“Well, you should listen to her. There is enough for you to worry about without adding Myrnai’s choices to your burden.”
Ky’ara nodded, blinking back tears. Taren took her hand and pulled her to him. The pain in Ky’ara’s chest melted away as he held her. What had happened in the clearing, in Death and with Myrnai…well, it was still a lot to process. She would probably have nightmares about Ekzhad for the rest of her life. At least now she could stop fretting over the rest of it.
“All right, I think it’s time to get going,” Joran interjected. Ky’ara shot him a look.
“He’s right,” Taren murmured, “It’ll be dark soon—we need to find a good place to camp.”
Ky’ara nodded, wiping her eyes and giving Joran a sheepish look. “Sorry for holding us up. Hopefully we can make up the time by moving faster now that you won’t be so distracted?”
“Actually, I have an idea about that,” Taren said. He turned to Joran. “Do you remember how you found old Evlyn’s house?”
The boy nodded, looking contemplative. “You want me to try to do the same for the lake? But I was able to get a sense of Evlyn from Berd’s mind, and he described where she lived too…”
“Your connection with Ky’ara should make it even easier to do something similar with the lake. Have her describe it how she sees it in her visions and maybe you’ll be able to get a sense of how it feels enough to find it that way.”
Joran nodded and then looked at Ky’ara expectantly.
“Here, this’ll be faster,” she said, taking his hand. She opened her mind to him, showing him the lake and the island as she saw them in her dreams. He closed his eyes, absorbing everything about the image—the chilly caress of the mist, the scent of fresh pine, even the muffled lapping of water against the shore. After a moment he bent and touched the ground, sending out an inquiry. This time was much easier than when he’d tried to find Evlyn’s cottage. The land here in some ways felt more alive—the thrum of the earth responding more immediately beneath his hand. The image he had sent out came back to him, with a sense of where it was in relation to them. This time, he held on to the impression and memorized every detail, so he wouldn’t lose it when the moment passed.
“We’re close,” he said when he was done, standing and brushing the dirt from his hand, “if we hurry, we can probably reach the shore by nightfall. I’ll lead.”
Ky’ara and Taren fell in behind him as the young Keeper forged ahead through the tangled undergrowth. This time, his footing was confident and he avoided the hidden obstacles as easily as boulders on an open plain. Taren looked at Ky’ara. “I guess I should’ve suggested that sooner,” he said.
Ky’ara smiled, “And have missed out on all that creative complaining?”
“I think I’d have been just fine without it,” Taren replied.
“Hurry up you two!” Joran called, “The sooner we get there the sooner we can eat! I’m so hungry I could eat one of these trees, needles and all.”
“Well at least he’s not complaining about the foliage anymore,” Taren grumbled.
Ky’ara just shook her head and ducked under a low hanging branch, speeding up to keep Joran in sight. Either his enthusiasm was contagious or a part of her sensed that the object of their search was close. She couldn’t help feeling a little excited—they were almost there.
Chapter 17: Now is Found
Jenie peered around the corner of a neighboring house, watching the soldiers a little apprehensively. She turned and knelt in front of Misha, taking her daughter’s hands and looking her squarely in the eyes. “This might be a little scary, dear. But just know that Mommy is going to be here with you the entire time, okay? We’re going to help Daddy and your brother and sister.”
Misha nodded silently, looking every bit as frightened as Jenie felt.
“Whatever happens in the next couple minutes, remember, Mommy loves you baby,” Jenie said, trying to keep the tears from coming as she steeled herself for what she was about to do. “Ok Misha, stay close,” she murmured, and with a deep breath, she marched around the corner and right towards the men guarding the wagon.
“YOU ARROGANT, STUPID BULLIES!” she yelled, “WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO TAKE MY HUSBAND?”
“Ma’am, calm down please—” one of the soldiers began.
