“Race ya!” Ryoko took off, and I yelled after her before picking up my pace. I was glad Ryoko and I had patched things up. And I hoped we’d be able to get something good thought up for those kids. They deserved it.
Chapter 8
Shva’sika sighed and looked at me with pleading eyes but my only response back was a glare. There was no way I’d give in on this. I didn’t care if it was my responsibility or not, I wasn’t working on my spirit walking. I didn’t choose to be a shaman anyway. Someone with my past shouldn’t have been chosen.
“You need to do this, Laz,” Shva’sika told me. “It’s your duty.”
“I don’t care,” I growled. “I’m not doing it.”
“Why are you so reluctant to do this?” she questioned.
“You don’t need to know that.”
“Laz, yes I do. As your mentor, I need to know so I can help.”
“Why are you pushing me so hard this time? You’ve never pushed me to do this in the past.”
“I just figured you weren’t ready. Had I known you just didn’t want to do this, it would have been different.”
“You don’t understand what you’re asking me to do.”
“Then tell me.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“I think I would.”
“I think you’re wrong.”
“Well unless you tell me, I’m confident this will be easy for you, and then I can get out of your hair once we’re done with this session.”
I sighed and stood up. Without speaking to her, I walked over to where I had been working out before she had disturbed me, and started my routine up again. She wouldn’t give up, so I needed to remove myself from the situation in order for her to understand.
“Laz, that is enough!” Shva’sika shouted. “You will do this instead of ignore it. This is your destiny.”
“What do you know about destiny?” I questioned coldly. “What do you know about my fate?”
“There you go, acting all weird on me again,” she accused. “What is going on with you? Why won’t you talk to me?”
“Because you wouldn’t understand!” I shouted. “You’d just think I’d be so easy to fix, like everyone else. I can’t be fixed!”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but maybe you should prove me wrong,” she challenged. “I’ll only make you do this one session if you can.”
I sighed and stood still. She didn’t understand what she was asking me to do, even if it was for one time. She didn’t know what darkness she was telling me to walk into. “Fine. But you won’t like what happens.”
“We’ll see.”
I sighed again and sat back down in front of her. Pulling myself into a meditative position, I took a deep breath. Shva’sika held her hands out in front of her and I rested mine on top of them. She’d guide me through the threshold to make it easier on me, not that it was possible to make this ordeal any easier. I went to close my eyes, but I became distracted when the living room door opened. I watched as Raikidan and Ryoko came down the stairs.
“We’re about to start a training session,” Shva’sika informed them. “If you need Laz, you’ll have to wait.”
Ryoko shook her head. “We don’t need her. We were just curious about what you two were doing down here.”
“Well if you’re going to be here you’ll have to be silent,” Shva’sika said. “We need to be able to completely concentrate, and any sound could be problematic.”
Ryoko nodded and came down the rest of the stairs. She sat down on the worktable to watch, and Raikidan sat down on the floor near Shva’sika and me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Centering myself, I waited a few moments before opening my eyes. With Shva’sika helping me, I wouldn’t feel my spirit split from my body, so I wanted to make sure I was fully crossed over before opening them.
I looked around. I couldn’t see Shva’sika anywhere, and the dense fog that surrounded me made me feel uneasy. Something wasn’t right. I continued to stand still and look around. I didn’t want to wander and get myself lost. That wouldn’t be a good idea on this plane.
I tilted my head when I noticed a figure slowly walking through the fog toward me. I blinked to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, and when I opened them again, several more figures were advancing. I looked around frantically and found myself surrounded. My heart raced as the fog began to disperse. These spirits were angry. I didn’t have to see their faces to feel it.
I jumped when I turned around and found a little girl staring up at me angrily. She was bruised and bloodied, like many of the other spirits. My blood ran cold. Her face. So deeply embedded into my brain, I’d never be able to forget that face.
The girl pointed at me. “Your fault.” I stepped back. “Your fault.”
The spirits around me started saying the same thing and my heart started to pound. My breath came in heavy gasps. Where did the air go? Their chanting continued, and I held my ears in hopes to block them out. “I’m sorry!”
My eyes snapped open, and I gasped for air when my spirit slipped back to my body. Shva’sika’s eyes opened, too, but before she could say anything, I jumped to my feet and bolted for the stairs. I needed to get away. I needed to be by myself.
“Laz, wait,” Shva’sika shouted as she tried to run after me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’m sorry!”
I didn’t care. I told her it would turn out bad but she wouldn’t listen. I didn’t want her apology.
Slamming my bedroom door behind me, I leaned against it and held myself as I tried to calm down. They were so angry, after all this time they were still just as angry. It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t choose to do it.
“Eira?” Raikidan asked as he opened the window and climbed in. “Eira, are you okay?”
“Go away,” I said.
“Eira, tell me what happened.”
“I said go away!”
He grabbed my shoulders. “Let me help you.”
