The UnFolding Collection Two

by S. K. Randolph

  The cabin, tucked at the back edge of the clearing, felt empty and alone. No suspicious sounds or movements alerted her to danger. Still, it never hurt to be careful. Flying a zigzag pattern between tall trees, she came to rest on the shaded rooftop of an out building. Across the way, Majeska leapt lightly onto the cabin’s front stoop, her tail switching from side to side. Gray ears twitched, and amethyst eyes widened. Almiralyn knew her time ticked away.

  A window at the back of the cabin gaped, wide and dark, at the forest beyond. Gold-tipped wings carried her through into the musky coolness of Allynae’s home. Small and cozy, it had one large room on the main floor and a sleeping loft above. No one had invaded the space. Only Allynae’s essence hung in the air. Shifting, but remaining within the shadows, Almiralyn made her way to the fieldstone fireplace.

  As large as an ostrich egg, Novissi sat on the mantle. The center glowed a welcome as she approached. Its tie to Elcaro made it a powerful weapon in the hands of the wrong people, and its link to Evolsefil made it a prize to be sought at any cost for those determined to rule the Inner Universe. It would be foolhardy to have both the crystal and the Eye in her possession. Her only choice was to hide it. Cradling it in her hands, she whispered,

  “Achieve a size to keep you hidden,

  So those who come to you unbidden

  Will look beyond your shining light

  And only see the dark of night.”

  As Novissi reduced in size, it pulsing warmth cooled. Almiralyn held the one inch high crystal between the thumb and index finger of her right hand, inhaled, and blew. The light in the crystal extinguished. Placing it carefully in a darkened triangle created by two books on the bookshelf, she stepped back to view her handy work. Novissi was invisible.

  Majeska meowed from the windowsill. It was time to go. Shifting, she flew out the window and into the trees. Two soldiers moved with trained stealth to hide behind the out buildings. Another duo darted to the side of the cabin.

  Although other duties called, she remained a watcher, a protector, perched in the shadows. With luck, the four men would find nothing of interest in Allynae’s home.

  With a sense of misgiving, Paisley stood in the east-facing entrance to Nemttachenn and studied the clearing. What , he wondered, will I do if soldiers come here? How can I possibly fight them off?

  A cool breeze brushing his cheeks sent goose bumps leaping up the back of his neck. He turned and gulped. Encased in a misty, blue light stood a tall, almost transparent figure of a man. Is it an apparition or a ghost or what? Paisley stared, rubbed his eyes, and stared once more.

  White-gray hair glowed bluish in the light and fell from a center part to the man’s shoulders. Deep-set eyes, so dark no pupils could be seen, bored into his from beneath shaggy, white brows. Under the fleshy nose, an upper lip, almost hidden beneath a white mustache, stretched in a smile of sorts to show a full set of healthy teeth. Brushing the man’s collarbone, a white beard trimmed to the shape of his elongated chin completed the picture. The most astonishing thing of all, however, was his height. Paisley, who stood six-foot-nine-inches, rarely found himself eye-to-eye with anyone; but here he was eye-to-eye with… He cleared his throat. “Who ya be?”

  The bearded chin lifted. The massive chest swelled. “I am the Sentinel of Nemttachenn and the Protector of Myrrh. I am CheeTrann.”

  Paisley twisted his mustache around his finger. “Ahhhh. I’ve heard your voice but never thought to see ya.” He let his hand drop and shuffled his feet.

  Big fists resting on his hips and booted feet apart, CheeTrann continued his intimidating stare. “You do not need to worry about the soldiers who tramp uninvited through Myrrh’s woods. Almiralyn left Evolsefil in my care. I can protect it and you.”

  Paisley smiled at the grandness in the tone. “Your help is appreciated, CheeTrann. How t’ pass the time is my question.”

  Laughter rolled through the tower. “Time? You know nothing of time.” Another laugh ended in a thoughtful expression. He pointed at Paisley. “You play chess?”

  A broad grin spread across Paisley’s face. “My favorite game.”

