasy.

  Tommy shook his head.“Ryan isn’t my second…He was a new kid from the south.”

  Duncan shared a look with Perela.“Can we trust him?”He asked looking back at Tommy.

  Tommy raised an eyebrow.“Yes, when it comes to hoodwinking the king. As to trusting him with the distribution…Well, how far can one trust a thief with a Crown Jewel?”

  “We will have to do something to make sure the people get the food.”Perela observed. She turned back to her father and Tommy.“What are your plans, father? Did you rescue Thomas?”

  Bendon smiled.“The king rescued himself.”Duncan sighed in relief.“We still don’t know where he is, but he is free.”Bendon continued.

  “Why don’t you come join us at Pershara city?”Perela asked.“After all, we will need all the help we can get with the war coming.”

  “Robert and I need to do something. As soon as we finish we will make our way to your location.”Bendon replied.

  Curious, Perela asked“What are you and Robert going to do?”

  The old wizard shrugged.“Hunting, I’ll explain later.”

  “Alright father, keep your secrets. I’ll fish it out later.”

  “I’m sure you will.”Bendon smiled.

  “See you when we see you, father.”Perela said. The doll-sized replicas of her father and Tommy disappeared with the ending of the spell.

  ***

  Arathin

  A russet wolf pup padded soundlessly through the underbrush. He crouched, hardly breathing. His body lay tensely still and was ready to surge forward. His claws kneaded the earth as his ears were pricked forward intently. His nose quivered taking in everything. His eyes followed the movement of his quarry attentively. It went about its purpose in life near a tree that took root a yard farther down the slope from him. Soon…It moved, completely unaware. Soon…Back and forth and side to side it moved. Wait…It danced in the young wolf’s eyes. Wait…Scritch, scratch, skrish, skrich it mumbled…NOW! He surged forward. He took one bound and the charcoal st
ick found itself in his mouth.

  “Hey!”Terana cried as Russy trotted away.“Russy, you little snipe! Give that back, now!”The troublesome russet pup looked back at her with a toothy grin. His tail wagged a mile a minute.“I need that.”She chided. He padded toward her and put the stick down.“Good boy.”She said reaching for the stick. Just before her hand reached it he snatched it up again and bounded away.“RUSSY! You scoundrel! Now how am I to finish my drawing?”The pup sat down a yard and a half away from her. He cocked his head at her question. The captive charcoal stick pointed to the sky.

  “You look ridiculous.”She told him. And rightly so. Russy’s gangly legs were, well, gangly as he sat sloppy. He seemed not to care. His tail thumbed on the ground.“You goofball. What will your mother say when she finds out I could not finish my drawing because of you, hmm?”Terana said using the old guilt trick. “Now, can I pleasehave my stick back?”Russy shook his head.“You little…”Terana sighed helplessly.“You are going to have charcoal all over you.”Now the famous bath threat. It didn’t work. Russy and she stared at each other for a silent moment while Terana tried to find some way to get the charcoal back. She tried another tactic.“You are not going to give that to me, are you?”He wagged his tail faster.“Sometimes, Russy, I hate you.”She told him. The pup whined. His tail falling limp.“Well I wouldn’t if you returned my stick, but you won’t.”She sighed.“So that means you are going to force me to go back to Plarn and get another. In so doing I will lose the light and I won’t be able to finish.” Terana sighed again.“Russy, I hate to tell you this, but you are a twit; an attention seeking twit.” Terana shook her head. Russy only thumped his tail looking oh-so-cute. Twit.

  Plarn was a small little town of herders and farmers. The Valley of Plarn was like a bowl. The town itself huddled upon the roots of one of the mountains surrounding it. Wheat and corn fields fanned below the town proper on the valley floor. In pens above the town were the many wooly sheep and goats. A few pens also held cattle and pigs. Chickens ran wild on the dirt paths that served as streets. After the snows melted in the valley, the men plowed the land and young children planted the seeds. Older kids kept watch over the livestock. The towns’women swept the dust of winter out of their homes. They also took stock of what survived the winters hungers; human and animal alike. The town had survived another winter nestled in the mountains.

  There it was sheltered from outside influence, trapped within a time warp. The place was timeless. You were born in one family and expected to live how everyone else thought you should live. Which, she guessed, was alright for others, but not for her wild heart. Tradition was the law and the life of Plarn and it just stuck to you like mud. Sticky, get-to–places-you-did-not-even knew-you-had mud and frankly, she wanted a long hot bath to wash it all away. Terana leaned against the tree trunk. She absolutely hated Plarn. She wanted to see the world and do things different from the town’s stupid traditions. Anyway, the town’s people where always talking behind her back. Who could bare that all their life and not want to leave? Her parents were looking tired lately. She shook her head. No they were exhausted. Of her wildness? Maybe or maybe of what everyone else had to say.

  When she was younger she had to tolerate peoples’stares and hurtful suggestions. Now she took every chance she got to explore the woods around Plarn. Her parents understood and let her, with the promise that she would never go beyond the mountains. Breaking that had been extremely tempting a few times. But she just could not leave them for the town to dishonor with‘I told you so’s.”

  Her frequent visits to the woods gave her many chances to find the local wolf pack, Russy’s family. Many would wonder at her choice of goal. She chose it, because the wolves fascinated her. She felt drawn to them. They were misunderstood as she was. They had been shy of her and tended to vanish like smoke. Her persistence paid off and she became part of the pack. Russy was born with her instated as pack member. He followed her whenever she was in the forest. She was the only human he liked, although she was the only human he met. She kept the pack away from Plarn. The Plarnese would kill Russy and his kin on sight. For all their independence it was surprising they listened to her. But then wolves were often smarter than humans pictured them. They probably already knew they would not be welcomed among the sheep.

