Vilma moved to the head of the procession and signalled to John and Lord Menoneth to join her. With the Wandmaster on her left and the High Lord of the Guardians on her right, Vilma seemed small. She took hold of John's right hand, and Lord Menoneth's left and raised them so that the three figures formed a chain with arms stretched up to the sky. Vilma's voice struck a note, which chimed across the river valley and mingled with the sound of the water as it coursed beneath them. John felt himself compelled to add his voice to that of Vilma's and heard Menoneth do the same on the far side of her. The three, with their united voices, created a sound, which hung in the air and pulsed in the ears of the assembled travellers gathered behind. As if in response, an arc of water leaped from the depths of the valley and formed a shimmering rainbow over the bridge. Vilma's voice boomed out
"Oh mighty Suryana! We thank you for your blessing on our crossing of your waters. May you ever flow!"
The rainbow shattered into a spray of rain, whose droplets fell playfully back to their mother, the great river Suryana, deep in the cleft of the valley, and the river's voice rumbled on. John hadn't noticed the point when his lungs had become exhausted of air and caused him to curtail the note he had produced. He just knew that he was now standing silent, head bowed, and arms by his sides, still hand in hand with Vilma. A feeling of peace settled on him and, indeed, on all the assembled company, waiting to cross the bridge.
At that moment Jet appeared at the front with a guard of some six men, among whom were Maroth, Todd, Zak and Tye. They consulted with Menoneth in shouts and then set off at a trot across the bridge to scout on ahead. At the far end of the bridge, they disappeared for some minutes, after which time, Ethan, who was also in the group, reappeared and signalled to the company to cross. For security's sake, the company crossed in small groups. John and Vilma followed on with Menoneth, who was all the while engaged in shouted discussion with Jet. Two further companies of guardians followed on behind at intervals until all had reached the far side of the bridge without incident. The River Suryana now crashed on behind them as they made their way into the trees on their way to Kinguard.
Meanwhile, back in the healery, Nya was bored. It was an experience that was becoming more and more frequent. It would be wrong to say he longed for his old life again, far from it. But he was frustrated with being a prisoner, especially now that the Wandman was no longer in the immediate proximity. He was drawn to John and also to Vilma, probably because of the mind link they had shared a few times, and his days had been spent in an anticipation of the next mind meeting. Long years of denial of his gift had not dulled his exceptional talent, but it had made him hungry to use it and the awakened channels were keen to be utilised. It was a way out of the loneliness which had characterised Nya's whole life, and reminded him of a time way, way back when he had felt companionship and love as a toddler before being ripped out of this mother's arms and forced through years of deprivation to turn into a spindly. Yes, he wanted to feel the minds of those around him, to quench the hunger in his soul.
The door to his cell opened and Trevorin appeared.
"Good morning Nya, how are you?"
"How you think?" came the listless answer. "Look at the walls, the floor, the ceiling, sit on the bed, the chair, the bed again. Nya very busy. Come back later healer man, when I finished." Trevorin, who had been getting more and more tired of Nya recently, laughed despite himself.
"I've brought you a new face this morning, Nya, to save you getting so bored." Behind Trevorin, a pale face looked slightly anxiously into the cell. "Come in Althea," said Trevorin. Holding a pile of books, Althea entered the room and tried to smile at Nya, but his tall awkward shape and unpleasant expression made it difficult for her to be natural, and Nya sniggered.
'What you got there, Gooface?" asked Nya, instantly nick-naming Althea.
"Gooface?" asked Trevorin in surprise, as Althea looked startled.
"Like the sweet, sticky goo food you give Nya. Too gooey-sweet. Like this Gooface." Althea was annoyed, and while not being a person to lose her temper as a rule, she retorted.
"Someone ought to give you a mirror, frogface! We should be paid extra wages for having to look at you!"
She marched into the room, flushed and furious, put a large book on Nya's table and turned to Trevorin. "Get someone else to pander to this nasty creature. I've got better things to do." She stormed out of the room with Nya's call of "Gooface!" echoing up the corridor behind her. Trevorin sighed, shrugged his shoulders and left Nya laughing fit to burst as he locked him into his cell again.
