She tried the lever.
Not locked.
Her jaw dropped at the scene before her.
Stone cabins of varying sizes and shapes dotted the area around a vast deep-blue lake. Massive boulders poked from the still water and ran in jagged rows up from the shoreline in several locations around the enormous tarn. They connected with the dark rock walls, dividing the shore to the cavern’s edge into sections. Small points of flickering firelight speckled the periphery to the far side of the lake and beyond.
Erynn glanced to the ceiling of the cavern and gasped.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Tine had come from behind and stood next to her.
“Is this an illusion?” Erynn stole another peek. Only this time, she couldn’t tear her gaze from the sight. The ceiling reached at least five hundred meters overhead. A spherical center no less than a hundred meters in circumference glowed with a brilliant white light. The radiance reflected off the lake and cast a midday appearance to the cavern’s interior. “What…?” She turned her attention to Tine.
He watched her with an amused expression. “Oh, they’re real. They’re an intelligent plant life. We call them the Anim Blath.
She jerked her gaze from him and studied the lake. “Anim Blath?” Heat rose up her neck and into her cheeks. She wasn’t good at deception.
Several black creatures swooped low over the lake, skimming the water and darting back up. They gave her a reason to change the subject. “And what are those?” She pointed as the small flock disappeared against the dark boulders. Her face cooled.
“Aleroms. They are like the aleuns of your surface. But aleroms have teeth.”
“Teeth. Of course they do.”
Tine stepped in front of her, tipped his head, and stared into her eyes. “Are you alright? Drom was concerned. He’ll want to see you to decide for himself that you’re well.”
“I’m fine.” She chuckled, dropping her gaze. “I feel all right. A little thirsty.” She rubbed her stomach. “A lot hungry.”
“Good. I can see to your needs, Erynn Yager.” He turned toward the cabin and opened the heavy door. “Come on.”
She took one last glance at the Anim Blath and followed Tine inside.
Later. I can investigate later.
Tine led her through the large room and into a narrow hall. Sleeping chambers, one on each side, opened off the short corridor. At the end, polished wood counters and a bulky table filled most of the space in a large, warm kitchen. A heavy iron stove and oven were built next to a hearth on the right.
Erynn gazed at the pots steaming on the cooktop. “I didn’t think you cooked your food.”
“Shifters prefer raw meat. We eat it that way if that’s what’s available. But we prefer cooked.” Tine smiled and straightened to his full height. Pride radiated, warming his eyes. “My diune, Syrana, is a good cook.” He gestured to the sturdy chairs around the table. “Sit. Please.”
Erynn pulled a chair back and sat. “How is it that you speak the language of the surface?”
And Comhra, and whatever language Drom uses?
Tine shrugged and handed a cup of water to Erynn. “It’s my job. There’s a brew similar to your beoir, if you’d rather have that.”
She drained the cup. “No. Water is good.” She wiped droplets from dry, cracked lips with her fingers. She touched her cheek and winced. Exploring more carefully, she found four deep scratches arced across her jaw, partially healed. They flared with a fresh sting.
He brought a pitcher and refilled her cup. “What’s wrong? Do your wounds hurt?” He rushed to a back door, pushing it open. “Syrana.”
A female Socar Batah hurried in. She held a bowl overflowing with what looked like mushrooms and root vegetables. Syrana set the bowl on the counter next to the door and stepped around the table. Her wide black eyes glittered in the light of burning sconces high on the walls. “Are you in pain, Erynn Yager of the surface?”
Long golden hair fell over Syrana’s shoulders and against her brown clothing. She pulled a small ornately carved pot across the table and knelt before Erynn. Syrana removed the top and reached one finger in, capturing salve on its tip. With gentle strokes, she applied the ointment to Erynn’s burning cheek.
The pain was gone instantly. “Thanks. That’s better.” Erynn smiled at Syrana.
Soft giggles came from the hall behind Erynn, and she turned.
Three small forms melted into the shadows.
Tine grunted. “Our cubs.” His grin was awkward. In a loud voice, he called, “They behave as if they have no manners.” His grin broadened into a smile.
