“Luckily, it looks like there is fresh snow out there. We should easily be able to get there within a couple of days, three tops.” He pulled out the custom, ultra-light snowshoes they had bought just a few months ago. “We better take these, too. I’m not sure what we’ll run up against and they may come in handy.”
Nicole eyed him, nodding her head gently. “Is that why you insisted I try cross-country skiing? Have you been planning this trip all along?
Sam squirmed under his mother’s scrutiny. “Ummm. Well, yes and no. I thought the skiing would be great exercise, which it is, but I had planned on going back to Gythe at least for a visit. Honestly, though, I had always thought it would be in the spring or summer. I guess we just got impatient.” He smiled weakly at her and was relieved when she smiled back. “Still, it probably wouldn’t have mattered when we left home because we don’t know what time of the year it is here. It could be the same season as on Telani or it could be another. It’s obvious that it’s not summer, and there’s more snow than there was this morning in Telani.”
“It’s a good thing you are a planner. It will be much faster to ski than to walk. How far is it?”
“Marybador is the name of the Crater Lake region here on Gythe. Actually, it’s the name of the island itself, but people refer to the whole region by that name. So, I’d say it’s probably forty or fifty miles from here, if we go straight toward it. There aren’t many roads to speak of here. Is that accurate, Nalia?”
The Sapsyr had become very quiet. When Sam looked at her, he saw her face, scrunched up as if she had eaten something that disagreed with her. “Yes, that is true, but perhaps I can find an old road.”
Sam went to her and drew her into a hug. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” he said. “I know it’ll be tough seeing it again.”
She raised her chin and looked him in the eyes. “No, it must be done. As my father would no doubt say, ‘You must clear out the brambles before you lay down your bedroll.’” She forced a smile, and he almost believed it was real. For a moment.
Squeezing her again, he set about packing things into his backpack.
The trip was uneventful. The crisp air was invigorating as they shushed their way through the trees until they found what was undoubtedly a road at one time, evident from the lack of large vegetation along the path. Though they couldn’t see the ground, the treeless snow made for easy traveling. Before he knew it, Sam was standing on the edge of the caldera that made up the border of the lake.
The bowl of the crater lay out before them, ringing in a lake with the bluest water Sam had ever seen. He thought it was even brighter in Gythe than when he had seen it in Telani when he was younger, when he and his mother had driven up to visit it. The sharply jutting walls surrounding the water were covered with snow, the green of the sparse trees poking out here and there in all their evergreen glory, breaking up the vast white landscape.
Sitting there in the middle of the deep azure of Zyrqyt Lake was the island. It was called Wizard Island on Telani, but here, it was Marybador, former home of the Sapsyra Shin Elah. The cone rising up on the far side of the island seemed to be stark and forbidding in the blue background. The water, so still that it displayed a perfect mirror image of the island, the caldera walls, and the wispy clouds that lazily crawled across the sky, made Sam thirsty.
“Oh my,” he heard his mother say from his right. “That is just beautiful!”
Nalia, as still as a statue, stood to his left and stared longingly out toward the island. Sam went to her and hugged her to himself, kissing the top of her head. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“I am…fine. It is just a shock to see it again after so many years. Can you see the shapes, just there,” she pointed to a flat area on the island where there appeared to be some rock formations under the snow, “the ruins of some of our buildings?”
Sam studied the shapes. He could see that maybe they could have been buildings rather than stone formations. “Yes.” The word seemed inadequate, but he didn’t know what else to say.
“I would take you to the island, but I am sure none of the boats have survived all these years. Perhaps we can come back at another time and I will show you where my home used to be.”
Sam squeezed her again. “No,” he said.
She tensed in his arms and her hawk-like eyes burned into his. “We can come back another time and you can show me where you will rebuild your former home, where you will rebuild the headquarters of the Sapsyra.”
She smiled then, like the sun breaking through clouds on a somber day. “Truly? You would have me rebuild my order?”
“Of course. I’ll help you in any way I can. The Sapsyra are too great a force of good on Gythe to let them disappear. The Zouyim temple needs to be rebuilt, too. It’s one of the main reasons I wanted to come back as quickly as we could. We’ll get started on it as soon as possible.”
Then she was kissing him, pulling him into her arms and making him forget who he was, where they were, and everything else that seemed to be important just seconds before. “It is not for nothing that I love you so, Sam Sharp,” she said to him, nuzzling against him as they looked out toward the ruins of her home.
“Ahem,” Nicole interrupted. “That is very sweet and I love to see it, but I’m getting kind of cold now that we’ve stopped. I enjoy the beautiful scenery, but are we going to set up camp or something? I’m not sure I have it in me to go all the way back home right now. I’m not used to this kind of exercise. I’m sore all over.”
Sam smiled at his mother. “Mom, have I got a surprise for you. Give me a few moments to prepare and I’ll show you what I mean.”
Sam went off to a flat rock a dozen feet away and scraped the snow from it. Climbing onto it, he sat there, cross-legged, and controlled his breathing, quickly attaining the khulim. He was motionless for several minutes, looking outward in his mind’s eye, recognizing the place in which he sat, learning the unique vibrations there.