"No mind," thought Nya. "No think talking with that one." He crossed to the table and idly opened the book on it. There were pictures, carefully drawn, of scenes from everyday life; communities, family scenes, agricultural workers, villages and towns. It was a children's book, and Althea had chosen it thinking it would give Nya some insight into the kind of world he had been taken from and returned to. It did, but it didn't move him. He looked at it with detached interest. It was not his world, and even though he had been born into it, he had gone through a lot of changes in the meantime. Not much, if anything, was left.
A few days passed, and Althea cooled down. She had been unsettled by Nya, but as a professional nurse, put her feelings behind her and made another attempt to visit her patient. Trevorin was busy, but he gave her the key to Nya's room.
"Take Naylor with you", he said to her as she set off down the corridor. "I don't want you going alone".
Naylor was also busy. Though most of Wandguard was deserted, those remaining had developed symptoms of winter colds and were keeping the skeleton staff at the healing wing very busy.
Althea was doubtful now. She remembered the last meeting she had with Nya and her heart sank, but she was not prepared to be intimidated. She thought back to how hurt she had felt when the Wandmaster had suddenly lost interest in her and stopped spending time at the healery. She had, she reasoned, read too much into his interest in her from the start. Anyway, she had picked herself up again and carried on. She certainly wasn't going to be pushed around by this nasty piece of work! There was no connection between the two events, but in her mind they were both identified with feelings of hurt and rejection. Gritting her teeth, and against her better judgement, Althea set off down the corridor towards Nya's cell. Her instincts told her that what she was doing was risky to say the least and she was uncomfortable as she put the key in the lock and turned it.
What happened next, happened quickly. As Althea pushed the door open, she saw with panic, that the room was empty, and turned to raise the alarm. The book that crashed down onto her head from behind the door was wielded with force and her knees buckled, leaving her on the floor of the cell. She looked up to see the long legs of Nya appear from behind the door and was turning her face up to see his as the book came down again. A cold emotionless stare was fixed on her just before her eyes were closed by the blow which struck her full in the face, throwing her head back hard against the floor.
Nya looked down at the body sprawled at his feet. There was blood coming from the mouth and trickling down the side of the neck. Red, red, blood; forming a flower like the petals of a rose around the pink and white features lying in a halo of blonde hair on the stone floor.
"Gooface," said Nya softly. "You couldn't think talk, but you could listen. You came when I told you to."
He stepped across the prone shape, tossing the book down beside it, and slinked away down the hospital corridor to find a place to lie low till he could escape.
Chapter 17
Kinguard
The party marched on, through the forest and out the other side, the river Suryana long out of earshot behind them now. Before them was a fertile plain where a tidy town nestled, surrounded by heavily built watchtowers. There was no outer wall, and John was puzzled at how exposed the settlement was. He supposed there was a reason that there were no defences, and conjectured that the townsfolk considered escape to be more prudent should they fall u
nder attack. He opened his mouth to ask Menoneth but was drowned out by shouts behind him. The guardians were in sight of their homes and families now and for a moment, discipline slipped as their voices increased in volume. Menoneth halted and raised his hand for silence..
"Jetham, would you please keep this rabble in order?" he asked, but there was an amused smile on his face. He too was in good humour as the town got closer.
As they made their way across the plain towards Kinguard, they could see the townsfolk coming out of their houses and pointing up the streets at them. The forward scouts had arrived some time before and were now positioned at vantage points around the town watching out for their companions and keeping up conversations with local people, mostly women, children and elderly folk, but a few men, some of them ex guardians, who John later found out, acted as look-outs and when necessary, peace-keepers among the local population. In fact, the town was well set up with a local disciplinary committee, healers, and a crystal seer who could communicate back and forth to Wandguard. It came as no surprise to John to learn that the seer was, in fact, Vilma's sister, Melindra who, when they were introduced was remarkable to John in that she resembled her sister not at all. She was a tall, no nonsense kind of woman with a forbidding frown and hair tightly pulled back to accent her sharp features.