  CheeTrann swirled his hand in the air and pointed to the side of the staircase that spiraled up the tower walls. In the glow of a lantern sitting atop a round table appeared a chessboard. Carved pieces lined up on either side awaited the pleasure of the players.

  “Shall we?” CheeTrann made a grandiose sweep of his hand.

  Looking from the ghostly figure to the chess table, Paisley gave his mustache a tug and nodded. “I’d be honored.”

  CheeTrann settled his huge body on a chair clearly designed for his big frame. “I plan to win,” he rumbled.

  Paisley took the chair opposite and looked him in the eye. “So do I.”

  The ancient spirit of Nemttachenn picked up a pawn from each side of the table, put them behind his back, and then held out his fisted hands. Paisley tapped the right fist. The big hand opened. Taking the white pawn from CheeTrann’s palm, Paisley replaced it on the board. He had won the first move.

  The soldiers at Allynae’s cabin had searched it and the outbuildings and jogged away through the woods. Satisfied they wouldn’t return anytime soon, Almiralyn flew to warn the Wood Tiffs. She materialized outside the leader of the Wood Tiff’s treetop bungalow and knocked. A baby’s cry informed her that Sibine, Tibin’s mate, was home. The Tiffet, who stood barely four feet tall, opened the door with a wee baby Tiff on her hip.

  Brown, almond-shaped eyes fluttered in surprise. With a self-conscious smile, she patted a flyaway brown curl into place. “Almiralyn,” Sibine breathed and bobbed a curtsy, “how can I help you?”

  Almiralyn tried to keep the worry out of her voice. “Is Tibin here?”

  “He is. Please come in.” The Tiffet stepped aside. When Almiralyn had ducked through the doorway and straightened, Sibine indicated a small sofa. “Please have a seat while I fetch him. Would you like to hold Adin?”

  Almiralyn reached for the Tiff with a smile. “How did you know I wanted to cuddle your son?”

  Sibine laughed. “I saw it in your eyes, my lady.” She sobered. “I also see trouble. I’ll get Tibin.”

  Adin sucked his tiny fist and kicked his chubby legs.

  “You are quite beautiful, you know.” Almiralyn touched his soft brown curls and kissed the top of his head, savoring the magic of a new life and the peace and gentleness of the TreeOm.

  The patter of feet signaled the arrival of Tibin and Sibine. Adin gurgled as his mother took him and scurried away down the hall.

  Tibin bowed. “How can I be of service?”

  “Please sit, Tibin. Much has happened since you departed my cottage several sun turnings ago.”

  Taking a seat, he interlaced his fingers over his round belly and raised troubled brown eyes to hers. Knowing this small man to be her stalwart supporter, she laid out all that had occurred and concluded with the most frightening part. “A platoon of soldiers from RewFaar came through the Demrach Gateway and advances on my cottage as we speak. You must warn the Wood Tiffs to stay hidden. I also need you to find Kieel, leader of the Terces Nyti, and inform him of the danger.”

  By the time she finished, Tibin’s face had lost most of its ruddy color. “RewFaar, the planet of warfare.” He shuddered. “I can’t believe RewFaaran soldiers have invaded the Terces Wood. How many are in a platoon?”

  “Anywhere from sixteen to fifty. Yuin said he counted twenty-four.”

  Tibin stared at his hands. When he looked up, determination had set his usually merry face in stern lines. “Besides telling my people and the Nyti, what can I do to help?”

  “Remain hidden, my friend. These men will not hesitate to detain and torture anyone to gain the information they require. You know too much about the twins. Your capture would be fatal for you and for them. If I need you, I’ll send a message.” At the door she paused. “Your son is quite special. Keep him safe, Tibin.”

  Ducking onto the small veranda, she shifted
form and shot up through the forest canopy. The soldiers advancing on her cottage were pulling their noose tight.

  Sibine watched her Tiffin from the doorway. Adin had settled for his nap more quickly than usual, and she had slipped down the hall in time to hear Almiralyn’s description of a platoon. The idea of so many soldiers marching through the Terces Wood scared her more than she would ever tell Tibin.

