In All of Infinity

by H. R. Holt

  Reverie looked back at the group and saw one of bandits staring at her. He was tall, almost 6’, and built wonderfully, almost like a statue she’d once seen. As she stared into his dark eyes, she had the oddest feeling come over her, almost as if she knew him. She couldn’t possibly, could she?

  “Hello,” he said softly.

  She started running towards the sunlight, knowing he was pursuing her. For some reason, she couldn’t find fear emerging in her heart. She actually wanted him to catch her. What was wrong with her? He was a criminal! If she wanted to live to see another day, she had to make it back home. Who would have thought going to save someone would end in her own capture? Hell, she wasn’t even sure what their intentions were!

  Reverie spotted one of the servants going down another path several yards away and increased her speed. She tried screaming for help but realized her voice was gone. She was breathless, but she pushed herself. Even though she realized it was futile, she wasn’t going to accept the fact and give up. Merely feet away from sunlight, she tripped over the hem of her dress and fell onto the dirt.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Don’t touch her!”

  Reverie felt a hand on her back and suddenly began shaking. She rolled onto her back and balled her fists, trying to make herself stop. When her head began aching, she closed her eyes and bit her lip hard. She tasted blood.

  “Back away!” She felt someone scoop her head up, and another hand cover her eyes. “Love, I need you to fall asleep. Think of clouds over rivers deep. Have dreams of babies with eyes of blue. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Until it be that I beckon you.”

  Reverie couldn’t retaliate and found herself doing as the voice requested. She fell into a deep sleep, thinking only of clouds, rivers, and babies with blue eyes.

  ***

  “What happened?”

  Isaac watched Reverie as she slept, realizing that her lip was still bleeding, but couldn’t get the image out of his mind of her seizure. He had caused her pain. If there was anything he wanted to do, it wasn’t to hurt her. He loved her. How could this have happened?

  Windrew removed his hand from her eyes and stood, still staring down at her. He knew he was going to have to answer the younger man’s question, but he didn’t know how he could. He hadn’t seen this sort of power in many years, and, the last he heard, it had never actually been used. It was forbidden magic, which was a form of enchantment that involved killing someone. He had recognized it when she stared at Isaac, saw how she seemed to glow when she gazed at him. The spell could only be broken by the death of who cast it, or by a greater power. As a second level wizard, he was hardly qualified to do the job. He was troubled most by not knowing who could create such a spell. Who had been killed for this spell? If he tried to bring her back without the proper level of power, she would die. He shuddered at the thought of using forbidden magic, especially to go so far as making a loved one’s touch catastrophic.

  Isaac turned Windrew around, stared hard into his face, but realized the wizard wasn’t revealing any emotion. Isaac slapped him hard and the older man smiled. He had an idea.

  “We need to get to the Temple of Idenia,” Windrew said and started down the road. He smiled at his men, then at Mona and Brornar, who were both concerned about their mistress. “We, that is, Isaac and I, need your help. If you are willing, we will mount up this very minute, as a team, and start towards the Temple of Idenia. If not, only Isaac and I will go.”

  Windrew realized he was asking plenty of his men. They knew that Idenia was located in the north, beyond lakes and valleys that were known for their evil. Some of them wouldn’t come back, and become a ghost to add to the plenty roaming aimlessly across the Cathene Continent. He had almost perished during such a journey when he was a much younger man, surviving only because he’d been able-bodied. He wasn’t so sure he was anymore, but he knew he was going to try. He had to try. There was a thick fog of evil surrounding him, and he was going to do everything in his power to see his way through it. He would find the source of this evil and destroy it…if such was the last thing he ever did. His only dread was telling his beloved Anekaya.

  “I’m with you,” Brornar stated.

  “Hey, captain drama, I think you should tone down just a bit,” Isaac said as he knelt beside Reverie. “She’s waking up.”

  Windrew felt both a blush rise to his cheeks and a rush of confusion come over him. He looked over his shoulder before turning completely. Sure enough, Reverie was stirring, rubbing her forehead as if she’d only had a headache and nothing more. He didn’t understand how that was possible. He’d seen the signs. She was affected by magic. With questions and doubts filling his mind, he rushed to her and looked at Isaac who merely glimpsed at the wizard.

  “I don’t understand how this could be,” Windrew said quietly. “I saw all the signs of…”

  “Forbidden magic?” Isaac asked with a nod. “I saw the signs too. I’ve read the books.”

  “They’re…they’re more than books, Isaac. They’re scriptures written by the highest wizards and witches ever to walk the Cathene Continent. The only way she could have brought herself out of this is by…”

  “Having magical abilities? Yeah. I thought about that. I don’t think it’s entirely impossible,” Isaac noted, his eyes still focused on Reverie. “As a matter of fact, I think I have some of my own.”