As he pondered, his attention was caught by a young girl who had broken ahead of the fast gathering crowd and who was running for all she was worth to meet the guardian group. Her hair streamed out behind her and she was waving her hands, her broad smile becoming little whoops of laughter carried to their ears on the wind. Her joy was so evident that John found himself smiling with her and heard chuckles from those around him. When she got close enough for her words to be heard clearly through her panting and puffing, John heard her calling ‘Father! Father!' and to his surprise, saw Menoneth break into a run to meet her and sweep her up in his arms in a hug which was accompanied by squeals of delight from his daughter.
John had forgotten that Menoneth had a daughter, and had never seen him in any role but that of Chief Guardian, stern governor of Wandguard Plain. Gilladen and Westroth were soon on the scene, and in the general greetings, John learned that the girl's name was Marny. She was about 15 years of age and had many of the characteristics of her brother Gil, making them very obviously related, whereas Westroth resembled his father more, thought John. Obviously, Marny and her eldest brother must have looked like their mother. When at one point Marny paused for breath, Menoneth turned and beckoned to John to join them and then introduced him to Marny.
"This is Wandmaster John, Marny. Welcome him to Kinguard."
Marny's reaction was to blush bright red, drop a quick curtsey and mumble "Honour to the Wandmaster"and something about being pleased to make his acquaintance. John grinned and held out his hand to Marny, but she just stared at it with her mouth open and then looked back at his face, apparently unable to reciprocate. John gave a soft laugh and removed the reason for her discomfort, dropping his hand down to his side again. She would get used to him, especially as he would be staying at the family home while he was in Kinguard. It soon became obvious that Marny was a great favourite with the guardians as Jazlyn, Maylene and Sharilla joined the group to wrap her in hugs and plant kisses on her cheeks.
"Come now Marny, there will be plenty of time for all that later," laughed Menoneth. Marny saluted and jumped to attention.
"Yes sir, father," she said and set off at an exaggerated march for Kinguard, looking back over her shoulder with playful eyes as she strutted on ahead with head held high. Though her performance was for the general appreciation of all who now followed on behind her, John caught a little glance in his particular direction which let him know that Marny would be more than happy to get to know him better and he hoped they would become friends. He had never had brothers and sisters and he smiled after her with a grin, anticipating the friendship he hoped might grow between them. As he dropped his eyes and applied himself to walking, he noticed Westroth staring at him coldly, and it struck him that staying at Menoneth's home would have its drawbacks too.
In Kinguard there was an air of celebration as the long-separated families rekindled the embers of their relationships, but the Guardians had to be called to order in the village square by Jetham to listen to the customary speeches of welcome from Caleb, the town dignitary, a spry and rather elderly gentleman with a surprisingly commanding voice who was flanked on one side by Melindra and on the other by a portly woman called Juniper, who, it turned out was chief organizer of whatever needed organizing. During the formalities, The Wandmaster was formally presented to the town and bowed a humble response to the "Honour to the Wandmaster," before realizing that the proper response was expected, and eventually drawing his wand from its sheath and holding it aloft as he replied in turn "Honour to Kinguard," which was greeted with cheers and enthusiastic applause, especially from the younger members of the female population, it must be said.
When the, thankfully, short speeches were over, the reception came to an end and John tagged along with Menoneth, Gilladen and Westroth as they made their way through the streets of the town to a hilly region to the south where the family house stood. Marny had skipped on ahead, and when the house came into view, there were several servants standing outside the main gates in welcome for their master's homecoming.