  He turned and opened his arms. She threw hers around his neck and planted a kiss on his pale cheek. “Oh, Tibin, life has become so…” Unable to find a word to describe her turmoil, she shook her head.

  “We have to be brave, dearest.” Gentle hands smoothed her hair away from her face. He lifted her chin. His kiss, filled with all his mixed emotions, left her trembling. For a moment, he held her, and then he grabbed his hat from the coat tree by the door. “Don’t leave the TreeOm. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  The silence left by his departure made her heart ache. After the upheaval caused by the DiMensioner subsided, she had hoped for the sake of their son that life in Myrrh would return to its peaceful existence. It appeared instead that an uproar unlike any she had ever known was already in process. Soldiers from RewFaar in the Terces Wood! Swallowing her fear, she scurried down the hall to check on her son.

  Almiralyn landed in the thick foliage of an oak tree at the most distant edge of her land and surveyed the view. Soldiers in camouflage circled the perimeter of what had been the clearing surrounding her home. Large spiders scuttled around their webs in alarm. A snake slithered into hiding. Still unconscious, Grantese Tesilend sprawled where she had left him. Somewhere, a man swore and received a whispered reprimand. A murder of crows swooped above the ruins, soared skyward, and disappeared over the forest. Silence, like an oppressive watcher, settled over the area.

  Rustling bushes disturbed the hushed stillness. Soldiers crept forward, their weapons drawn. An officer stepped into view and raised his arm. Eight men equally spaced around the clearing hunkered low. The officer dropped his arm. The men, dodging from tree to ruin to tree, skulked into the open.

  Two crouched beside Tesilend. One alerted the officer, who hurried toward them, a medic at his heals. A quick conference sent one of the soldiers back into the trees. The others remained vigilant—on guard—half hidden in the rubble.

  The medic knelt next to the prone Grantese and made a quick exam.

  “Well,” demanded the officer, “how is he?”

  “He’s coming around, sir.”

  Tesilend’s eyes opened and sighted his commanding officer. With the help of the medic, he managed to sit. He took an offered canteen, sipped its contents, and looked around. “What the…” He struggled to his feet. “Where am I, sir?”

  The officer gave him a puzzled look. “We’re at the coordinates for the Guardian of Myrrh’s cottage, Grantese, but these ruins are all we’ve found.”

  Tesilend closed his eyes, inhaled, and opened them again. “I swear to you, I saw a cottage and a barn…” He hesitated. “The ruins look like they have been here for quite some time. And these spiders…” An expression of distaste accompanied by a disgusted shiver came and went in an instant. “They weren’t here, or—”

  “How did you get here?” The officer interrupted. “You were supposed to return to DerTah.”

  “Sir, I was captured and brought back to a cottage.” He told what he could remember of his story.

  From her hiding place, Almiralyn smiled with satisfaction when was no mention of the Pentharian was forthcoming. Her gentle mind probe had been more effective than she expected. Grantese Tesilend remembered her, Allynae, and Jordett. Paisley was a vague figure he only thought he recalled.

  She wondered why Lorsedi had sent a platoon, and a well armed one at that, when a few could have marched in and overpowered her small group of supporters? Of course, they would have had to disable her, but even she could not stand against the weapons these soldiers carried. What does he really want? Elcaro’s Eye is only part of it. His granddaughters, Sparrow, and her mother…all are important but—

  “Let me go,” squawked a frightened voice.

  “Stop kickin’, ya little brat.” A soldier marched from the trees with a squirming Tiff under his arm and deposited him at the feet of the officer. “Found this little varmint spyin’ in yonder trees.”

  The youngster, barely two and a half feet tall, straightened his shirt, pushed a tangled brown curl away from his face, and glared. “I belong here. You don’t.”

  “You have a lot of spunk for one so small.” The officer looked down at him with obvious curiosity. “My guess is you’re a Wood Tiff. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Sibee, and you’d better let me go or my friend will be angry.”

  “I think, Sibee, that I’ll take a chance on your friend’s anger.” He turned his attention to the soldier who had discovered him. “Take him and keep him out of trouble. I’ll question him later.”

