by P. G. Thomas
“Good,” and then the cave went quiet.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better, my arms aren’t burning anymore, just sore.”
“I was thinking that we should go back to the Bright Coast since you might be able to help them now, and I really don’t want to meet Tranquil, again.”
Logan nodded in agreement, and after John had dropped a piece of Steve’s phone through the bracelet, they saw the front room of the house appear, and both stepped through.
Chapter 19
That morning, after they all had a big breakfast Steve, Eric, and Amber headed into the Bright Coast to watch for any increased Darkpaye activity on the bridges. Gor, Grax, and Ryan watched Lauren sitting at the patio table. Grasping the gnarled staff, she concentrated on finding the seeds, sending the necessary magic to make them grow. Ryan had pasted the map segments together on a piece of wood, allowing Lauren to see the marks on where they had planted the seeds. Sending out waves of magic to locate the hope they had planted, when it found the desired spots, she tasked the magic with growing them. Calling to the bees and other insects, she told them to seek out the sweet pollen in the fresh buds so that they would fertilize all of the plants.
In the past, the magic was different in her tri-wood staff. The Core Wood provided the power, but it was Sage Wood that gave her the songs to sing to direct the raw magic, but the staff she now held contained no knowledge. The magic answered her, going forward, and found the targets without songs to encourage the desired action, and all answered the call as if Mother herself had sent the messages that Lauren directed. Seeds turned into plants in a matter of hours, drinking from both the earth and the magic, and then the insects found the fresh blossoms to continue the natural cycle. Lauren encouraged the buds to transform from the assorted foods into seeds, and in the light breeze, they took flight or fell to the ground. As the day went on, the vision of the town glowed in her mind with the image of the plants growing. Towards the end of the day, she turned her focus to the buried fruit tree seeds, as it was late enough that their quick growth would go unnoticed. Before the suns had set, the bees had found the new fragrant flowers filled with the sweet nectar. Then she sent magic to the now fertilized flowers, forcing Mother’s energy into them, turning them into fruit. Lauren ignored some of the gardens they had planted, as only one out of every three received directions from her. If everything all flowered at the same time, she was afraid the citizens would harvest all just as quickly, and not everybody would know of the gifts. As the last sun set, she returned into the house.
Shortly after that, a portal opened in the front room, which Logan and John stepped through. Lauren, exhausted from her day’s activities, had no interest in hearing of their journey, so she headed to her room. Thirty minutes later Steve, Eric, and Amber entered the house, carrying a fresh keg of ale purchased from a dwarf distiller on the street paralleling the Key River.
Hammering in the tap, Steve tasted it, “It’s not as good as the other stuff, but it’ll do,” and then poured each of them a mug.
The small group quickly updated John on their activities, and when the mugs had been filled a second time, he advised on the trip to Ironhouse and to Sister. That she had understood the concept of fire rain, proving her point with a demonstration. “However, Fodu needs my help, so I’m going to head back tomorrow to see if they can speed up the mithril extraction and processing. Without that, the machine is nothing.”
Eric waited until Logan had headed to bed, “How is he?”
“Better. Sister was pissed at him, but I explained how Zymse had used her to hurt Mother. I think she understood that part, but she wants him to kill Zymse. If you can, keep an eye on him.”
The others had turned in for the night, and only John and Steve remained at the table. “Kid, there’s something that has been bothering me.”
“Just one thing? Out of everything you’ve seen in the last month, there’s only one thing bothering you?”
“I’ll rephrase. One thing more than all of the whacky, weird crap that I’ve witnessed is bothering me. Does that sound better?”
“Sorry, I have a hundred different whacky, weird pieces of crap that are causing me to lose sleep. What’s keeping you awake?”
“Every time one of you five repeats what happened the last time, there are always pieces missing. In my line of work, that only means three things: they’re scared, lying, or amnesia. Which is it?”
“Well, we can eliminate scared and lying, and I don’t think any of us have sustained a head injury, other than Eric, so is there a fourth option?”
