“We’ve never understood that old fool. The only reason he still lives was because he helped the royal family. I can’t answer why he lied to you and kept you from us. I’m going to Idric with you because I want to ask him.”
“Why would you come with us when you can’t be who you are there?”
“Because I want him to answer why he kept you from us. I want him to tell me why he taught you to fear us. He would have known who you were this entire time and how important you are. Surely you have seen we mean you no harm and just want to protect you. You need to learn to use the gifts you were given.”
“I don’t know how I was given them. Do you know who my parents are?” Soryn asked.
“We still don’t know why you were born and did not appear in the form you were promised. This is why we need to bring you back from Idric and train you after everyone gets their answers from that old fool.”
“How was I promised to you? How do you know who I am when I don’t? How can you be sure I am who you think I am?”
“I had eyes on you since you first appeared. I suspected it, but I was waiting for you to play the Vudos flute to confirm it.”
“My flute?” Soryn asked, confused. “It’s just a flute. He gave it to me when I was really young and taught me a few songs. I played it enough because there wasn’t much else to do that I learned to make up my own songs.”
“That’s not any flute. It was yours before you came back to us. The two of you belong together. I have no idea where he found it. That tune you played before the tall man took it away from you in the forest was the Farkhi song. We all heard it. I don’t think I could have stopped them from coming to you if you had played long enough for them to locate you. You just played enough to let them know you are back. I’m sure the other songs he taught you are for the other tribes. If you played those songs now, they would all be here. We’ve been waiting for you for so long.”
“I don’t understand any of this and I don’t know who you think I was before, but I don’t think I am that person. If the flute is special, it was the flute calling to you and not me. I don’t know why he would give me something like that and tell me to play it on the way back knowing you would come.”
“Maybe he meant this journey to be more than just delivering a message. Not just anyone can play that flute and call to us. If anyone else in this group played it, it would just be a flute. My entire tribe heard it and wants to meet you, finally.”
“I don’t know who I am, but it’s not who you think it is,” Soryn told him.
“Dear child, I haven’t even told you who you are. I thought you wanted answers? Why don’t you let me tell you before you decide you are not who we have been waiting on?”
“I can’t be who you are waiting on. I’m just a girl.”
“Think of what you can do. Have you met anyone else who can do what you can do? You were given those abilities for a reason and you’ve only scraped the surface of your powers.”
“You mean it gets worse?”
“Why don’t you explain to her who she is? Start from the beginning because she’s already confused. She’s just going to argue she doesn’t think she’s the person you’re looking for until she hears the entire story and I have a feeling she still will after hearing it,” Leodos finally interjected.
“Why do you argue about everything,” Esylle asked her. “You keep insisting you are not Lisana and you keep telling Volaris you are not who they have been waiting on without hearing his full story. You don’t know anything about yourself. How are you so sure you are not?”
“Because I think Belisarus found me as a child and didn’t have the heart to kill me. I think he kept me there and told me not to show myself to anyone because I’m not supposed to be the way I am! I think if he had the stomach for it, he would have killed me as soon as he knew what I was. Since he couldn’t, he told me to stay hidden so I couldn’t hurt anyone. I’ve already hurt Tollam and I nearly killed three of you earlier today!”
Esylle saw she was losing control again and her eyes had changed to violet. If she erupted again, they were all sitting close to her and would be hurt. “Why don’t you let Volaris explain who he thinks you are? He seems to know Belisarus too and if Volaris knows who you are, Belisarus did too. Maybe it’s not that he didn’t have the stomach to kill you, he knew you were special and tried to keep you there because he thought it would keep you safe.”
“That is the only reason I can think that he would keep you on Idric,” Volaris told Soryn. “He may have thought he needed to keep you there to protect you while you were a helpless child. I don’t know why he thought he could protect you there better than we could and I don’t know why he didn’t tell you who you are.”
“And who am I supposed to be?” she cried. The black had gone out of her hair and it was flaming red. Her eyes were violet and she looked like she may lose control again.
“Child, I will tell you exactly who you are and what you are supposed to do, but you need to calm yourself. We are sitting too close for you to lose control again.”
Esylle watched as Soryn blew out an exasperated sigh and stormed off into the forest. Both Volaris and Leodos went after her when Frog stopped them.
“She runs to calm herself. When she comes back, she’ll be ready to talk.”
Esylle thought she knew what was wrong. “I think she’s been waiting for these answers so long that now you’re here telling her you have them and she’s not bad like she’s convinced herself she is, she’s not ready to hear it. I think she’s gone so long thinking there’s something wrong with her, it’s hard for her to hear that you think she’s someone special.”
“She’s always thought something was wrong with her,” Frog said in his strange voice. “She talked to me in the garden all the time. She thought the reason she could never leave the house and everyone would hurt her if they found out about her was because no one was supposed to be the way she is.”