“CALM DOWN? WHY SHOULD I CALM DOWN WHEN YOU HAVE MY CHILDREN LOCKED UP? YOU SPINELESS, VULGAR, HOGS!”
Andru, who had been calmly sleeping in his sling, woke up and started wailing. Jenie silently apologized to her poor, confused baby. She felt Misha clinging to her skirt. From the muffled sniffles coming from that general vicinity, she gathered that her toddler was crying as well.
One of the soldiers came out of the house and approached her. His uniform showed him to be the captain. “You say the man we got in here is your husband?” he asked.
“Yes, and I demand you release him and my children at once. You don’t have a shred of proof—” Jenie shouted. Her tirade was cut off as he slapped her across the mouth. Both children were howling loudly now, and Jenie squeezed Misha’s hand in comfort even as she feigned shock and let a little of her fear show. So help her, if he struck her children as well…
“You and your family are accused of crimes against the kingdom,” the captain said, motioning to the other soldiers.
“For what?” Jenie asked angrily, “Do you have any real reason to believe we’re involved with those rebels the king is after, or did you just march into town and decide to start arresting anyone who looked sideways at you?”
She really couldn’t fault them for arresting her husband; involvement with the rebellion was clearly breaking the law. But she was certainly going to condemn their methods, and if she could find out just how much they knew, well that was just an added bonus.
“Put her with the others,” the captain instructed the soldiers, turning back to the house.
“What? Wait, no!” Jenie struggled mildly as the soldiers grabbed her arms, not wanting to get hit again, but needing to sell the deception.
“You’re a coward!” Jenie called at the captain as she was dragged to the wagon.
The door was unlocked, and she shielded the baby as the soldiers tossed her inside. Misha was kicking and screaming in the arms of another soldier. Jenie was surprised as he carefully deposited the little girl next to her mother and gave them a slightly apologetic look before closing the door. The lock clicked into place and Jenie turned to face her husband.
“I had hoped you were halfway to Doraicolé by now,” Hal said, even as she held out her arms and pulled all of her children into a fierce hug. “What are you doing here?”
“Rescuing you,” she replied, tears running down her cheeks as Ferdy clung to her.
He raised an eyebrow and she gave him a small smile.
“Shhh, it’ll be alright,” she murmured to the kids, “we’re going to get you out of here.”
* * * * *
Geri watched the capture with apprehension, clenching his fists when the captain slapped Jenie. But the soldier’s suspected nothing and they tossed Jenie and her kids in the carriage without searching her for weapons or tying her hands. He paid careful attention to who held the keys and where they stowed them. If they got a chance, it would help to get their hands on those. For now, however, he and Amischel just had to wait for morning and hope they would be able to pull this off—otherwise he had just gotten Jenie and her remaining children captured for nothing.
* * * * *
Just after the sun set, Joran emerged from the trees onto a small, rocky beach. Ky’ara and Taren followed shortly thereafter and Ky’ara caught her breath in excitement. A dark expanse of water stretched before them, the waves gently lapping against the shore. The lake disappeared into the darkness before she could make out the opposite shore, but she thought she could see the faint outline of an island way off in the distance.
“This the place?” Joran asked.
Ky’ara nodded, walking to edge of the water an
d peering into the darkness. She used the Sight to check for any signs of necromantic residue, and then murmured a short spell. Light flowed out across the lake, briefly illuminating a large outcropping of trees near the center. To the left they could see where the river they’d been following flowed out of the larger body of water. It was a good thing they hadn’t stuck entirely to that route—the journey along the shoreline from that point to this would’ve been mucky and difficult.
“Now how do we get there?” Joran asked as the light faded and the island disappeared once more.
“We don’t,” Taren said, “We wait for morning when we can see it clearly. Then we can build a raft and cross when we know exactly where we’re going.”
Ky’ara started to agree, but a vague feeling of urgency seemed to grow inside her. She looked up at the moon, just barely visible now above the tree tops. It was nearly full tonight…no, wait, it was full tonight. But part of it was dimmer than the rest—still visible, just shadowed. An eclipse, she realized.
