by E L Russell
A diminutive man dressed in the gray robe of a Seeker stood looking over the fields, but at their approached, he turned, and removed his hood, revealing long white hair, piercing blue eyes, and wrinkles folded in wrinkles. Although his voice was genial and surprisingly strong, his smile, a mere tightening of his lips, did not reach his eyes. Finna’s guard went up.
That was new. Finna had not considered Leeth in those terms before. She scrutinized the short, white haired old man for additional clues of his intentions and veracity. For all the feedback her senses gave her, he could have been one of the numerous paintings hanging on walls during their trek to get here. Mental probing of others was the latest skill Leeth had introduced to them, so it was entirely possible her new ability was not so strong. It was also possible the man was somehow blocking her.
How old could he be? He’d used the term new champions. Had Leeth provided others? Where are they? She would ask later.
“Are you really his brother?” Jamal whispered.
Leeth tapped his temple, reminding him to use mental communication.
the wizened man spoke.
Vald’s manner remained gracious, though his vibes was evil. They had moved indoors to the end of the hall-like room where Vald sat in a wide, unusually tall-backed chair. For all that it was throne-like in nature, the seat diminished rather than enhanced the man’s little presence. He sat behind a highly polished dark wood desk that reflected his barren personality. Just as the man seemed empty, the desktop held nothing. Not a pen, a paper, ink, sealing wax or any other item one might expect to see. The exception was one small golden ball upon which he rested his hand. He held it with all the patience of a hunter stalking game with his favorite throwing stone.
Leeth nudged them both.
47
Schism
Irreconcilable Differences
Leeth repositioned with Finna and Jamal to the top of a rampart somewhat like the one they’d arrived on at Castle Star Point, yet different. The indentations between the battlements were clear portholes not as wide as a short sword. Many warriors gathered in the center of the keep under a low roof supported by a forest of dark metal columns.
Finna glanced around her.
Leeth rubbed the closest column.
Jamal pointed at the openings in the low ceiling. “Look. The windows are lie inside a web of metal hexagons. Do you see them, Finna? What do they remind you of?”
“Dying when the glass breaks and the inside air gets away into the space outside?”
Jamal spoke slowly. “No . . . don’t . . . think . . . like . . . that. It looks like the inside of a pomegranate.”
Finna returned to his side. “I see what you mean. Whatever the material is, he,” she said, pointing to Leeth, “says the metal is strong, but it’s the glass that worries me. Will that hold out space? Space has nothing to breathe, right? If one of these should break, the room would fill with . . . nothing?”
Leeth leaned forward and frowned into her face.” Your questions explode like a brace of pheasants. The portals are made of something considerably stronger than glass and they won’t break. I’m sure you can find other things to worry about.” He turned to Jamal, who was much more receptive.
Finna was momentarily speechless. “As fast as light moves? That doesn’t make sense. Light doesn’t travel. It’s just here.”
Leeth shook his head. “Umm. All this will make sense in time.”
“Are you sure this is truly safe?” Jamal asked, “this ship of space? How long will we be in this thing? That repositioning thing you do, can we get off if we want to . . . or need to?"
“In minutes, we’ll be on our way across the galaxy.” Leeth threw the words out as casually as if traveling through the heavens was an everyday occurrence. Finna knew the word galaxy in a marginal way only. Her father used it when they sat against the stone wall behind their house and watched the heavens in the evenings. She had taken for granted he knew about such things, but now she wondered. How did her father understand the heavens in a way no one else of his time did? She snorted to herself at the use of time. Although the concept was too big to say she understood, maybe she was making headway after all.
Jamal’s eyes were wide with wonder.
Leeth tried to explain. “This is like a ship that travels on the sea, only we are traveling out of our world. We are in space, inside a spaceship.”
Finna gazed at the dark sky through the narrow portals. “You mean we are above the new world you took us to?”
Leeth laid a hand on the shoulder of Finna and Jamal, marveling that while he expected both to fight as adults, they saw the galaxy as children.
He gave their upper arms a quick squeeze in his own excitement. “Yes. We are in a spaceship traveling in the stars. See the broad ribbon of color? That is part of our galaxy. It is huge compared to the many such magnificent smaller bands of stars that spin around the Maelstrom like the skirts of a spinning dancer.”
Enthralled beyond comment, Finna ignored the many young warriors crowding to the portals to watch the heavens and returned the grin that spread across Leeth’s face.
“Are they a wonder to behold? I could never tire of the view, but know that many in this ship are waiting to see something even more special.”
Finna folded her arms and spoke pointedly to Jamal who kept a vigil on his porthole.
Leeth put his hands in his pockets and leaned into her face.
She didn’t flinch.
Leeth could see the boy thought it was all a grand adventure and smiled at him in approval.
Leeth glanced furtively about.
More sarding evasion. Finna wanted to kick his shins. Did the man never answer directly? She felt like sand on the desert, helpless against the ever-blowing wind. She drifted where it blew. She wanted control of her life back and needed to know what the sarding hell was going on.
Leeth continued with an explanation of the immediate future.
God’s Bones.
He was right. At first there was whispered awe, then, silence.
Finna rubbed her forehead with her fingers.
Leeth stood behind Finna and Jamal and pointed in the direction of their travel.
Explaining the heavens to the two novice travelers was a welcome change from telling them to train harder or do something again, but it had its challenges. He marveled that in spite of all they had been through, they continued to meet each new challenge with impressive bravery. He couldn’t even imagine how they might feel. To go from shooting bows and arrows to space travel was a leap for even the boldest adventurer.
Leeth swallowed a chuckle. Lord she was prickly and so easy to set off.
He let the sentence hang, which worried Jamal.
Leeth recovered his dark thoughts. While it was true, if they got too close they could be sucked in, it was not Vald’s plan to kill off his soldiers . . . or Leeth’s, for that matter. And it wasn’t his own plan to scare Jamal. He gently shook the boy by his shoulders.
Jamal stepped a little closer to Finna.
Leeth shook his head. Christ. That wouldn’t reassure them.
Finna folded her arms.
48
The Wars
Bad History
Finna had to know.
Leeth understood.
She didn’t respond except to slowly dip her chin to show she understood.
Vald continued, not able to hear their private mind-to-mind conversation.
His voice in her head was strong for a man of sub-par size.
Finna couldn’t believe what she heard. Vald spoke with no passion. He had no personal involvement. The deaths were presented as cold calculations, not in terms of flesh and blood. The man had no emotional tie to the conflict.
Vald held up a crocked finger and showed his yellow teeth.
Destroying whole worl
ds? Finna was mesmerized and judging from the expression on Jamal’s face, he was as well. What was the nature of the powers or weapons he spoke of?
He pinched his chin to let her know he got her message.
The old man, who didn’t sound old or behave as if he were decrepit, huffed a snort.
Leeth had an inscrutable look on his face, one Finna knew from experience hid his real feelings. She sensed, however, that he didn’t trust or like Vald either. On that, at least, they were in agreement.
Loss of planets? Not lives? Finna didn’t like his word choices. She still tried to imagine the chaos Leeth tried to warn her about.