“Why didn’t he just tell her when she was older?” Esylle asked, confused. “If she has really reached her nineteenth name day, why didn’t he tell her years ago? If she is Lisana and had been raised with me, she would have been married two years now. Why did he let her continue to think there was something wrong with her?”
Esylle was confused. She didn’t know Soryn’s age when she first appeared other than she looked young and around Lisana’s age. She hadn’t asked her what her name day was because she didn’t think Soryn would know it. If she really was nineteen, she should have been told the truth about herself years ago. If she really was Lisana and who Volaris thought she was, why was she just being sent to them now? Why did Belisarus wait so long to want to give her his message? She most likely could have defended herself at a much younger age. Why send her now when he had done so much damage to the girl?
Oris
His senses were heightened as Oris stalked through the forest as a lion. His father, Terros, would be furious with him when he returned to the Theran camp for straying so far and for leaving in the first place. Oris knew he had a duty, as the Theran price, to wed since his name day was approaching. He didn’t like the Theran woman chosen for him and didn’t see why he couldn’t choose himself.
The breeze stirred as he crossed by a tree and he smelled things that confused him. He smelled another Theran close by and almost ran because he thought his father had sent someone looking for him, but the breeze picked up again and he picked up the scent again. What he was smelling was Theran, but also different. He could smell grass disturbed as whatever was in the brush must have picked up his scent. It must not have been someone his father sent, nor any Theran he knew, because they were running away from him, not towards him.
He wanted to chase this strange creature that was Theran, but not Theran. He felt his muscles tense and began to run. He caught sight of something large and black go into the brush, but lost sight of them. He was surprised when the strange Theran’s scent completely disappeared.
As he got fur
ther into the brush, he could smell food cooking. He could also smell five humans, a Tempris, and a Farkhi all close together. He was curious and if there was a Tempris this far out, had they not been exterminated and had been hiding this entire time?
He knew he shouldn’t, but his father would want to know. He changed back into a man and walked slowly out the brush with his hands up to show them he meant them no harm. He was shocked to see the Princess Esylle sitting with five humans and Volaris. What was the princess doing this far out? What could Volaris possibly have to say to five humans when he knew most of their secrets because of his spies? He saw Volaris look up.
“Oris, what are you doing this far out? Does your father know you are out here?”
“Does you being out here have anything to do with the strange Theran I smelled earlier?”
Rather than getting the answers he wanted, he watched a very tall man with broad shoulders slap his hand against his knee. “How many more people is she going to expose herself to before we get to Idric because she can’t control herself?”
“I could only smell her from far away that she is both Theran and not Theran. I tried to approach her, but she ran away and I lost her scent. Who is she?”
“If she had let you get close enough, you would know. Who do you know that can be Theran and not Theran at the same time?” Volaris asked.
“It’s not possible,” Oris said. “Maybe she rolled in something that made her scent confusing.”
Volaris looked irritated with him and he couldn’t imagine why. “Boy, were you taught nothing? What are you doing so far from the Theran camp? You shouldn’t be out here. Go back to your father.”
“I’m sure my father would want to know why you are out here with five humans, the princess, and another Theran that our tribe doesn’t know about.”
“There are things I need to tell your father. Since you are here, you can relay that message. There are things happening that I’ve needed to tell the other tribes about, but I’ve had to wait because the situation is complicated. The Theran you smelled didn’t roll in anything. She is Theran and so much more.”
“How is that possible? You know what happened so long ago when someone tried to mix among the tribes.”
“Think, Oris. How can someone be Theran and more?”
Oris was confused and getting irritated with Volaris. He was answering his questions about the strange Theran with riddles. He still hadn’t attempted to tell him what he was doing with the princess and the humans, nor what message he was supposed to bring back to his father.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, nor why you are refusing to answer. I don’t know why you aren’t telling me the message you want me to bring back or why you are here with these strange traveling companions. Why is the princess so far away from the castle?”
He saw Volaris start to answer and Oris was sure it would be another riddle, then he saw Sono fly into the camp and change into a man. He watched Volaris’ temper flare and could smell anger coming off of him.
“Why are you here and not back at camp? You need to be there organizing things!”
“No, you need to be there,” Sono shot back. “Joron is safe with us. There are spies watching the Lords. They know about the girl and they are sending men after us. They also have plans to raid the tribes looking for her. They want her dead and now there are suspicions about Esylle and Joron since Esylle left with her. They are also looking for the tall man because they think he knows something.”
Oris thought this sounded like the start of another war, but couldn’t image what they could want with the strange Theran.
“Go find her,” Volaris told Sono. “She knows Oris smelled her out there and she most likely knows he’s here with us. I’m not repeating everything twice. If she’s calmed herself, tell her to come back for her answers.”
“Are you at least going to tell me about the strange Theran before she gets here?” Oris asked, not sure why everyone was refusing to answer about her, nor how she could cause that reaction with the humans.
“When she gets back and close enough to you, that will answer all of your questions about who she is.”