“Darkness only can reveal what has already passed,” Ky’ara murmured, recalling a passage from the book.
“Huh?” Joran asked, giving her an odd look.
“We have to get there tonight,” she declared, dropping her pack and rummaging through it for the book. She pulled out the green volume and paged through it, holding the crystal above it so the words would appear.
“Time and place can be, in some instances, necessary to the revelation of certain truths… only in the Doorways of Wisdom and the Halls of Learning can some secrets be revealed,” Ky’ara read quietly. She closed the book with a snap and looked over at Taren.
“We have to get to the island, and we have to do it NOW. I think the key to reading what is in this book,” she held up the blue volume from the bookstore in Gallagos, “is an eclipse…specifically that eclipse, and only in Eléirathös…which means we have, at most, an hour to get there before the eclipse reaches totality.”
Taren nodded, clearly recognizing that this was not the time to question her. He looked around at the trees. “We don’t have time to build much of a raft…you could freeze the surface of the water and we could walk across…but that would take a great deal of energy and could be dangerous…”
“Over here!” Joran called from down by the water. He’d wandered down by the shoreline to look for anything helpful. There, overturned next to a tangle of weeds, was a small boat. It looked like the dinghy from a larger vessel.
“Didn’t Evlyn mention a ship blown upriver in a storm?” Taren asked blandly.
“Apparently everything that happens has some connection to me,” Ky’ara said with exasperation. She sighed, “But in this case I’m just glad we don’t have to swim across.”
They worked the boat free of the weeds and turned it over. The inside was not the cleanest and Ky’ara shuddered to think what kind of bugs might be crawling around under the dead grass, leaves, and mud that caked the bottom. She murmured a quick spell to scoop the worst of the sludge out, and then helped the boys push it to the water’s edge. Joran and Ky’ara climbed in and pulled off the oars lashed to the inside of the frame. Taren gave it a swift, hard push and then jumped in. They were off.
Joran rowed them towards the general area where they’d seen the island while Ky’ara squinted through the mist that now rose off the water. They sat in silence. The splash of the oars sounded unnaturally loud in the darkness. More than once Taren turned sharply towards a muffled sound or movement in the distance, reaching for a weapon and listening intently. But there was nothing there.
Ky’ara thought she saw faint lights in the water far below the surface. Were there nymphs accompanying them? Or was it something less friendly? After the attack by the necromancer, the darkness was difficult to navigate without expecting every shadow or flicker of movement to be something far more sinister.
“Do you think we’re still headed in the right direction?” Ky’ara asked in a hushed tone. Somehow talking seemed…irreverent. The air felt heavy with magic. Something was definitely different about this place.
Joran nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. “The images you gave me…they included the island, so I can sense it—even through this mist.”
Ky’ara sat anxiously on the edge of her seat until Taren sat up straighter and peered through the darkness. “Do you hear that?” he asked. Joran nodded, adjusting his course just slightly. Ky’ara listened carefully, but didn’t hear anything but the splash of the oars and the lapping of water against the boat.
“The waves sound different,” Taren explained, seeing her confusion. “We can hear the way they splash up against each other on their way back after they hit land.”
A little later, Ky’ara saw trees materializing out of the gloom ahead. She felt her anticipation increase. Joran guided the boat to the beach until they felt sand scrape the bottom. Ky’ara stepped off the boat and onto the shore. This was definitely the place. She’d been here so many times in her dreams; it was almost hard to believe she was here physically this time…some part of her felt that she must be sleeping.
Almost trance-like, she walked across the beach and into the trees. Joran and Taren pulled the boat up onto the sand a safe distance and then hurried to catch up to her. More than half the moon was now in shadow. Feeling a sense of urgency that hadn’t been evident in her dream, Ky’ara hurried through the woods, following some sixth sense that led her along what she tentatively recognized as the route from her dreams. She rounded the last tree, expecting to come up against the stone wall…but there was nothing there.