“You’re smart, so if there is one, you need to tell me what it is.”
“I guess if you found an actual hypnotist, and if they could convince you that your parents had died, when you woke from the trance, you would still remember your childhood but not your parents. So it would be like somebody had redacted your hard drive, removing the necessary information to access those files. There would be both memories present and images missing, but you would’ve a hard time interpreting those events. If you had a great love for your parents, you would probably miss them but not know what you missed.”
“It sort of makes sense. Is there any way that would be possible for you five to all be suffering the same—delusion?”
“Only theory I could speculate would be instantaneously rewriting history. Having the changes transact at a hyper-speed, so that names and places aren’t remembered because for that individual, they never happened. After I finish my current project, I’ll give it some thought.”
“Working on the machine?”
“No,” John grabbed a bottle of wine. “I want to see if I can drink myself sober. Seriously, instantaneously rewriting history, the next thing I know you’re going to tell me that Oswald didn’t work alone.”
If you only knew what I knew, Kid. If anybody wished history were to be re-written, it would be him.
*******
The next morning John waited to talk to Lauren and Ryan, and when he was sure everything was happening within safe parameters, he retrieved his cloak containing the gold magic from the basement. He was hoping for two things; that Fodu would be able to charge it, and that it would help to fix the machine. Before he left, walking over to Danex’s house, he found her sitting on the front porch. “How’s Mirtza?”
“He sleeps most of the day. The young girls look after him, so he no longer smells and looks content. I think he is happy as he smiles in his sleep and occasionally talks. I hear him mumble all of your names, and I think his mind has gone back to his great adventure, not the torment that he experienced for so long. Would you like to see him?”
The thought of seeing their first protector in his current state had little interest for John. Instead, preferring to remember the first meeting when he had been introduced to the magic. “No, I just wanted to make sure that he was comfortable. If you need anything, let Lauren know.” Returning to the house, he collected his cloak, and going into the backyard, he opened the portal to return to the Ironhouse Mine.
Later that morning, Steve, Eric, and Amber again headed into the heart of the Bright Coast to watch the bridges. Lauren headed out to the patio, holding both the map and diminishing staff in hand, with the images of the seeds in her head. For the entire day, she concentrated on bringing a fresh harvest to the starving citizens, making more fruit trees appear as if from nothing. As Ryan watched her that day, he could tell the task was taxing her, as he watched the strain on her face. However, he knew she would never stop, as only the belief in Mother would undermine Zymse to free their daughters. He told Gor, Grax, and Logan to prepare a meal, knowing that she needed sustenance to continue her battle. Without it, her body would fail, and he refused to leave her side. The first sun had set when he tried to break her concentration, but it took twenty minutes for her to tell Ryan to leave her alone. Understanding the faster he broke the trance, the sooner she would set aside the burden that she now carried alone, his efforts continued
, but it was only after the second sunset when the smell of bean juice and the aroma of hot food pulled her back. Her look to Ryan said ‘thanks,’ but the words she was unable to say, as taking in the nourishment far outweighed her expression of gratitude. After the last sun had set, Ryan with Lauren were sitting in the front room wrapped in each other’s arms when Steve, Eric, and Amber returned.
“The good news is that we saw lots of people harvesting fruits and vegetables this morning on the way to the bridges,” began Eric. “There were some squabbles over the harvest, people claiming it was on their property, but more harvested than begged for food today.”
Lauren hugged Ryan tighter, “The bad news?”
“We saw a number of Darkpaye patrols cross the bridges. When we headed back here…some of the fruit trees had been chopped down.”
“If they left the roots,” Lauren took a drink, “I can bring them back, and that should piss Zymse off. Were there any signs of…”
Before she could mention her daughters, Steve answered, “No.”