“Why can’t you just tell me instead of dancing around the answer?”
“It’s best you figure it out yourself,” was all Volaris would tell him. He sat there, silently raging while he waited for some girl to come back so that he could get both his message and his answer about why she smelled so strange.
Soryn
Soryn had run as soon as she smelled the other Theran. She wasn’t sure why they were out this far when she had been told the route she was taking would not take her anywhere near the tribes. Volaris didn’t want to hurt her and kept telling her she was special, but she didn’t know about the other tribes and ran into the brush, then flew away and soon as she smelled the other Theran.
She wasn’t sure why Volaris kept telling her she was special, nor why he thought she was someone they had been waiting a long time for. He seemed to think she was someone else. She had already decided, years ago, that Belisarus kept things from her because there was something bad about her that she wasn’t supposed to know. She still wasn’t sure if that bad thing was what Volaris kept talking about. She wanted him to tell her what he knew, but she didn’t think she could stand it if he confirmed her feelings that she could do the things she could for something bad.
She got close enough to the camp that she could smell and see the Theran sitting with them, but she couldn’t hear what was being said. They were cooking again, so the smell of the food would hide most of her scent from the Theran. Her senses were stronger than the Therans because of everything else she could do. She could smell anger and frustration coming off the Theran. She had never met one before, but he had blonde hair that was tied back with a leather strip and she could see that he had almond shaped green eyes. He was very good looking to Soryn, who had not met many people. She watched as Volaris got angry at Sono and he flew off. Just then, the breeze picked up and blew through her hair. She watched the Theran stand up.
“If I’m supposed to meet you to get answers about you, come out the bushes,” he called. “I can smell you in there.”
Soryn hesitated, then Leodos called out to her. “Just come out. You’ve already exposed yourself to yet another person.”
She walked out of the brush slowly. She knew Leodos was going to yell at her again, but how was she to know there would be a Theran this far out? She approached the fire and watched the Theran approach her. He had tried to chase her in the forest, but she had a feeling it was just because he smelled her. She wasn’t afraid as he turned into a giant lion in front of her to smell her better. She stood perfectly still as he approached her and walked circles around her sniffing at her. She could smell confusion coming off of him. The tribes underneath the tower changed back immediately and wanted to touch her and kiss her hands because they seemed to know exactly who or what she was. This Theran did not seem to know. Maybe Volaris was wrong when he said he knew who she was. She still wasn’t sure she could sit there and have her deepest thoughts that she was bad confirmed and not have to leave. Leodos would yell at her if she left again. She also wasn’t sure if she would lose total control again and hurt someone this time. She looked down at the lion, confused when he started to smell jubilant. He changed back into a man, but stayed on the ground and grabbed her hand, rubbing it on his face.
“I thought you were a myth!” he cried.
She pulled her hand away and went and sat by the fire. The Theran joined her and sat uncomfortably close to her. She saw Volaris go to speak when Sono joined them and sat on the other side of her. He also sat too close to her and kept shooting looks to the Theran that she didn’t understand.
She ignored both of them and looked directly at Volaris. “Tell me who I am.”
“Child, I will tell you, but are you finally ready to hear it? Will you lose control or run off and expose yourself again?
“If you’re going to
tell me everything was hidden from me because I’m supposed to do something bad, then I don’t want to know. I’ll wait and get those answers when I get home and then I’m staying there where I can’t hurt anyone.”
She sat and waited for him to answer with her heart beating in her throat. She wanted these answers more than anything, but she didn’t think she could bear being told she was supposed to do something bad and not react to it in a way that may hurt the people she was traveling with. None of them wanted to hurt her when they found out about her and she had gotten to know them, chatting around the fire the past few days. She didn’t know if she could call them friends yet because she never had any, but she didn’t want to hurt them. Volaris just looked at her sadly.
“I wish that old fool would have told you who you are as soon as you got this notion in your head that you are meant for something bad. You never were and you are only here for good reasons.”
She felt her eyes water and tried not to cry. It was a relief to be told after so long she was not bad, but she still had doubts. “If I’m not meant for anything bad, how come I can do so many things that hurt people?”
“Sit back and let me tell you a story. Don’t interrupt and don’t get upset until I finish. I’m hoping what I tell you doesn’t upset you at all and answers for you why you can do what you can do. Do you know who Essos is? Did he at least teach you that?”
“He only taught me what he thought I should know. I know nothing of Essos.”
“I’m going to kill that old fool when we get back there. Essos is our god. He helped create us. His mother was the Spirus and she had gifts. She created things for Essos to play with as a child. They were not like toys you see now. She would create for him different creatures so that he had playmates. Essos grew up like you, without many friends to play with. When the Spirus saw he was lonely, she gifted these creatures she created for him to play with the ability to change form to look like him. Though the creatures could assume the same form as Essos and mimic his movements, they were still just toys and could not speak.
The Spirus Page 11