Erynn touched her dry lips again, careful to avoid the salve Syrana had applied. She stared into the fire. “Tine, how long have I been here?”
Syrana stepped back.
Tine pulled a chair next to her and sat down. When his face was level with hers, he nodded. “The equivalent of eight days on the surface.”
Chapter 20
ERYNN JUMPED UP. HER CHAIR tipped backward. The legs righted with a thump on the stone floor. “Eight days?”
Tine stared at her. “Eight days. Syrana cared for you, fed you, kept spooning you liquids.” He stood up and wrapped his arm around Syrana, caressing her shoulder with a gentle sweep of his fingers.
Erynn swore a blush rose under the downy blonde fur of Syrana’s cheeks. “Tine, I have to get back to the surface. Dhoran can’t find me here.” Erynn locked her gaze with Tine’s. She reached out and touched his bare arm. Soft fur met her fingertips. She shook her head and gazed around the pleasant kitchen. “You don’t want war, do you? That’s Dhoran’s plan. A war between the surface and your world. It doesn’t have to turn out that way. Our civilizations lived in peace before Dhoran. We can have peace again.”
“Our civilizations?” Tine spat and jerked away from her touch. “You come here from another world, Erynn Yager, not Arranon, and presume to instruct me about my people and our history?”
Erynn realized that now was the time for some truth. “Yes, I come from another world. But my ties to Arranon are strong. I’m of mixed parentage. The blood of Arranon flows in my veins, as does Korin’s.” She stood tall, proud. “I will not be ashamed of who and what I am.”
Tine’s eyes widened. “A joined heritage.” Awe tinged his voice. He nodded and patted Syrana’s shoulder. “That explains these mysteries.”
“What mysteries?” Erynn’s gaze shifted between Tine and Syrana.
“Will you get Erynn some food, please?” Tine nuzzled Syrana’s neck.
Syrana grinned, ducked out of Tine’s embrace, and turned to the stove.
“Sit, Erynn. Please.” Tine rearranged his chair and scooted himself to the table. “Well, for one, this answers how you found and got through the portal.” He folded his hands on the smooth surface and watched her. “And this explains what happened at the transition station.”
“You mean how I almost died.” Erynn dropped into her seat and twisted the chair to face the table. “Didn’t the possibility occur to you that I, not being of your world, might not live?” She frowned. “What is a transition station anyway?”
“We travel long distances by transition stations. Without the one we used, the trip from the portal to here would have taken days. The route is dangerous, difficult, and nearly impassable in spots.” Tine shook his head. “Erynn, you’re not the first surface dweller to come to our world. Transition has never been a problem. Uncomfortable at first, yes, but not deadly. Had I known the process would affect you the way it did, I would never have taken you through.”
Syrana set a bowl and spoon before Tine and Erynn. “Eat. You need the nourishment.” She nudged Erynn’s arm.
“Your reaction inside the transition station puzzles me, but that was not the incident I meant.” Tine picked up his spoon. “You called up the wind, Erynn Yager. And not just any wind. A surface wind.”
Erynn stared into her bowl. Sliced mushrooms and chunks of white, red, and orange root vegetables floated
in a thick brown broth. A rich, spicy scent drifted from the steaming bowl to her nostrils. Her stomach growled.
Tine spooned in a mouthful. “Dhoran has been delayed.” He talked as he chewed. “He wasn’t able to come right away and is still some days from arriving.”
Erynn scoffed. “What keeps a spirit—a ghost—from being anywhere he wants?” She brought the spoon to her lips and sipped. “This is good.” She glanced at Syrana and smiled.
“Nothing would keep a spirit, but Dhoran has returned to a…physical state. In fact, he has taken the body of a surface inhabitant. A healer.” Tine frowned and shook his head. “No, the correct word is byan.”
Erynn’s spoon stopped midway between her open mouth and the bowl. “Who? What’s the byan’s name?”
Nev? No. I would have known. What would the odds be? But still…
Tine scraped the last of the stew from his bowl. “I don’t know. Is the name important?” He studied Erynn as he chewed.
“I guess not.” Erynn spooned stew into her mouth.
Tine pushed away from the table. “When you’re done, I should take you to Drom. He’s worried about you.”