*******
The next morning they repeated the events from the previous day. Even though Logan offered to go with them, Eric and Steve advised they had the situation under control. Returning to the patio, Lauren continued the rebirth of Mother back to the people. She grasped the staff, finding more plants, encouraging them to grow, and to spread their seeds. As the day became shorter, she sought out the axed fruit trees, sending them fresh magic. In a single hour, she had brought them back to full size, filling their branches thick with fruit, so the next morning Mother’s children would be able to eat. When Steve, Eric, and Amber arrived that night, the news they brought was worse. Hundreds of Darkpaye soldiers had crossed the bridges, hunted down the fruit trees and vegetable gardens, taking drastic actions to eliminate the new source of food.
“However, it’s not all bad news,” Steve added, “As we rode back, we saw people planting seeds.”
Lauren let out a sigh, “With that action, they’ll praise Mother, and tomorrow those prayers will be answered in her absence until she can hear them for herself, and then do her own work.” Then she held out the staff for all to see, which measured three feet long, “And it had better be quick because the cost is too high.”
*******
The next morning, Lauren, exhausted from the previous day’s work, once again pushed herself out of bed, finding the rest at the dining table. Her smile hollow, looking fatigued, she sat down at the table. For her not to have bathed, Ryan knew she was trying to purchase the freedom of the Bright Coast with her own strength, and even though she may have thought it was enough, he knew she could push herself too hard. He tried to convince her to rest for the day, but after picking at her breakfast, she dragged the short, heavy staff behind her to the patio to concentrate on the seeds, plants, and trees. No longer needing the paper map, she saw the map of the Bright Coast appear in her mind, knowing every spot by memory. However, she now saw thousands of new seeds planted by the people of the Bright Coast, wrapped in prayers to Mother. While Lauren was unable to hear the prayers, the staff felt the need, and together they sent Mother’s message of hope to the freshly planted desires of the people.
It was Ryan’s greatest fear, and it seemed to play out in slow motion before his eyes. When Lauren whispered his name, before he could react, the staff fell to her side. Moving to her as fast as he could, he watched her slump forward and then lean sideways in the chair. With his heart racing, every step he took towards her seemed like a mile—even though he was only ten feet away. A throbbing pulse beat like ancient drums in his ears, his feet felt like they were trapped in cement, and a silent, horror filled scream erupted in his mind. As she was about to hit the ground, he reached out with his arms, catching her, and then took her upstairs. When Eric knocked on their bedroom door to check on her, a figure that looked like Ryan answered the door, but in his eyes burnt a refusal of entry. He closed the door, turned to Lauren, and he watched her toss and turn. He knew of the staffs, of the terrible price they could cost her, however, he also understood the benefits. He remembered when she used the staff to help free the innocents, of how she had tried for so long that it almost killed her. When Korg had her poisoned, how it had helped to heal her. Wiping away his tears, looking at his wife in unrest, her brow thick with sweat, her face pained, Ryan walked down to the patio where he picked up the staff. Those that saw him realized he walked with purpose, being afraid to ask what was happening.
The magic in Ryan tasted the power in the staff. [Threat detected. Engage shields program.] They were both magic but different. He could feel the staff revolt at his touch, but his magic protected him. When he was back in their room, he looked at the staff in his granite hand and to Lauren, his fallen angel who had given so much. His voice was raw emotion, tempered with frustration, diluted with love. “Mother, you test your daughter too much. So that you can help save hers, she will give her life to make your children believe in you, but without her, I’m nothing and have nothing to lose.” His hands received his hot anger, transferred it to the staff, burning their imprints into the dry wood, “She passed every test you gave her and did everything you ever wanted. You should be able to hear the prayers of your children, should be awakening. Hear this now. I may not be Earth Guard, but I’m her protector, her first, last, and only. You had her proclaimed an Earth Mother, a title that will follow her to her death, but I won’t let you kill her to save your children.” Ryan’s voice was fire, his anger so thick that it filled the room, “I AM HER EARTH GUARD NOW. I COMMAND YOU: HEAL YOUR EARTH MOTHER. If you don’t, I’ll turn this piece of wood into ash.” The staff began to tremble in Ryan’s hands, “Then I’ll find the First Forest, find you. Embrace you with all of my rage, and you’ll burn! Mother, hear my command now! Heal Lauren!” Ryan fought back the urge to break the staff, placed it beside Lauren, wrapped her arm around it, and saw the expression on her face change when peaceful sleep welcomed her.