  “When did you think this?” Windrew wondered, trying to keep from mocking the younger man, who seemed very serious. “Today? Where did you get them? When you were visiting your folks? You did visit them, right?”

  Windrew had almost begged Isaac to go home for a fortnight, try to regain some normalcy in his life. He had been searching for Reverie almost four years, even bypassed school, severed relationships, and simply lived to seek she who he couldn’t find. He used to wander the streets aimlessly, almost as if he were looking for a clue that could link him to where she could be. He found it strange that her father also disappeared, so he knew there was something peculiar about the house. When he walked inside only a month after the disappearances, he followed a cat upstairs to the attic, tripped over it, and stumbled through a sheet to a completely different world. As for normalcy, Isaac didn’t want it, not until he could find Reverie.

  “Mmm… no. I didn’t visit them. I stopped in front of the house and stared at the door, but I didn’t go in. I don’t belong there, not without her,” Isaac answered and had his hand hover above her. He wasn’t sure he should touch her, not after what happened before. He began wondering when she would look at him and at least tell him that she was ok. He needed to know because she was all that he lived for. “Do you know who Nadia is?”

  “Who?” Reverie answered and looked at him. “Who are you? Why am I on the ground?”

  Suddenly, she remembered what had happened and stood up. As they followed suit, she stared at them, then over at Mona and Brornar, wondering why they were looking at her as if she’d been brought back to life. All of them looked as if they were well acquainted, because the battle from earlier was over. She also realized that no one was wounded. How long had she been on the ground? Had she been unconscious?

  She looked at the young man with light brown hair and realized he went well with the dress she chose for the evening. He had a genuine smile on his face, which made him charming and naughty all at once. Suddenly, she remembered Otis and knew she still had to save him. Was he still alive?

  “I wish I could stay and talk, but I’ve got to go,” she said, almost as if she were dismissing them.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” the young man stated, still smiling. She could tell by his eyes that he was serious. Why did he seem so familiar? “Don’t ask why.”

  “Why not? Who are you?” she asked, furrowing a brow. She looked towards Mona. “We haven’t much time, whoever you are. We have a friend who needs our help.”

  Windrew realized the women were staring at each other and understood they both knew the ‘friend.’ He knew Isaac h
ad waited long enough to find Reverie, but doubted he truly accepted that she was different from the girl he once knew. Magic could do plenty of overwhelming things to the mind, least of all brainwashing. If Isaac could spend a moment with her, perhaps he would come to terms with the fact she was no longer the same. He couldn’t do anything about it. The only way was to find who cast the spell in the first place, and that sometimes proved a lifetime’s work. ‘Of course,’ Windrew scoffed inwardly, ‘what do I know?’

  “We will retrieve your friend for you,” Windrew said assuredly. “The only condition that we have is that you stay with Isaac. We’re not going to force you, if that’s what you’re thinking. We just assume, since you are a lady, you prefer doing as a lady does.”

  “Which is what?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Sitting around and twiddling my thumbs? I don’t mean to be disagreeable, and I guess you mean well, stranger, but you don’t understand the situation my friend is in. He is an enemy of the king and…”

  “He isn’t the only one,” Windrew stated as he walked away. He sidestepped Ash as he ran to his faithful rider. “We’ll have him back to you in one piece in no time. Come, willowy one, you ride with me.”

  Reverie caught hold of Ash’s reins, and then watched as Mona walked over to mount the wizard’s steed. She wished bringing Otis back whole was possible, but knew that wasn’t the case. Mona’s disheartened expression echoed hers. She didn’t know these people, especially to trust them with the life of one of her friends.

  She looked at Isaac. “Isaac, is it? What kind of name is that?”

  He smiled even brighter. “At least I have a name.”

  “Oh. Sorry. My name is Ediniah Ojala,” she said and extended her hand. He looked at it in shock, and she wondered how much a foreigner he was. Did he find handshaking offensive?

  “No offense, but I’d rather not,” he said and snatched the reins from her. “Let’s walk.”

  Reverie followed him, looking at her hand. He was obviously acquainted with the custom, but he didn’t seem easy about it. Why? She had clean hands. Well, she was in the dirt for a time. How long? Who was he to judge her? Reverie could have his head for being so cruel to her! With a sigh, she realized that she wouldn’t. Whenever she was upset, though, she threatened it. Why was she offended by him?

  “What are your intentions, Isaac?”

