“Because he is atich-ar?”
“No. Because of the look I saw on his face when I caught him eavesdropping.”
Chapter 25
DHAL WOKE IN THE EARLY HOURS OF MORNING. He SAT up and muttered softly to himself.
Poco heard him and woke.
He threw back the blanket that covered him, got up, and went to the window overlooking the lake. Outlined by the faint glimmer of daylight, he paced back and forth, his naked footsteps almost soundless.
“Dhal?” Poco said softly, not wanting to wake the others.
He stopped pacing and turned to look back into the dark room. “You awake, Poco?”
“Yes. What is it?” She rose and pulled the top blanket around her.
He waited for her by the window, silent and somehow frightening. She could just make out his face in the early morning light. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s the Tamorlee,” he said softly. “I dreamed about it.”
“So?”
“It needs me—now!”
“Needs you? I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. I just know that it needs me—and quickly!”
He reached out and took her arms. “Poco, I have never had a dream like this before. It was so real it scared me!”
“But it was just a dream, Dhal. Come back to bed and—”
“No! No, I cannot just put it out of my mind. You don’t know what it was like!”
“What do you want to do? Do you want to go and find Caaras and tell him that—”
“No! Yes. I don’t know. Let me think!”
Poco stood patiently, shivering in the chill morning air. A few minutes later she broke into Dhal’s silence.
“Do you have any idea of how much longer it will be before the Ni-lach are ready to move?”
“No,” he answered. “Every time I ask, they just keep saying soon.”
Another shadow moved in the semidarkness. Screech coughed as he approached.
Poco coughed in greeting. “Dhal was wakened by a dream,” she explained. “Nothing is wrong. Go back to sleep, Screech.”
“No,” Dhal said. “Don’t go back to sleep. Screech, wake Taav and Gi and bring them here.”
“Dhal, what are you going to do?” Poco asked.
“Come on. I will explain as we get dressed,” he answered, and pushed her back toward their sleeping pallet. “We are leaving here.”
“Leaving? For where?” she asked, dropping the blanket and searching for a light.
“We are going to Ari-al to find the Tamorlee.”
“Dhal, you aren’t serious!”
“Yes. I am.”
“You promised me that we would never return to Ari-al by ourselves!”
“We won’t be alone. Screech, Gi, and Taav will come with us. I know what I told you, Poco, and if I thought I could get Caaras, Chulu, and the Council to speed up their timetable, I would wait; but there isn’t time to waste! We must move now!”
“Dhal, this is crazy! What can we accomplish by ourselves? What if this dream is just that—a dream? Why don’t we sit down and talk about it. Maybe if you—”
“No, Poco! We have got to move now! We can do it! You know the pattern and Taav can hold the gate for us. Please, don’t argue with me, not now. Just trust me!”
Hearing the desperation in Dhal’s voice, Poco held her tongue and dressed quickly. Minutes later she was packing some food into a pouch while Screech and Dhal collected their weapons and whatever else they might need for a few days away.
When Gi and Taav showed up, Poco handed the two food pouches to Taav, who looked mystified by such early morning preparations.
“Big Fur say we leaving now,” Gi piped up. “Going where, Poco?”
“Dhal has had a dream, Gi, and he tells me we have to go and find the Tamorlee, right now.”
Poco shook her head. She knew how foolish this venture was; but she also knew that Dhal was deadly serious and would not be turned away from his goal.
“War happens today?” Gi asked.
Poco leaned down and picked up the olvaar. “I hope not, Gi. I sincerely hope not.”
They walked for an hour to reach a small open place by the lake where Poco’s singing would not wake anyone.
“I still think we should have told Caaras or someone what we are going to do,” Poco said.
“They would only stop us,” Dhal replied.
He led Taav to a dry place on the sand and told him to sit down; then he turned to Poco.
“I know this must all seem crazy, Poco, and I cannot explain how I know that something is threatening the Tamorlee. I just know that it is, and that I have to try to do something about it!” Dhal was talking so fast that he was tripping over his own words.
