by Callie Kanno
Ravi sat with her. “What are you going to do about your Dreams?”
“Nothing,” she said staunchly.
“You cannot shut them out, Ma’eve. Not here.”
She gazed at him with a small amount of trepidation. “What do you mean?”
“Simply that you will Dream as long as you are in this desert. You cannot help but do so.”
There didn’t seem to be anything simple about it.
“How do you know that?”
Ravi’s expression was collected, but Adesina could sense his underlying impatience. “I have told you before, Ma’eve, that this land is special. It is scarred by the magic of the Final Battle, and the mind of a Dreamer cannot shut it out.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Does that mean that you must Dream as well?”
He gave a single nod. “Naturally.”
Adesina considered her options, and a thought came to her mind.
“You occasionally have visions where the images overlap each other.”
“Yes,” he acknowledged cautiously.
“How do you sort through all of the things that you see?”
The Rashad took a deep breath and settled down. “I focus on one image at a time.”
She waited for more explanation, but none came.
“And?” she urged him.
“And it takes a lot of effort and practice,” he added shortly.
Adesina made a noise of aggravation. “Can I learn to do it as well?”
Ravi’s eyes turned upward to study the stars. They seemed even more brilliant in the desert sky. “Of course.”
This time Adesina did not resist the urge to tweak his ear. “Why did you not say so in the first place?”
He didn’t even flinch. “Because I feel that you are not focusing on the correct things. We should be finding ways to refine our Joining, not worrying about irrelevant Dreams.”
A spike of terror stabbed through her, and she struggled to maintain her composure. Exploring the Joining would require her to use vyala, and not just a small thread of it. What if she lost control again?
“I cannot do that until my Dreams are resolved,” she said in a calm and reasonable voice. “After all, we do not know if my vyala will react in the same way in the waking world as it does when I Dream.”
Ravi sounded doubtful. “I do not think that will happen.”
“But we do not know for sure,” she insisted. “I do not feel we should take the chance.”
“Our Joining could make a difference in the success of our mission,” he added softly.
This caused Adesina to hesitate.
Could she allow her personal fears to harm their chances of rescuing L’iam? After all, she had promised herself that she would do anything in her power to save him.
After several moments, she shook her head. She could not save him if she was swallowed up by her own vyala.
“We will overcome the Dreams first, then we will work on our Joining.”
She sensed that Ravi did not agree with her decision, but he acquiesced. “We shall begin tonight.”
Kendan relieved her of watch, and she wearily rolled into her blanket. Ravi laid down beside her and gave instructions in a hushed voice.
“You must enter the Dream with a clear mind. Rid yourself of emotion or thought. Dreams are filled with enough as it is; there is no need to add your own to it.”
Adesina tried to follow his instructions, but it was more difficult than she anticipated.
“How?” she asked in frustration.
“You are trying to make them cease to exist, but that is not possible. One cannot simply will their emotions away. In most cases, it must be transformed into something else. Fear can turn into hope or trust, anger can turn into determination.”
“But those are simply different emotions,” protested Adesina. “How do I clear my mind?”
“Set them aside,” was his uncomplicated reply. “Imagine yourself placing all of your thoughts and emotions into a container outside of yourself, and come back to them when you awaken.”
Adesina did so, and it began to work bit by bit. It took some effort to keep her mind clear, but she was pleased with the outcome.
“Now close your eyes, and allow yourself to enter the Dream.”
Dreaming usually took effort on Adesina’s part, but here in Zonne she only had to let it happen.
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing the Great Desert and Ravi was beside her. The same eerie feeling came over her, and she was suddenly apprehensive about facing this problem.
“Now,” resumed the Rashad, “you must open yourself up, as if you are going to connect to your vyala. Allow your mind to hover between connection and isolation.”
Adesina could feel her vyala reaching out to her, as if it longed to be set free. She shuddered and kept her mind just out of reach.
As she did so, she became aware of something just outside her conscious thoughts. It felt as though she were trying to remember something, but couldn’t.
“Good,” encouraged her guardian. “You can sense it. Reach out and pull it into yourself.”
Adesina did so, blindly—yanking the intangible flicker of knowledge into her own mind.
There was a rushing sensation, and the L’avan found herself standing in a brilliantly white chamber. Sunlight danced freely before her eyes as if it were a sentient being. Dozens of figures sat or stood in a large circle, with one figure in the center.
Adesina could hardly believe what she was seeing. None of the figures in the room were human. Some of them had human-like features, but it was clear that all of them were something else.
The center figure appeared to be male. He had long hair of spun gold, a braided beard, and four arms. His body was long and willowy, and his movements were slow and graceful.
“The time hath come, I fear, for action to be taken,” he said in a voice that was clear and ringing like a bell. “Our dark brethren hath gone too far for us to stay idle.”
Murmurs passed through the room, and another figure stepped forward. This one appeared to be female, but with powerful legs and no arms at all.
“The time is long past, Toraun. We should have taken action a century ago.”
Mutters of approval encouraged her to continue.