  “My intentions? That’s definitely an interesting question,” he said and began smiling again. She realized he was a very happy person. “I think my intentions are pretty much like any other bachelor.”

  “Sex?”

  “What?” he blushed. “No. No. Alright, let me rephrase that: my intentions are pretty much like any decent bachelor. Well, I want to get to know you.”

  “They left you alone with me to… speak with me?” she asked, astonished. “I’m not interested.”

  Isaac stopped walking and watched her take a few more paces before stopping and turning to him. He knew she was different then, even though he’d had hope that she wouldn’t be. When she stared at him, she didn’t recognize him, and the thirst for knowledge and love of nature was gone. She was an empty shell. Surely there was something he could do?

  “Why do you look so familiar? Have we met? I have the strangest feeling that we have, but I don’t believe that could be possible. I am usually very good at faces.”

  He felt as if his heart had been revived. “We have, actually. Many years ago. I remember you well.”

  “Tell me,” she said and started walking again, “it will help the time pass. Who, pray tell, is Nadia?”

  Isaac walked with her, feeling as if she was taking in everything he said. He realized, though, that making up lies would never bring his Reverie back to him. He’d read once, when he was flipping through pages of an ancient volume of magic history, that one can only truly live one life. Although Ediniah was a brilliant conversationalist, he longed for Reverie, the quiet girl he fell in love with beneath an oak. He couldn’t have both. He didn’t need both. He only wished he knew how he could bring Reverie back.

  “When do you think they will return?” she asked at long last.

  They were in her bedroom. She was standing at the window, looking up the road they’d taken. It was still beautiful out, and she loved the sun on her face. For some reason, even though Isaac had told her they’d met when she was traveling, she felt as if she knew him from somewhere else. She wasn’t going to expose him as a liar, since she did enjoy the lull of his voice, but she wondered why he was keeping the secret from her.

  “I don’t know,” he answered. “Are you sure your guard can be trusted?”

  She looked at him, smiled slightly when she realized how edgy he appeared. “You have trouble trusting people, don’t you?”

  He met her eyes. “Only certain people I don’t know.”

  “When you say ‘certain’ people, are you certain you know people you already know? How can you say you know anyone when you don’t know yourself?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing,” she said and turned back to the window. “Why don’t you shake hands?”

  “That’s really bothering you, isn’t it?” he laughed.

  Reverie lunged at him and took his hand in hers, shaking it heartily, then stepped away and walked back to the window. She tried to remain serious but began laughing, slightly at first but then uproariously. Without warning, she stopped and looked around her, blood pouring from her nose. Isaac reacted quickly when he realized she was falling, and caught her only inches from the floor.

  Reverie looked at him, searching his eyes. “Isaac, have you seen my father?” She looked around her, then back at him. “Where am I? Why am I bleeding?”

  ***

  Wrenwood remained pleasant and peaceful even when the rest of Magaren, the land to the west, seemed to be falling into a darker realm of chaos with each passing year. The people were different once they came into the society, when they were pulled in by Madame Frost or by one of her twelve council members. Since they couldn’t do anything without her approval, and Wrenwood could only house so many, the congregation met after breakfast every day.

  Emmanuel became a council member only two years after coming there unexpectedly with Truth, even though some thought it wasn’t fair that he was able to join. He wasn’t from the Cathene Continent. He wasn’t even from the same planet nor was he even as powerful as those who held such a prestigious post. Instead of taking it offensively, he would merely sit in the temple and accept their criticism, while Madame Frost looked on. Everyone knew that he was her favorite, which was why she spent her other power to assist him instead of building up defenses against dark magic. Within the first year, he had realized there was more at stake than himself, wife, and daughter. He began to see what was around him instead of what was in front of him.

  Draven Ovile, the candidate who had been overlooked, became the first person ever to go against the council and Madame Frost. He was banished when he tried to use his powers, which had grown considerably darker since he turned twenty. He threatened to return, and, though his presence hardly ever concerned Madame Frost, it began doing so shortly after Emmanuel’s second year.

  When Madame Frost gave her newest friend a third of her power, the borders around Wrenwood became susceptible to darkness. She knew her sacrifice of power would be beneficial in the future, since she’d been told he had powers yet to be unleashed. She didn’t know when, and that caused her to fear Draven.

  Emmanuel began realizing he had feelings for Madame Frost one morning only months after he’d been selected as a council member. The temple, which was located in the center of town, was as private a place as any to reveal his emotions. It was beautiful, made of marble, circular with a cone-shaped roof, and reached up several floors. The furniture inside was made of strong wood and held rich red cushioning, with the floors the same color and quite plush.