“All right,” she said, trying to calm him. “What do you want us to do?”
“I want you to sing the pattern for the I-naal gate. When the gate opens, I will go through, check around to make sure it is safe for the rest of you to follow. If it is, we will carry Taav through and close the gate behind us.”
“And then?”
“And then we look for the Tamorlee. My fire stone should help me locate it.”
Poco shivered. Dhal’s plan was full of holes and the possibility of real danger. “Dhal, I am scared. Too many things could go wrong.”
“I know, but I cannot stop myself. I have to find the Tamorlee!” Dhal took Poco in his arms. “After we close the gate, I want you, Gi, and Taav to stay close together. If anything goes wrong, if I cannot get back to you, you must use the gate again and return here.”
Poco did not like the sound of that. She made herself a silent promise: We go to Ari-al together, we come back together!
Dhal was looking at her expectantly, his face just barely visible in the half-light of morning. “I love you, Poco,” he said softly. “If there was another way, I would not ask this of you, not now in your condition, but—”
“But there isn’t,” she finished for him. She leaned close and kissed him, holding him tight.
A few moments later, she sat facing Taav. She looked at the atich-ar, remembering the startled look on his face when she had caught him eavesdropping the day before. Who was he really? Did he understand what was about to happen?
She reached out and took Taav’s hands. “I am going to sing, Taav, and you must listen very closely. Do you understand?”
He nodded. He appeared statuesque in the morning light, his face devoid of expression.
“Dhal, Screech, Gi, and I are going to travel to a very special place and this time you must come along. You must not be frightened. We will be there with you.”
Again Taav nodded.
Poco drew a deep breath and released it slowly. She glanced once at Dhal, then turned back to Taav. Keeping hold of his hands, she began to sing. She had been practicing the I-naal gate pattern with the other Singers of Jjaan-bi and no longer needed Zaa-ob’s pendant for direction; but as she sang, that other presence filled her mind, joining and reinforcing the I-naal pattern, and for a moment, Zaa-ob lived again, the song he had created years ago drawing upon nature’s forces to build a doorway from one world to another.
The words to the pattern were in Ni and as they were sung, Poco saw them take hold of Taav. His eyes became unfocused, his hands went slack, and he became the statue he had appeared to be only minutes before; and as he fixed the pattern in his mind, a green hazy mist began to grow between them.
Dhal moved to stand right behind Poco. He signed for Screech and Gi to stay where they were.
Poco continued to sing, unaware of Dhal’s movements. Her attention was locked on Taav and the proper sequence of the song.
Finally the song neared its end, and Poco felt a change in the air around her; it was cool and held the hint of rain. Then the song was finished and she sat quietly, aware of the fog that surrounded her.
She felt something brush by her and looked up as Dhal disappeared into the darkness beyond the gate. “Dhal?” she cried softly.
His disembodied voice floated back to her. “Stay where you are, all of you. I’ll be back soon. It is still night here and it is raining.”
Minutes passed. Poco grew worried.
Screech and Gi moved up to stand within the green mist at Poco’s shoulders. Taav sat quietly outside the misty gate, oblivious to their concern.
Suddenly Dhal reappeared, almost bumping into Screech who had edged farther and farther into the fog. Dhal was soaked, water running down his face.
“Come,” he said. “But quietly. I find no atich-ar around but that doesn’t mean they aren’t here. Screech, I’ll help you with Taav. Be careful not to wake him.”
Poco stood and took Gi’s hand, and together they stepped through the gate. She felt only momentary disorientation.
The rain that struck her face was cold, and the sky was so dark that only the green haze from the world gate gave her anything to see by. Gi tugged on the leg of her pants pulling her away from the gate as Dhal and Screech carried Taav through and set him down on the ground.
Dhal glanced once at the gate, then leaned over Taav and touched his forehead, waking him from his trance. As Taav slumped in Dhal’s arms, the gate faded, leaving the five of them in wet darkness.