  Russy came toward her and bounced her hand onto his scruffy neck. Terana closed her eyes to listen to the calming woods as she obligingly scratched the fluffy incarnate of trouble. Birds sang their conversations and somewhere a squirrel scolded a woodpecker for bothering its afternoon nap. A bird squawked somewhere nearby and there was a rustle above her. Terana peered up at the maple’s canopy. Russy followed suit; his ears focusing on sounds beyond hers. She could swear she heard something…talking?

  “Nice birdie, nice birdie. Birdie won’t like Zeeve. Zeeve all scrawny and stringy. Eehe won’t like at all. All yucky! All…all…Waaaa!”Terana rolled out of the way as something fell with a thud. Russy sprang backward.“Zeeve don’t feel so good anymore.”It groaned.

  Terana stood, dusting leaves and dirt off her thick wool pants, blouse, and vest. All had been dyed her favorite colors; forest green and sky blue. The fact she wore pants had sent the town into such a riot. But she had been as stubborn as an ass when they complained. Her parents had begged her to get back into her proper garments. She told them that a dress was nothing but trouble in the forest; the skirts getting snagged on everything. Her father came up with a workable compromise. In town she was to wear a dress, as she should. In the forest she could dress as a man.

  Her fingers absently picked a stubborn burr out of a blue sleeve. Her attention was taken mostly by the little pile of furs. “Are…are you alright?”She asked hesitantly. Russy approached it, sniffing curiously. The furs moved. Russy yelped and sprang back, seeking Terana’s reassurance. The furs shifted again and a little man-like thing appeared. He had little pointy ears that stuck out of little holes in his cap. Tuffs of curly brown hair stuck out from under the hat’s brim. He reminded her a little of the drawings of lvessa in fairy tale books. Except he was shorter, a lot shorter. He looked around the clearing a little lost looking.

  “Zeeve don’t remember this place at all.”He lifted up his hand, which he first had to roll up the over sized sleeve to see, and began to tick off his fingers.“Zeeve find nest with tasty eggs in it. Zeeve try to take one little egg. Zeeve got in big trouble with hungry looking mama…hmmm…big blank, and then Zeeve find big hard open area.”He stood up then.

  “I take it then you’re okay.”Zeeve started and looked at her. His eyes got big as he stared at her feet. They got bigger and bigger and she began to fear that his eyes would pop out of his head.

  He cursed and before she could blink, he dove under the leaf litter. Russy made to follow when Terana called him back. She looked around without moving for fear of stepping on the strange creature.

  “Umm, little thing…guy?”She amended quickly.“Uhh where did you go?”

  “Zeeve ain’t here!”Came a squeak from somewhere nearby.

  Terana sighed“Then who am I having the pleasure of speaking with?”

  There was a silence.“Tivi.”

  “Tivi? Well Tivi, can you tell me where that tiny Zeeve ran off too?”Terana, in all her innocence, did not realize what she had done.

  “TINY!”Zeeve nearly exploded. He abandoned his hiding place in one bound. His already comical sight was enhanced when he spread his feet with hands on his hips and his little chest puffed out. His furred trench coat brisling like it was alive. “Tiny? Zeeve not tiny!”Russy peered at Zeeve from around Terana. Then glanced at her to see her reaction to this noisy creature. He looked back to see what Zeeve was up too.

  “Oh no?”She asked innocently.

  “No. Zeeve tall.”

  Terana bit her tongue to keep from laughing.“Where in? Where is six inches tall?”

  His mouth dropped for a second before he ground it shut again.“In Zeevria.” She could not control it anymor
e. Terana fell to her knees and laughed for all she was worth. Russy backed away from her. Zeeve lost his hysterical posture and stared at her in utter confusion.“Umm, Miss Giant? Miss Giant! Zeeve want to know what is so funny.”

  She laughed harder. His bubble of prideful anger deflated at her laughter. His shoulders slumped and his fur coat hung limply about him. She rolled onto her back giggling uncontrollably. Zeeve climbed onto her forehead and peered into her eyes.“Zeeve want to know what’s so funny!”He repeated. She shook her head and he went sailing, coat and all, back into the leaf litter.

  Russy whined and began to wash her face.

  “Blugh! RUSSY!”She protested. The wolf’s wet and smelly tongue ignored her. It even went so far as to clean her teeth for her.“Tugh, you can stop now.”Terana pushed the wolf away from her.“Lyuck.”She scrubbed wolf slim off her face.“Why did you do that?” She glared at him indignantly. The wolf only peered at her.“Yuck!”Seeking to cleanse her mouth, she spat. The wolf whined and Terana scratched Russy’s ruff to sooth him. It was then that she remembered Zeeve.“Zeeve?”She asked the nearest pile of leaves.“Zeeve, are you okay?”

  Zeeve peered at her with little brown eyes from behind a large oak leaf he was holding before him.“Zeeve wants to know if Miss Giant is safe now.”

  “I have always been safe.”She protested.

  Zeeve dropped the leaf looking slightly disgruntled.“Then how did Zeeve end up flying into leaf pile?”He asked gesturing behind him.

  Terana’s brow lifted at that.“What do you expect? What would you do to keep a tiny man from getting hurt when you are in the middle of giggling?”

  “Zeeve never had tiny guys climb all over him.”He said shrugging.

  “I wonder why?”Terana asked sarcastically getting up and dusting leaves off her pants.

  “Zeeve just had to wade through ladies.”

  “What?!”

  “Zeeve say nothing!”He said rather too quickly for that to be true. Blushing did not help his case either.