I smacked his hands away. “You can’t…” I held myself again and slid to the floor. “You can’t help. No one can…”
He knelt down. “Please, let me try.”
I pulled myself in tighter and hid my face in my arms. “Just go away…”
He sighed unhappily, but did as I asked, leaving me to deal with my pain on my own.
Chapter 9
Amber wood shavings fell to the floor as I sat on the living room couch and worked. The dark memory had jolted me awake, and I had been unable to fall back asleep. Not that I wanted to. I didn’t want that memory to come back.
My figurine was coming out nicely. I had planned to think more about what to make with this log before actually starting it, but I had needed something to distract me. And since Raikidan claimed it had been Ryoko who had given him the log, I thought a wolf climbing down a rock face was a good enough idea.
I looked up from my work when a door opened, to find Raikidan standing in the doorway of the bedroom.
“It’s barely sun-up. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” he questioned.
I shrugged. “Can’t sleep. Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
He chuckled and sat down on the couch near me. “You got me there. So you really do make these.”
I nodded. “Why would I lie about that?”
“I suppose you’re right, but why don’t you make a living off that? You’d make a lot of money.”
“Because they’re not all that great. I don’t know why everyone is so impressed by them.”
“Eira, you need to give yourself a little more credit.”
I sighed while shaking my head and continued to work. There was no point in arguing with him. He saw something great out of it, so who was I to say he was wrong?
“Eira, if you don’t mind, I’d like to watch yo
u make this.”
“Sure. Just don’t make comments, okay?”
“Sure.”
Picking up some sand paper I went about smoothing some rough edges and then went back to carving. Raikidan watched me intently as I worked and eventually ended up closer to me to get a better look. I wasn’t thrilled he was so close, but he didn’t utter a word, and for that I was grateful and more willing to put up with his presence, as his silence allowed me to concentrate better.
Minutes turned to hours, and before I knew it I had a little larger audience than I would have liked. Everyone but Ryoko and Rylan were in here, and that was only because I had forbidden Ryoko to see the figurine until I was finished, so Rylan took the liberty of whisking her away to the music room to play for her.
But, thanks to Shva’sika and her interest, I ended up with new tools. She had left at some point to speak with some traveling merchants, and had snuck out one of my older figurines to show them, along with the circlet I made her. They apparently liked them, because before I knew it, she was back with new tools as a gift, and telling me I needed more supplies so they’d have enough to sell. I wasn’t at all thrilled with her making this decision for me, but there was nothing I could do about it now. The merchants wanted my carvings and smithing works, and I’d get seventy percent of the profits.
I sighed with a slight smile when I finished. It had come out better than I had expected, but I knew if I had seen a real wolf recently, it would have looked a little better. My brow furrowed when the figurine went from my hand and into Raikidan’s within seconds. I glared at him. I wasn’t done admiring it. But he didn’t notice my irritation; he was too transfixed on the wooden carving.
A quiet gasp brought my attention from him to Ryoko, who was standing in the hallway with Rylan. Snatching the figurine, and ignoring Raikidan’s snort of annoyance, I tossed it to her. “Enjoy.”
She blinked. “Really?”
“You gave me the wood, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Then it’s yours.”
Ryoko smiled. “Thanks.”
I nodded and stood up. Shavings fell to the ground and I carefully stepped over them so I wouldn’t slip. Grabbing a broom from the utility closet down the hall, I headed back into the living room, but stopped when I saw the others greeting four people. There were two men and two women.
The darkness kept me concealed as I snuck around. There were guards all about. One wrong move, and this place would be on full alert, and I’d probably be dead.
The taller of the two men had an athletic build and short blonde hair and blue eyes, while the other had a muscular build and short brown hair styled with hair gel, and brown eyes. The elder of the two women was slender with long black hair and blue eyes, while the younger girl, who was the youngest of all four, had long black and blonde hair, blue eyes, and an athletic build.
I whirled around and thrust my dagger out when I sensed a presence behind me. The person behind me moved out of the way and placed a light, friendly hand on mine.
“Easy, Commander. We’re here to help, not hurt.”
The man with blonde hair stopped greeting everyone when he saw me. “Hey, stranger.”
I smiled. “Hey to you too, Lakon. Been a long time.”
He chuckled and walked over to me. I wrapped my hand around his arm, and he pulled me into a half hug. “Too long. Eyri is an adult now.”
I looked past him, at the young woman with the blonde hair. “Yeah, I see that. She looks good.”
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Eyri asked.
“Eyri, that’s rude,” the other woman scolded.
“It’s all right, Alyra,” I insisted. “Last time I saw her, she only came up to my knee, and Devon had black hair and used different colored contacts every day.”
Alyra laughed. “That may be, but I won’t allow my daughter to be rude to people. Right, Lakon?”
“Yeah, sure,” Lakon replied absentmindedly.
Alyra sighed and I chuckled. Lakon had never been good at the discipline side of parenting.