The house, like most of the town was built of wood, but naturally enough, it was bigger than most others around and was set in a green garden, with a pathway through tall pine trees leading up to the front door. It was many-windowed and on two levels so that it sprawled across a large area, having a spacious broad aspect, which pleased the eye. Inside was no disappointment either, the warmth of the wooden construction offering a pleasant change from the cold stony apartment John had come to call home in Wandguard. Though it was more spacious and of country style, it reminded John of his own house back in another life and another time, and he felt a pang of nostalgia mixed with panic as he remembered his body lying in bed as he had seen it when he left with William Stone what seemed like an age ago. He had seemed to be in a state of suspended animation, and fervently hoped, as he remembered the scene, that he would continue to breathe and function there. He must have been frowning because he only snapped out of his reverie at the sound of a girlish giggle, and looked up to see Marny watching him with amusement, and a round-faced housekeeper staring up into his face with query, having obviously spoken to him and received no answer.
"Sorry," said John, "I was miles away. Did you say something?" A warm voice answered, and kind eyes smiled back at him as the housekeeper repeated,
"Can I show you to your room, sir?"
"Yes, yes of course, thank you."
"I'll show him, Macey! He's in the guest wing, the west room. Todd took his things up earlier."
"Oh, Miss Marny, your father told me to look after our guest myself, and I wouldn't like to go disobeying him the moment he sets foot in the house!"
"No, that wouldn't do," agreed John with a friendly smile at Marny. "We'll get to know each other later, I'm sure." Looking disappointed, Marny just nodded and made no further attempt to intervene as Macey led the way up the stairs.
John's room was pleasant and airy, furnished with light wood and decorated in rustic greens and soft yellows, giving it the feeling of a country cottage, though Menoneth's house was anything but a cottage, more like a manor house with many bedrooms, two staircases and a central lobby which led into the East and West wings. John was pleased to find a bathroom, equipped with towels, soaps and plenty of hot running water, which were a real surprise and a luxury he had forgotten about during his time in Wandguard where icy water served to keep the guards clean. He soaked for a long time and then showered off with cold to wake himself up a bit, realizing that he had become so used to cold water, that he didn't feel clean without it any longer.
His clothes were road-dirty and he was searching his pack for something to wear when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," he called without thinking and hastily grabbed a sheet to hide his nakedness as he turned to see who was at the door. The housekeeper, with a twitch of a smile on her face marched in and kept her eyes firmly fixed on John's face as she said, "You will find clean clothing in your closet, Wandmaster. I have come for the laundry and to see that you have everything you need."
"Yes," said John awkwardly clearing his throat, "Thank-you very much, umm, Mrs. Macey, isn't it?"
"Just Macey, Wandmaster John, everybody calls me Macey."
"Oh, right, well thank-you Macey. I'll look in the closet then." John couldn't move without letting go of the sheet, so he was anchored to the spot. Macey bustled around the room collecting John's dirty laundry and he wished she would go so he could get dressed. He felt so foolish standing there in the middle of the room clutching the sheet to his otherwise bare torso. To make matters worse, the door, which Macey had left ajar, suddenly burst open and in a flurry of skirts, an exuberant Marny appeared. She took in the scene in one, let out an excited squeal and pointed at John's predicament before going bright red and fleeing the scene in guffaws of laughter, made louder by her extreme embarrassment and aided no doubt by teenage hormones.
"She's growing up too fast!" was Macey's only comment and she swept out the door with a bundle of none-too-fresh laundry in her arms.
When John found himself alone again, the first thing he did was to lock his door. Then he took a deep breath and opened the closet. It wasn't full, but there were a couple of very good shirts and a two new-looking leather jerkins with matching trousers, soft underwear and socks and a two new pairs of boots. Someone had been busy on his behalf, it seemed. He dressed and inspected himself in the mirror on the closet door. Not bad, he thought, but his hair was too long and was hanging in his eyes, so he grabbed a thong from one of the boots and tied his hair back in a pony tail at the nape of his neck. The image in the mirror looked nothing short of a character from a romantic novel, and John gave a rueful smile as he realized that was a good description of what he had become. What would his old colleagues at work have said to see him now, he wondered. He slipped the wand harness over his shoulder and unlocked the door to go downstairs. He was sure that the festivities would include some food and he was so hungry that he followed his nose along the hall, down the staircase and across the lobby until he found the kitchen. This time it was Macey who was taken by surprise when John appeared suddenly in the doorway.
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