“We cannot stay here,” Dhal whispered. “We’ll have to find a safer place for Taav. Screech, you will have to be our guide. I’ll carry Taav.”
Screech helped lift the slumbering Taav to Dhal’s shoulder, then he fastened his tail around Dhal’s belt. Poco held onto a corner of Dhal’s tunic.
Gi ran ahead of Screech and acted as a scout.
Poco lost track of the time: The rain, darkness, and wooded terrain all combined to make minutes seem like hours. Finally they stopped going downhill, and as the ground leveled off, the density of trees and bushes gave way to an open area that Screech described as a field of grass.
Finally Screech stopped. Dhal grunted with relief as he let Taav slip from his shoulder. The atich-ar moaned once, then was quiet again.
“Where are we?” Dhal asked.
“Near water,” Gi piped up.
“Are we anywhere near the temple? We came off the hill to the left. If the waterway is in front of us, the temple should be to our right.”
“Want Gi to go look?” Gi asked.
“Yes, Gi, and hurry, but be careful. The atich-ar are not friendly.”
“Gi be careful.”
After Gi left them, Screech moved away, returning a few minutes later. He went to Poco and took her hand.
“Trees ahead. Shelter. Come.”
“Screech says there is shelter somewhere, Dhal. He wants us to follow him.”
Screech lifted Taav, and led Dhal and Poco to a wooded place near the water. Using some small branches he found on the ground, and laying them across two upper branches of a nearby tree, Screech quickly erected a shelter. Some rain dripped through, but it was better than standing in the open.
The wait seemed to last forever, but finally Gi returned to tell Dhal that the atich-ar temple stood to their right at the edge of the waterway.
Dhal touched Poco’s arm. “It’s time for us to leave, then. Poco, you and Gi stay here with Taav. Screech and I will go and see if we can find a way inside the temple.”
“There is way,” Gi said. “Steps leading from waterway to gate. Gate closed. Gi crawl under. No see guards. Screech can climb gate, yes. Let Dhal in.”
“No guards? Are you sure, Gi?” Dhal asked.
“Hiding from rain maybe.”
“Atich-ar? I doubt that. From all Chulu told me, they like water. Rain would not bother them. Gi, did you see anything of the Tamorlee?”
“Looking but not seeing,” Gi replied.
“They probably have it hidden somewhere, Dhal,” Poco said.
“It’s too big to hide. Retath said it was here. We will just have to find it.”
“Dhal—I want to go with you,” Poco said.
“No.”
“If you run into guards, you may need every pair of hands you can get.”
“No, Poco, I will not have you—”
“Taav will be out for hours, so he won’t go anywhere, and if things look too dangerous, you can always send me back!”
“Poco, have you thought about our baby and what will happen if you are caught or stranded here?”
“Right now I am thinking more about its father, and I want to go with you! Please, Dhal, don’t say no.”
Dhal reached for her in the darkness. “What am I going to do with you, Pocalina-fel-Jamba?”
She hugged him. “Love me, and let me come with you.”
Dhal was silent for long moments, then he pushed her away. “All right, but if I tell you to get back here, you promise you will obey?”
“I promise.”
Gi led the way back to the gates facing the waterway. Dhal kept a hold on Screech’s tail and Poco held onto Dhal. Their progress was slow and cautious.
The rain let up slightly as they reached the wooden gate. As Gi slipped under the gate, Screech climbed up and over.
Several minutes passed. Dhal and Poco stood near the gate listening and waiting for Screech to open it. Another minute passed and nothing happened.
“What’s keeping him?” Dhal whispered.
A few moments later, a soft whistle came from down near their feet. “Screech finding guards. He comes soon,” Gi said.
Suddenly Poco heard something against the gate. She reached out just as the large door began to move inward. She poked Dhal and felt him slip up beside her.
Screech took Dhal by an arm and latched onto Poco’s wrist with his tail, leading them through the doorway and into a large courtyard beyond.