However, it was insufficient. The rage contained for so long, witnessing the one he loved hurting so bad, it needed a way to vent the anger. Walking down the stairs, Eric and Steve waited for him at the bottom having heard the angered words. Ryan was ten feet tall, solid stone, and the stairs groaned under his weight, “Get out of my way!”
Eric stepped forward, “NO!”
[Re-engage overrides. Nonresponsive. Abort.] Ryan’s eyes, glowing with red anger, looked down at Eric. “Before you had one that could stand up to me. He’s gone, and you’re weak and can’t stop me.”
“You’re wrong, big guy, and I will,” replied Eric.
“Move! Or I’ll kill you!”
“Then, when the rage has left you,” Eric looked up at the granite statue, having a flashback to the fourth day of the final battle. “When you wake with my blood on your hands, how will you feel? When Lauren wakes and finds out that you killed me, how will she look at you? Your anger is misplaced, and you need to calm down, NOW!”
“I hate this world!” Part of Ryan wanted to reach out to Eric and rip his head off, but another part of him thought of Lauren.
“This world gave you her. If we hadn’t been sucked into this mess the first time, you would be living in a hole in the wall, dreaming about her. The one you love, the one that completes you, she is upstairs waiting for your arms to comfort her. If Lauren were here right now, what would she think?”
Ryan gritted his stone teeth, squeezing his eyelids shut so hard that Eric could hear them. Then the stone statue curled his arms, making granite fists, and his knuckles cracked, causing small pieces to rain down onto the stairs. Rage needing direction glared at Eric.
“SHUT DOWN, NOW! Think with your goddamned heart, not the anger. Let the love you feel for Lauren guide you, not your damned rage. If you don’t calm down, Steve and I’ll start screaming so loud that we’ll wake her. She’ll look down from the top of the stairs, scolding you with her eyes.”
Steve confidently took two steps back, “Yeah…that’s right.” He t
hen scanned the house for a clear path to the nearest door that led outside, figuring he would stand a better chance with the two guard dogs.
[Reinforce surge protection. Recode overrides. Implement new program.] Ryan began to shrink, reverting to normal, pushing the rage back inside. He tried to think of something to say, but turning, headed back up the stairs to wrap his arms around Lauren.
“I need a drink,” advised Eric.
“Are you crazy?” The look on Steve’s face was intense, “How the hell did you stop him?”
“It wasn’t Ryan, but he was still there. All you need to do is mention Lauren, which confuses his rage, and Ryan takes over or something like that.”
“What happens if she’s ever in real danger?”
“Seriously, you get the hell out of his way.” Then Eric turned and headed down to the wine cellar.
Steve looked at Amber, Grax, and Gor, whose eyes were wide open, as if they had just witnessed an unrecorded scene from the great play. He shook his head, “You three had better get over your fascination with these guys. They’re just like you and me, but they show their anger in different ways. One day, your eyes will be glued to them, and somebody will attack you from behind, and that’s the last thing you’ll never remember.” Steve headed towards the patio, wondering what Ryan was really capable of doing if Lauren was ever in danger, and hoping that he would not be standing in front of him.
Logan, glass in hand, walked out onto the patio when Eric popped the cork, “How much longer before Ryan blows a gasket?”
“I guess you heard him?” asked Eric.
“Yeah, it’s a good thing Lauren was sleeping,” replied Logan holding out his glass. “Otherwise, the whole neighborhood would’ve heard the fight.”
Steve filled his own glass, “How’re you doing, Kid?”
“Better, thanks for keeping my little problem quiet.”
“I didn’t.”
Logan shook his head, “All I want to do right now is kill Zymse, which I know will make things ten times worse if that’s even possible.”