After a quarter hour, he opened his eyes slowly and looked to his mother and Nalia, softly chatting while sitting on another rock close by. He began to speak when he saw the man sneaking out of some trees three dozen feet away, coming right toward them.
Chapter 4
Sam saw Nalia’s eyes widen and then she was somewhere else, having drawn her shrapezi and moved toward the man more quickly than seemed possible. No one was able to react, least of all the intruder.
“Wait,” was all that Sam could get out.
While the word was still in the air, Nalia had swept the man’s legs out from under him, causing him to fall backward into the show. Her twin swords were there in a flash, unwavering at his throat.
“Do not move or it will be the last thing you ever do,” Nalia told him, keeping her head still but moving her eyes about to look for others. The man stayed exactly where he was. In the meantime, Sam had crossed the distance and Nicole was moving toward them, breathing heavily as if she was going to hyperventilate.
“Are there more of you?” Nalia asked. The man remained silent.
“Nal, pull the swords back a bit,” Sam said. “If he tries to talk, you’ll cut him with how close they are.” She grimaced at him and continued shifting her eyes, searching. After several seconds, she nodded stiffly and pulled the swords back. An inch.
“Answer me,” she said.
“Nalia?” the man said, his voice quivering. “Nalia Wroun?”
The Sapsyr was taken aback, her eyes widening again. Then they narrowed and she glared at him. “What do you know of that name? Speak.”
“I…I…I’m Shen Nan. You remember, right? Shen. Eoria’s husband.”
Nalia lowered her shrapezi and a look Sam had rarely seen played across her face. It was the face she wore when she spoke about her mother. And about her sister Sapsyra who had been killed in the assault on the Gray Man all those years ago. She turned and took three steps toward the trees, her eyes losing focus. She didn’t say a word.
“
Nal?” Sam said, but she didn’t respond. He looked at his mother, who was already putting her arms around Nalia. She nodded toward the man who was still on his back in the snow. Sam understood. He went over and helped the man to his feet.
“That is Nalia, isn’t it?” he asked Sam softly. “I didn’t recognize her without her mask, but it must be her. No one could have taken the shrapezi from her.”
“Who are you?” Sam asked the man, helping him dust the snow off his clothes.
“Shen Nan. My wife, Eoria, was one of the Sapsyra who went with Nalia to bring justice to the Gray Man for destroying the Zouyim temple. Nalia was the only one who survived, and only because the Gray Man wanted her to deliver his message to the remaining Sapsyra. He finished the job after we had all dispersed and a few of our number broke his agreement and attacked his soldiers. He hunted down any Sapsyr left and killed them. Again, all but Nalia.”
“That was a long time ago,” Sam said. “Why are you here, Shen? What were you doing when Nalia knocked you down?”
The man flushed even redder than the cold and his short-lived battle had already made him. “I was going to try to steal your packs while you were distracted. You have to understand, it’s tough to survive out here. I wasn’t going to hurt anyone, just steal some food, that’s all. There are a few children and food is scarce this year. It’s not even winter yet and we’re already starving.”
“You are welcome to any food we have,” Sam said. “How many more of you are there?”
“There are three men, four children, and one girl who I suppose should be called a woman by now.”
Nalia had regained her composure and was stepping back toward Sam and the man. “Shen Nan,” she said, “my apologies for attacking you. I thought you meant us harm. It is good to see one who lived with us at Marybador.” She gave him the formal salute used on Gythe, the right fist cradled in the left hand. The man returned the salute.
Nalia turned to Sam and Nicole. “Perhaps you do not know because I have rarely spoken of it, but Marybador was more than just a military compound. As the home of the Sapsyra Shin Elah, it also housed the families of those sisters who were married and had children. There were two main sections of the compound: one where the single sisters lived, some in a dormitory-style, and one where the sisters lived with their families. “
Nalia’s eyes became unfocused, as if she was looking far away. “There were always family members moving about the compound, and children. Oh, seeing the children playing was a joy when so much of our lives revolved around combat and warfare.
“When the Gray Man killed all the sisters who assaulted the Gray Fortress—all except me—their families were left in the compound to grieve their passing. After I delivered the message the Gray Man forced me to take and our leader commanded us to disperse, I never again saw any of the former residents of Marybador. I suppose I assumed that they were eliminated by the Gray Man as were the remaining Sapsyra. I can see now that my reasoning was faulty.”
She turned to Shen Nan. “I am sorry I did not search out the families of my sisters and lend aid when I could.
The man ducked his head and wrung his hands. “No, Nalia. We heard rumors of the Faceless Sapsyr and the Lone Zouy—I’m assuming that was your father—and how the Gray Man’s minions were constantly searching for them to kill them. You would have put yourself at risk to find us. We would not have wanted that.”
“I understand,” Nalia said. “Thank you. Now, please tell me how it is that you are here so many years after our home was destroyed. When my father and I heard of the destruction of the compound by the Gray Man, we came and saw the wreckage but found no one here.”
“That’s easy enough to explain,” Shen Nan said. “When everyone dispersed, we went as well. With no other relatives, I stayed within fifty miles of this place. I worked for some of the local farms when the harvest required extra hands and generally moved around. Rumors spread fast and when I heard of the destruction of Marybador, I came to see for myself, much as you and Rindu did. I wept for days after seeing it. It was my home for many years.
