***
Yulan returned home, bleary eyed from his pre-dawn start to the day, miles of walking, and the immensity of the news he received at the Keep. Pushing through the front door, having looked forward to collapsing in his favorite chair, he was less than pleased to learn Sevra was missing and Lorna was tending to a mildly ill Mrs. Lemmin.
“Please tell me what is going on,” he asked wearily, rubbing his hands over his eyes.
“Sevra, she had some more trouble with the children today is all,” Lorna answered, running a cloth over Mrs. Lemmin’s forehead.
“That girl of yours is behind this somehow!” Mrs. Lemmin spat between coughs.
“It looks as though Mrs. Lemmin got a touch of whatever the kids had,” Lorna said in a tone implying she wouldn’t tolerate listening to such nonsense – especially from an adult.
Yulan knew better. He saw the spirits dancing around Sevra this morning, she was finally starting to exhibit outward signs of her gift. Had he not received such dire information from the Magicus Celesti today, he would have been happy to see his little Sparklebug off to receive the training she needs. She would soon outgrow what this village could provide.
Mrs. Lemmin continued on a tirade, “Rubbish! That little girl is a witch and I know she was behind this. Don’t think we all don’t know about how you just showed up with her here one day. Her parents must’ve known and cast her out, so you took her in! She’s always been off, not socializing right, always watching everyone of the adults like a gods-be-damned owl.”
“Caroline, there’s no need to be disrespectful. It seems as though you’re feeling better so you should get yourself home. I’ll go find Sevra and we’ll straighten this all out; she is only a child, despite the fact she acts like she isn’t at times,” Yulan said.
Once up, she firmly rejected Lorna’s assistance and walked to the door. “Mark my words, a sound switching will fix her straight.” The last few words sounded muffled as the door closed on her mid-sentence. He sighed heavily once he was sure she was gone.
“That woman’s as bitter as a poisonberry vine in the sweet tea,” Lorna commented. “Imagine thinking a little girl made them all sick.”
He stood there, looking ahead and not speaking.
“What, what is it?” Lorna asked.
“She’s right, Lorn. Sevra did that to those kids this morning.”
Lorna was shocked, “What do you mean?”
“Of course I can’t say she fully understood what she was doing, but she was probably upset and lashed out blindly, as children tend to do when they’re upset,” Yulan answered.
“But she couldn’t…”
“Like I said, she probably wasn’t fully aware of what she was doing. Later on when we were all in the infirmary I could sense remnants of energy about her, both forms of it,” he explained, “her gift has presented itself as I knew it always would. I would’ve hoped for something less dramatic, however. On the bright side, I suppose it could’ve been worse.”
For many, the gift was never seen coming, and Yulan heard stories about first manifestations that made his hair stand. That’s why many agents like him spread out after retirement, helping to keep watch for those who may need guidance and to maintain recruits for the Celesti.
Lorna exhaled heavily. She knew what this meant. It was time to say goodbye.
“I’ll start packing her things,” she said quietly.
“Wait,” Yulan said. He hesitated, there was something he wanted to say but was bound to not speak of.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s… nothing. Pack some of her belongings and I’ll go find her,” Yulan said. He had to trust Bernard and the other magi. It was no longer safe for anyone else to have Sevra stay here, she needed to learn control now. Weighing the risk of sending her off, knowing what was going on at the Keep, against keeping her here where she could never truly understand herself and might harm someone was one of the most difficult decisions he had to make. It pained him that he had to keep Lorna in the dark on that decision.
“She’s probably in the gardens, she always goes there when she needs to sort herself out,” Yulan said, “we’ll be right back.”
He walked by the homes of his neighbors towards the clearings, moving quietly in the dark. The town looked lonely at night, silent enough to be empty. The smell of the woods was fresh and undisturbed; he reckoned that any stranger passing through here after sundown could completely miss that there was a village here even if they passed within fifty yards.
Further away from the houses, he allowed the light of the stars and full moon to guide him. His feet crunched softly on the grass, his soft footfalls seemingly harsh against the otherwise still evening. He travelled around to the eastern edge of the garden, a small ledge of rock there allowing him to take in the entire field. After a few short minutes of watching, he caught a slight movement near its center. Peeking out from the tree he decided to stand silently and watch for a bit. A lesson he learned at some point in life was a person could often learn the most simply by standing still and shutting their mouth for a bit. A little observation might give him some sense of how to best approach her.
After a while she stopped moving and appeared to be standing still in one spot, arching her back with her arms out to her sides, her head lolled backwards.
“Oh what are you up to, little Sparklebug,” he whispered, concerned. He allowed his mind to become empty, letting it drift across the field. He felt every grain of the tree against his hand, and concentrated solely on his senses, slowly, continually reaching outwards until he could feel beyond what his mere senses could show him.
Everything sprang to life in a way Yulan had never seen before. The life force of every tree, plant, leaf and blade of grass answered to Sevra’s call. The field shone to him in the darkness, with his little girl at the center of the gentle maelstrom; white and silver strands wavered and dashed, ignited and faded by the thousands.
Sevra had never been a normal child, and from the moment he saw her could sense the gift within her. It surprised him it took so long for her to demonstrate it, but it didn’t make sense for her to be so in tune on her first day. It wouldn’t have made sense if she had been at it for years.
He sensed a gentle brushing in the space in front of him, one of the silvery strands interacting with his own emanations. Immediately the light show ceased, and the small figure at the center of the field lowered its arms and froze.
“Sevra darling,” Yulan said softly, “everything’s okay. Let me come to you.”
Yulan could sense she was frightened down to the most primal level, like a deer that just realized it was being hunted and its muscles primed to fire and flee. He moved first, hoping to get a small head start on her. She fled, but only after he already gained ten paces.
He was less concerned that she might get away, and more worried she might trip over a root or run into a tree in the darkness. His large strides quickly outpaced her, and for once he was glad she didn’t often take to racing around or playing hard like some of the other children. Catching up to her, he scooped her up in both arms and held onto her tight.
She kicked and screamed with all her strength for a few seconds, before tiring out and bursting into tears. Yulan wasn’t quite sure what to do other than comfort her. His instinct was to punish her for her rash behavior this evening, but with all of the bizarre circumstances of the day the only fitting action seemed to be sitting down and holding her for a while.
“Hush, Sparklebug, I suppose you really do sparkle, don’t you?” he said soothingly.
“What’s wrong with me Uncle Yuley?” she finally said between sobs.
“Wrong? No, there isn’t anything wrong. I promise.”
“Why do I see things that others do not?”
“Because you can look deeper,” he answered.
The resistance left her muscles, and she allowed herself to be carried off, back hom
e.
Destiny's Gem Page 5