Erynn scooped in another mouthful. “Done,” she mouthed around the hot vegetables. She wanted to get another peek at the Anim Blath. “Thank you, Syrana.” Erynn glanced at Tine and back to Syrana. “You are a good cook.”
Outside the cabin, Tine led her to the water’s edge. A wooden pier extended several meters into the clear blue water of the lake. He walked to a boat tied to a piling and reached for Erynn’s hand. “I’ll help you get in. Drom’s home, his headquarters, are on the far side of the lake. Crossing the lake is the fastest way to get there.”
Another boat drifted up to the pier. “You’re going to the cabrawth?” The Socar Batah in the approaching boat shook his head and threw a rope of braided leather to Tine. “He’s hunting with his sons. Won’t be back for two leantas.”
Tine grabbed the rope and secured it to a piling. “Thanks, Bane.” He reached down and helped Bane up to the deck.
“The otherworld female is not ugly, but her lack of fur is not appealing.” Bane smiled.
Erynn frowned at him.
I’m standing right here, listening to you.
“Did you have good luck today?” Tine glanced at Bane’s hand.
Bane held up a sack, the contents still wiggling inside. “The catch was decent. Would Syrana like one? We can trade. My diune is low on herbs.”
“If you have extra.” Tine nodded. “I’ll tell Syrana. She’ll be glad to trade with Deesa.”
Tine took Erynn’s arm and guided her off the pier.
“Does he think I’m deaf?” Erynn shot a glower over her shoulder at Bane.
“What do you mean?” Tine frowned.
“Talking about me when I’m standing right there. Not ugly. No fur. What does he know?”
Tine stopped, jerking Erynn with him. “You understood him?”
“Yes. He spoke as clear as you do. Why shouldn’t I understand?” She pried at his fingers.
“Sorry.” He released his grip on her arm. “The transition station seems to have changed you, Erynn. Opened your mind to my world.” He glanced out over the lake. “Interesting. I wonder if…”
She frowned. “Wonder what? And what is a leantas? Drom has sons? What do you hunt?”
Tine laughed, glanced at her, and started toward his cabin again. “A leantas is a unit of time. Since we don’t have day and night like the surface, we measure time’s passage by the Anim Blath’s cycles. They—hmmm, this is hard to explain.” He tipped his head, staring up at the white, glowing mass. “Their collective consciousness communicates with us. Anim Blath are still in touch with and connected to the surface. They cycle with a period of dormancy or rest, then wake to a time of activity. It’s like night and day on the surface. From the beginning to the end of one phase is a leantas.”
He reached the door, opened it, and gestured Erynn inside. Tine sat in a heavy chair, sinking into the thick fur, and waved to the one next to him. “Drom has four sons and three daughters.”
Erynn folded into the large chair and pulled her legs under her. Soft hair covering the pelt tickled her arms. She leaned her head against the tall back, listening to Tine’s low, soothing voice.
“Drom and his sons hunt fiane, blache muk, agurga.” Tine raised a finger after each. “Sometimes they go to the surface and hunt asador.” He chuckled. “Drom doesn’t go often. He’s uncomfortable on the surface, even at night.”
Erynn’s thoughts drifted to the time the asador herd saved her from the alien Birk. She wasn’t familiar with the other creatures Tine spoke of.
They must be from below.
Too heavy to stay open, her eyelids drooped. Her mind began to float. The distant snap and pop of the warm fire further lulled her.
Jaer walked a dim, cold corridor in her dream. His sorrow flowed to her, strong enough to crush.
She narrowed her exposure. “Jaer. I’m safe, for now,” she called to him.
He stopped, his eyes wide, and gazed around. “Kipa?” he mouthed.
She couldn’t hear his voice. Does he hear me? Why not—this is my dream. If I want him to, he can. “I love you, Jaer.”
He spun around, searching the corridor. His mouth moved, but she couldn’t make out his words.
If this is my dream, why can’t Jaer talk to me? She squeezed her eyes tight and concentrated, ignoring whoever was shaking her shoulder.
“Erynn.”
“Jaer.”