“I tried going back to the life of a wanderer, tried to find a place where I felt comfortable, but my thoughts always returned here. Months after the compound’s destruction, I found myself standing here, looking out over what had been the heart of the Sapsyra order and I decided I would stay here, for better or worse.”
He looked longingly at the island. “I was too scared to try to stay on the island iself. What if the Gray Man’s troops came again to make sure it remained desolate? Instead, I found an area I thought suitable and I began to make a home there. I was an accomplished traveler, so I had a fine tent, some useful tools, a bow, and a long knife.
“When I found the first of the others, the girl who is now a woman, she was half-starved and unsure of anything other than that she knew this was her home. Her mother, one of the few Sapsyra who did not go to the Gray Fortress, was found and killed by the Gray Man’s assassins while she hid nearby and was not detected. The others trickled in as well, and we have made a permanent camp of a sort. We live day by day, trying to survive, not sure of what the future will hold.”
Nicole had a sorrowful look on her face. Nalia’s was stern, jaw clenched, as if she was angry…or as if she was tamping down emotion.
“Where is your camp?” Sam asked.
Shen Nan pointed to the north. “Just over there, a mile or so. We didn’t want to be too close in case others came. It was only chance I was here today. I stand and look out over what used to be my home often, remembering.”
“We have tasks we must complete,” Nalia said, “but once we have made sure it is safe, we will come back for you. For all of you. You said you were hungry enough to steal food. Will you be able to stay where you are for a few more days if we provide what food we have?”
“We can. There is nowhere else for us to go. Eat or starve, we will stay here.”
“We will give you what food we brought,” Sam said. “Within a few days, we will return for you. We plan on making sure Marybador is rebuilt, but until then, I believe we will have a place for you.”
The man grabbed Sam’s hands. “Thank you. Rebuild Marybador? Just that news alone will keep us from starving for a month. I must go and tell the others. Will you come and meet them?”
Nalia answered, “We cannot. We must see how things stand at the Gray Fortress as soon as possible. We will return soon, whatever the situation there.”
“Alright,” the man said. “I will tell the others to expect you. Be cautious. We will look for you in two days, and every day thereafter, at noon.” He bowed to Nalia, who returned his bow, then he did the same with the other two. With one more look at the island sitting in the middle of the calm, azure lake, he headed off toward his camp.
Sam watched the man go. “It looks like we already have a start to repopulating the new compound.” Nalia smiled at that.“Okay,” he said to them, “let’s go. We have things to do.”
His mother sighed and started to put her skis back on, but Nalia touched her arm, said something Sam couldn’t hear. The two of them walked with him to the flat rock on which he had been meditating.
The women climbed up onto the rock with him and sat. “Just sit still for a minute, please,” he said to them and closed his eyes, resuming the controlled breathing he did now as second nature.
He fixed firmly in his mind the vibratory signature of his home. Adjusting his own vibrations within his mind, he pictured himself and the two women encircled by a glowing field, his aura. With a final push from his mind, he made the vibrations of all three of them the same as those of his home. He felt the world lurch slightly and then stop.
When he opened his eyes, he saw his mother’s face light up with excitement, tempered a bit by confusion. They were back in the living room of their home, skis and boots dripping snow.
“Oh, Sam,” his mother said, breathless, “that was fantastic. I know you have told me the stories about Gythe and how you lea
rned to teleport, but wow. I never really thought about what it would be like to do it. That was amazing!”
“Yeah,” Sam winked, “I’m just full of surprises. Let’s hope I continue to be so.”
Chapter 5
After a good night’s sleep, the three worked at moving everything they wanted to keep from the house into the workshop. Sam had been moving things to the storage section of his workshop for more than a month, so it didn’t take long. The largest portion of the task had been putting shelves in one part of the storage area and moving his books there. He definitely wasn’t going to leave those behind.
“Do you hear that?” Sam asked as he was walking back toward the house to make one final sweep for anything they may have forgotten but may need.
“I do,” Nalia said. “What is it?”
Sam walked around the house slowly, listening intently. There. Something was making noises toward the rear of the house. He got down on hands and knees and put his head near the large firewood bin. The soft sounds of mewling floated in the air and then faded into nothingness, almost too softly to be heard. Sam looked at Nalia and she back at him.
Carefully and slowly opening the door to the bin—it was old and didn’t fit well, with gaps as large as Sam’s hand—Sam looked inside. “Yep, just as I thought,” he said, lifting the lid completely and swinging it out of the way.
There was a cat nestled in the space, lying on her side. She was long-haired, white with multi-colored patches all over her body. Five tiny kittens were nursing and one other, seeming to have lost its way, raised its head, eyes still closed tight, and mewed pitifully.
Sam reached down and pet the mother while gently nudging the straggler toward the source of food. It found an opening and started to eat voraciously.
Nalia had grown silent and still. Sam looked at her and saw in her face wonder and excitement. “They are babies? That is how cats begin their life?”
Harmonic Magic Series Boxed Set Page 57