Ky’ara stopped abruptly, staring at the empty clearing in front of her. Joran and Taren caught up and stopped beside her.
“It should be here,” Ky’ara whispered,
“How do you know it’s not further on?” Taren asked.
“In my dream and in what Nisse showed me…” Ky’ara trailed off. Something was happening. As more of the moonlight disappeared, a hazy image appeared in front of them, becoming more solid every second. The stone wall was just as it had appeared in her dream.
“This way,” Taren said, a strange note in his voice.
“You recognize it?” Ky’ara murmured, already knowing the answer.
“It is the inner wall…the one surrounding the Druids’ Keep,” Taren said. He seemed almost to be speaking to himself rather than answering her. “The question is, where is the rest of the city?”
The answer became apparent as they rounded the corner and climbed a set of steps to the top of the wall. From this vantage point they could see the whole island, all the way down to the beach where they’d come ashore. Interspersed among the trees were piles of stone and lines of broken and rotting wood—the remnants of what must have once been magnificent buildings. The ruins spread all the way down to the water’s edge and further.
“The lake itself hides the city,” Taren said thoughtfully, “and with the forest to hide the lake, no one ever thought that maybe it was here all along.”
“Being, you know, not actually here probably helped too,” Joran pointed out wryly.
“Was it actually gone, or was it just invisible?” Ky’ara mused. “The path we followed from the beach actually avoids any of the ruins themselves and I never actually tried to walk into the clearing…”
“I imagine we’ll find out sooner or later,” Taren said, “But right now we need to figure out where exactly we’re supposed to go…the eclipse won’t last forever and you need it to read that book, right?”
Ky’ara nodded. She’d almost forgotten the book in the excitement of finding the city. They turned to look at the part of the city that was inside the wall. In the very center, amidst the other ruins, was a tall stone building that Ky’ara recognized.
“There—that’s what the naiad showed me,” she said, pointing.
Taren nodded. “The archives. Of course.”
His voice held a note of something Ky’ara couldn’t quite decipher…resignation? Fear? He ignored the quizzical look
she shot him and headed along the wall to the stairway that led to the other side. They followed him down and into the ruins of what had once been his home.
“Is it difficult to see it like this?” Ky’ara asked softly.
Taren shrugged. “I suppose…I knew it had been destroyed, but it’s different actually seeing it...and yet a part of me just can’t quite believe this is Eléirathös.”
Ky’ara wasn’t sure how to respond to this. She looked up at the moon, trying to gauge how much time was left. Totality would occur any minute now…Did the book even need to be in a certain place to work? The other one had worked anywhere, according to Calistra. It just had to be under the light of a full moon on the fall equinox. But that book had indicated that time and place were integral to the revealing of some truths, and her instincts told her that was the case with this one. She needed to be in that tower…and something told her she needed to be alone.
* * * * *
Calistra listened distractedly as the Shaari commander explained the most recent squabble between her warriors and the rebel soldiers. Apparently one of the captains had suggested that using a staff was silly, because a sword could cut it in half, and the Shaari (who primarily fought using glaives) had taken offense. Or something like that. She was having a hard time focusing on anything right now. Geri still hadn’t reported back.
“I’m sure you can work it out,” she said absently when the commander finished speaking and looked at her expectantly.
“We have tried!” the commander was starting to sound annoyed, “He has rejected all challenges and refuses to allow Kejan the chance to defend his honor!”
Calistra struggled not to role her eyes. She knew exactly why the soldier refused to duel. Her men had all been threatened with latrine duty and being put on the front line for the duration of the invasion if they accepted Shaari honor-challenges. The last thing she needed was increased tensions between the groups because some silly boy got himself killed trying to prove he was better than a Shaari warrior.
The Keeper's Heritage Page 28