A soft hand patted her cheek. “Erynn, wake up.”
“Jaer, I don’t want to wake up. I want to stay with you.”
A voice pulled her.
Before consciousness fully claimed her, she said, “I’ll be back, Jaer.”
“Erynn, you’re scaring me. Please wake up.”
Erynn rolled her head toward the voice. She worked at opening her eyes. Syrana’s blurred face hovered in front of her, resolving into sharp clarity.
Worried. She’s worried. Jaer wouldn’t be. He knows me.
Erynn sighed, wishing she could have stayed, watching Jaer. “I’m all right. Must have fallen asleep.”
Syrana stood up, still holding Erynn’s hand. “You were talking out loud.” She tipped her head. “Tell me about Jaer. You’ve spoken of little else since you got here.” Syrana dropped her gaze. “When you sleep, that is.”
Tine rushed through the outer door. “The Anim Blath.” He sucked in air. “They grow dim.”
Erynn followed Tine and Syrana outside. The first thing she noticed was Socar Batahs and Shifters standing outside their cabins, staring up to the high, rocky ceiling. The Anim Blath pulsed with a rapid beat, brightening and dimming. Even in the warmth of the cavern, Erynn shivered.
“What’s wrong, Tine? Is Dhoran coming?” Erynn studied the shifting mass surging above.
“Dhoran?” Tine’s voice wavered.
If Tine said anything more, his words were lost in the sudden deep cacophony of vibration that filled Erynn’s mind. Instead of the Anim Blath’s familiar sweet, spicy scent, the musky, sharp aroma reminded her of the first rain at the end of a hot summer.
Memories of Korin, of her dad, Damon, and of their home flooded over her. She bit her lip and wiped at her cheek, setting the deep scratches to stinging again. Her chest tightened, squeezing her heart. The loss of her dad, their life together, and the things they would never share threatened to devastate her.
Faylen’s face entered her pain. He smiled, the laugh lines around his brown eyes crinkling. When he tried to speak, blood bubbled from his mouth. His death replayed in her mind.
The vision changed.
Maejen, asador, and katjaramuud ran, trying to escape burning forests.
Flash—
Tam, Roni, and Sean, their expressions sad and confused, turned from her and melted into a red fog.
Flash—
Faces of friends, Tiar and Aven among them, dissolved in a blaze
of white light.
Flash—
Cale ran toward her, struck down by an unseen hand, falling into a swirling mist of black nothingness.
Flash—
Jaer appeared. He reached out. She caught his hand, but his fingers slid from her grasp. He stepped back, shaking his head. Blue static snapped around him. His features grimaced in pain.
Why are you doing this? Stop. Please stop. The pain. This hurts too much.
The Anim Blath’s singing faded, softening. “You are the one.” They chorused.
“The one what?” Erynn cried.
Tears reached the cuts on her face, adding their sting to her throbbing cheek.
Male. Their voices are distinctly male. Were the surface Anim Blath females? Concentrate. Get control.
“Our sisters spoke of you, Zander’s daughter. You saved Arranon once.”
“No. Not me. Faylen.”
“Can you destroy Dhoran and prevent the slaughter he plans?” The voices came closer, swarming. “The utter loss will be immeasurable, the natural balance disrupted, lives discarded, above and below. All you love, gone. He must not succeed.”
“Close the portals. Imprison Dhoran. Close the portals. Imprison Dhoran,” Erynn chanted.
Her head spun. Her body followed.
Why wasn’t…Nev in my…vision?
Dark shadows whipped around her like the wings of the aleroms. They wrapped her in silence, lifting her. She floated, suspended in the warm air, and waited for the teeth.
“I know what I heard.” Jaer slammed his fist on Cale’s desktop. “I heard Erynn.”
Cale stood from his chair and held his hands palm up before Jaer. “All right, I believe you. I never said you didn’t experience something. I’m only trying to work this out.” He chuffed, shook his head, and gazed at the DVSL. “Communication without a COM. We are talking about Erynn, though. I guess if this is a possibility, she’d be the one.” Cale stared at Jaer. “Her love for you is strong, for her to accomplish a feat this incredible.”
Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice Page 16