“What do you see, Screech?” Poco asked softly.
The derkat did not reply, but led them to another wall and another doorway where the gate was ajar.
Through the doorway Poco and Dhal saw torchlight, and someone moving. They turned their attention to Screech as he began to sign, his hands held to the light coming from the yard beyond.
“I killed the guards at the gate. There are two more inside. They keep to a shelter. There are cages nearby. Little Fur has gone to see what is in the cages. We wait here.”
Poco looked at Dhal, checking to see if he understood everything Screech had said. He nodded, then moved up cautiously behind the door and peered into the enclosure beyond.
Time seemed to stand still. Poco grew restless waiting. She was worried about Taav and the possibility of his waking alone in the darkness.
She looked back at the gate through which they had passed, and was surprised by a perceptible lightening of the sky to the east. She also noticed that the rain had stopped.
She turned to warn Dhal of the passage of time and saw him lean down and pick up Gi. She moved closer and heard the olvaar softly lisping.
“Guards talking. Not see Gi. Green Ones asleep in cages. Many hand counts.”
“Are they Ni or atich-ar?” Dhal asked.
“Ni.”
“Are you sure, Gi?”
“Sure,” Gi replied, bobbing his head.
“The prisoners from Val-hrodhur?” Poco asked softly.
“Has to be them,” Dhal answered.
“Can we do anything to help them?”
“We can try. One of them may be able to help us find the Tamorlee.”
“What do we do?” she asked.
“You stay here,” he told her firmly. “Screech and I will silence the guards. If anything goes wrong, you and Gi get back to Taav, wake him up and sing your way back to Lach. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she said.
Dhal leaned forward and kissed her, then he and Screech slipped through the partially opened doorway.
Poco and Gi peered around the door and watched as Screech and Dhal stalked the two guards on the other side of the courtyard.
The atich-ar guards were so engrossed in conversation that they were unaware of their danger until the very last minute. Only one cried out, and
he was silenced so abruptly that only a few of the Ni prisoners began to stir.
Dhal left his victim, put his knife away, and went straight to the cages. More of the prisoners were beginning to movev Some spoke, only to be quickly hushed.
Poco watched as Dhal spoke to several of the Ni; he then left the cages and, with Screech, searched the guards. They found the key to open the cages and one by one the prisoners were freed.
The Ni began to straggle across the small courtyard. Several were limping and one or two were being carried by others.
Dhal, Screech, and several of the more active Ni reached Poco first.
“Poco, this is Favlon,” Dhal said, indicating the Ni to his right. “He says he knows where the Tamorlee is! Screech and I are going with him. You and Gi lead the others back to the river to Taav, and wait for us there. If we don’t come by daylight, you know what to do.”
“What are you going to do when you find the crystal?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Nothing maybe. I just know that I have to see it! To make sure it’s all right.”
Favlon turned as Ni began to pass through the doorway. “You, Llura, Dar, and Tana, come with me. There may be trouble. This Ni claims he is a Seeker and must reach the Tamorlee. The rest of you go with the female. He says she is a Singer. They have a Sensitive waiting for them outside the gates. We have no choice but to trust them!”
Poco watched Dhal and the others start across the large courtyard toward an open archway in the western wall. The series of stone towers that rose beyond the wall were still darkly shadowed, but the coming daylight worried her.
She ran ahead and caught up with the Ni who, following Favlon’s orders, were heading toward the outer gate. They looked at her as she passed, but no one said anything. She almost tripped over the body of one of the guards Screech had killed.
When she reached the gate, she paused to make sure nothing was moving outside. She then motioned to the Ni to follow.
Gi-arobi appeared and Poco told him to take the lead. His soft whistle-clicks were audible for a moment or two, then they faded away as he disappeared into the shadows of the outer temple wall.
Poco counted the Ni as they passed through the gateway. Retath had said there were thirty-seven still alive, but as the last Ni shuffled past, her count had only reached twenty-five. Including Favlon and his three friends, that made twenty-nine.
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