  The soldier grasped the Tiff by the arm and marched him back toward the trees.

  “Jordy will save me. You just wait and see,” Sibee shouted over his shoulder.

  Almiralyn ruffled her feathers in despair. Oh, Sibee, you are in more trouble than you know. And how on Myrrh am I going to save you?

  26

  ConDra’s Fire

  DerTah

  B rie and Esán joined the group at the base of the DerTahan dune where Nichi, still holding Seval’s hand, pointed at the green tops of desert palms breaking up the monotony of the sandy vista. “My home there,” she was saying. “I show you Eissua. You see gift from desert spirits.”

  Hurrying ahead with Seval, she led them along a faint path between thick clumps of tall, stocky trees, where the shade of late afternoon wafted cool air through the weave of their kcalos, drying the sweat and drawing the heat from their bodies.

  Gradually, the trees became more numerous, shaping a circular boarder at the top of a rise and casting long shadows across the sun-washed sand. Nichi stopped and pointed. “Eissua Oasis, home of my people, the Atrilaasu Dansmen.”

  Brie could only gaze in wonder at the dramatic and unexpectedly beautiful landscape spreading out like a mirage in the setting sun.

  “Woooow!” Ira’s exhaled exclamation said it all.

  As though a great hand had scooped the sand away, a basin stretched from the bottom of the rise to a rocky outcropping on the far side of a large expanse of water. Trees and desert shrubs clustered, not only along the water’s edge, but in groupings that climbed the rolling dunes on three sides of the oasis. Sprinkled throughout were black tents in varying shapes and sizes. Bright banners on either side of the tent flaps fluttered in the slight breeze, creating a symphony of color.

  The sun hovered, round and red, above the rocky outcropping, staining it deep shades of crimson and gold and painting the water with streaks of turquoise, rose, and purple. Flowing from the rocks, a small waterfall glistened in the last moments of daylight. Amongst all this beauty, men, women, and children gathered to stare at the strangers who gazed at their home in awe.

  “It is so beautiful,” whispered Torgin. “I had no idea someplace this spectacular could be found in all this sand.”

  Nichi, pride shining in her eyes, led them down the slope. Seval clung to her hand, his sadness softened by a smile of wonder. Torgin and Ira walked side-by-side. Yaro in his fox form trotted beside his heart brother.

  Brie lagged behind with Esán.” When I read about Eissua Oasis, I had no idea I would ever see it,” she confided.

  Esán fingered the book in his pants pocket. “Neither did I. I can’t remember if it’s fed by an aquifer or an underground lake, but water is sure a welcome sight.”

  The group ahead of them stopped. Nichi motioned them to one side and then she turned, her eyes seeking Brie’s. Dropping to one knee, she placed her hand on her heart and bowed her head. Those gathered behind her followed her lead. Seval looked at Torgin and Ira and knelt. They exchanged glances and dropped to their knees. Esán squeez
ed Brie’s hand, stepped to the side, and knelt.

  A lone woman remained standing. WoNadahem Mardree, the headwoman and Oracle of the Atrilaasu, waved her closer. Brie walked several steps and stopped. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into eyes so remarkable she could not pull her gaze away.

  The woman’s hand brushed her cheek. A sudden rush of coolness flooded Brie’s senses. Her heartbeat quickened and slowed as her arms stretched wide and the air around her began to shimmer. The sound of rushing water, the luscious feel of it against her skin, and the realization that she had become a fluid and liquid force lifted her with underwater slowness above the oasis into the arc of the red sky. A song of wonder burst from her throat. The notes rained down on the upturned faces of the kneeling Dansmen.

  Conscious of her transformation for the first time, she pressed her watery wings against the air and soared over the sands of DerTah. Beneath her the oasis shone like a star sapphire in an expanse of undulating sand. “Brie, come back! ” The words rustled through her mind like a breeze. She hovered above the desert lake and gazed from glistening blue eyes at the magnificence of the creature she had become. One word formed in the part of her that remembered Human. “Esán! ”