“So what are you guys doing here anyway?” Ryoko asked.
“Well, we figured it was time to pay you guys a visit,” Lakon explained. “It’s been a while, and since we heard Eira was back in town, we figured now was the best time.”
“Does everyone one know I’m back or something?” I questioned as I went to clean up my mess.
“By now, probably,” Lakon replied.
“Lakon, Devon, what the hell do you think you’re doing here?”
“We’re here to help. This place is crawling with more guards than we first thought.”
“I don’t need help.”
“Everyone needs help sometimes, and we’re going to help you, because that’s what comrades do.”
“We’re also here to ask a favor,” Eyri said. “Mom says you guys would be able to help design a new song for us for our upcoming concert.”
“When is it?” Ryoko asked.
“In two days,” Devon said.
I snorted. “There’s no way you guys can learn a new song in just two days.”
Lakon chuckled. “I’d beg to differ. But it would be nice if you guys could help us. We’ve become real big and need something new.”
“How big?” Rylan asked.
“We’ve been able to get passes to travel to other cities,” Eyri replied.
Rylan ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. I felt bad for him. Music was his biggest passion, but he gave up what Lakon and the others had, so he could get real freedom.
“So what do ya say?” Lakon asked. “Will you help us?”
I looked at Rylan. He was their best bet for a song.
“Sure, why not?” he agreed.
Lakon smiled. “Thanks.”
“Wait!” Ryoko protested. “They’ll only do it if you invite us to this concert.”
Lakon laughed. “I thought that was a given.”
Ryoko giggled. “Just making sure.”
Lakon looked at me. “I’d actually like it if it was you who made the song, Eira.”
I shook my head. “Rylan would be better.”
Lakon grunted. “He’s good, but I need a song that can be sung as a duet, or a solo if needed in a pinch, and we all know you’re the best for duets.”
I sighed and leaned on my broom. “Fine, but I won’t promise it’ll be any good.”
Lakon laughed. “I think it’ll be fine.”
I rested my broom on the couch and headed for the music room. I’d clean up my mess later. Once in the music room, I went about my business, looking for music sheets and something to write with. Sitting at the piano, I thought about what to write.
Minutes passed as I stared at a blank piece of paper. Nothing came to mind, but that didn’t surprise me. The few songs I wrote were made on a whim after something happened. This new way of developing a song was too alien to me.
Soft strumming started to fill the room. I looked up to see Rylan playing his acoustic guitar on the other side of the room. It was a simple, light melody, but powerful. As he played, ideas stirred in my head. My hand began scribbling down lyrics before I had much time to mull the ideas over.
Before I knew it, I had the lyrics completed, and had asked Rylan to look it over to help with instrumentals and translate my work over to common. Rylan looked at me strangely when he was only halfway through them.
“What?” I questioned. “If it’s that bad, just tell me.”
Rylan laughed. “No, it’s not bad. It’s the meaning behind the lyrics. I’ve only seen you write one other song that’s been this meaningful before.”
I shrugged. “It’s nothing, really.”
“To you it is,” he muttered.
I looked at him
seriously, and he held my gaze.
“So, how’s it coming in here?” Lakon questioned as he strolled into the room.
I held Rylan’s gaze for a brief second longer and then looked at Lakon. “It’s not a duet like you wanted, but it could be turned into one with some work.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Rylan said. “There are plenty of areas that can be split for a second vocalist.”
Lakon took the sheets of paper and mulled them over. Alyra came in and read over his shoulder.
“I like it,” Alyra said. “I think it’ll work well.”
Lakon nodded. “I agree. Eira, would you mind helping Alyra learn the lyrics? I’ll learn them later.”
“Um, sure,” I said, a bit hesitant.
Rylan took the sheets of paper and made a few copies before allowing Alyra and me to retreat into a sound booth with a copy of our own. No one would be able to hear us, so there wouldn’t be any distractions. I strummed the guitar I had grabbed on my way in, and practiced the instrumentals before focusing my attention on Alyra.
She smiled at me. “You know I won’t comment on your voice.”
I sighed. “I know. I just don’t do this often.”
“I’ll make the attempt when you’re ready.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, I began her lesson.
I looked around at the tall, temporary structure we were under. It housed a great deal of sound and lighting equipment. I watched as dozens of stage crewmembers scrambled around to get everything ready. The warm-up band was already playing, but Lakon’s band was the main act on this tour, and the stage crew still had a lot to do in such little time. It also didn’t help that Lakon’s band was missing, and no one knew where they were.
I watched as several people tried to figure out how to contact Lakon or the others. Ryder shifted his weight next to me and sighed. He had conveniently been assigned as a security guard, along with two other soldiers I didn’t know.
I watched a man with a headset and clipboard pace back and forth near the stairs leading to the stage. “Where could they be? It’s not like them to be late. The opening act is on their last song.”
Secrets Page 9