“The demons have broken all trust that has been given to us by the Creator. They use their powers for selfish gain, they act in violence against all living things, they pervert truth to gain mortal followers, and now they declare that this world is theirs alone to rule. We must destroy them before they cause any more harm.”
Several cries sounded at her declaration, some in favor and some in argument.
Toraun waved all four of his arms to regain order in the room. “Nay, we cannot destroy our brethren. Hast thou forgot the oldest of laws? Light cannot exist without darkness. All existence depends upon balance.”
A tiny creature with a bird-like body flitted forward. “If we cannot destroy the demons, then how can we stop their spread of evil?”
“Separation,” came a musical voice from the back.
The crowd opened, and a breathtakingly beautiful woman stepped into the center of the chamber. She had long, wavy hair and metallic purple eyes with flecks of gold. Her figure was full, and the flow of her simple dress accentuated every curve. There was an unearthly glow that surrounded her being, and Adesina almost felt it was disrespectful to even look at her. She was accompanied by an enormous feline with black fur and golden eyes.
“It is true that light and dark must both exist to maintain balance,” the angelic woman continued, “but it has never been said that they must exist together.”
“Our sister Serraf is correct,” rumbled a large, rock-like beast. “Our efforts should be to contain the dark ones, not to destroy them.”
“How?” demanded the female with the powerful legs.
The Serraf turned her intense gaze upon the challenger and gave a sweet smile. “By opening a Threshold.
”
A stunned silence filled the room.
“Open the door to a new realm?” gasped a male with blue skin and tentacles. “Unthinkable!”
Toraun voiced his agreement. “Such a thing hath never been attempted, Sitara.”
“That does not mean it will not work,” replied the Serraf.
The golden-haired man inclined his head, but his expression was still filled with doubt. “The Serraf are the Keepers of the Thresholds, and I claim not to possess more knowledge than my learned sisters. However, I see many potential flaws in thy plan.”
“Then let us discuss them, so all may understand,” Sitara suggested reasonably.
“First,” began Toraun, “lies the concern that not all realms are empty. We cannot banish evil from our world simply to send it to another.”
This was met with many nods of approval.
“Second,” he continued, “the Thresholds hath never been forced open. In past years they hath opened only of their own accord, and for their own purpose.”
Sitara gestured that this was also true.
“Third, thou knowest not if our dark brethren will remain in this prison. If they were to break free, their hatred and vengeance wouldst swell vast.”
Nervous glances were exchanged among the listeners.
“And fourth, we knowest not how to compel our dark brethren through the Threshold.”
All attention turned to the Serraf, waiting for her to address each of these concerns.
“I am afraid that I do not have the answers to all of your questions. That is one of the reasons I have brought it before this council. However, I am quite happy to share the answers that I do have.”
Sitara walked in a sedate circle around the center of the chamber, facing all members of the council in turn.
“It is true that not all realms are empty. We have seen this in the past, and we are evidence of it ourselves. There are realms that are void of life, though, and we Serraf have the ability to gain a sense of what kind of world lies on the other side of each Threshold. We would need to search for a realm that would serve our needs.
“The second concern is the ability of the Serraf to force open a Threshold. Again, it is true that this has never been accomplished before. That does not mean that it is impossible. It simply means that we would need to teach ourselves how to do so.”
There was a grating sound as the rock-like creature shook his head dubiously. “It seems that there are a lot of uncertain elements in this plan, sister. How can we move forward with confidence if there is just as much chance to fail as to succeed?”
“It would take time,” admitted Sitara, “but I believe that we can overcome both of these obstacles.”
“What of the third concern?” prompted Toraun.
The angelic woman placed a hand over her heart and lowered her head. “We Serraf humbly offer ourselves as guardians of the prison. We are Keepers of the Thresholds, and we believe it would be our duty to maintain this new barrier between light and dark.”
There were several murmurs of approval.
A gigantic serpent with feathered wings gave a low hiss. “The Ssssserraf sssssseem to take too much on themssssssselvesssss. Are we not all equalssssss? Issss it not our joint duty to sssssssolve thissssss crisssssisssss?”
“You are correct, dear brother,” agreed Sitara, “but do not assume that we wish to act alone. Quite the opposite, actually.”
“What issssss your propossssssal?”
“We do not know how long it will take to find an appropriate realm or to learn how to open a Threshold, and the demons will not slow their works of darkness. We would rely on all of you to keep them at bay until we can succeed with our part of the plan.”
The room filled with the buzz of conversation. Some of the council members seemed eager to go to war, and others were quite reluctant.
An aquatic creature raised its head from the pool of water in which it was laying and spoke in a shrill voice. “Conflict between the vyala-born is a serious matter—not to be decided lightly.”
“That is why we are here, is it not?” cried the female with powerful legs. “Why have we been brought to council if not to declare war on all demonkind?” She whipped around to face the council leader. “Toraun, you said that the time to act is now. So, let us ACT!”
He raised all four arms. “Please, sister, please! It doth not seem wise to act in such reckless haste.”
Her face twisted in scorn. “I knew it. I knew that this council was a waste of time. All we ever do here is talk. While we sit here debating the merits of negotiation, the demons are enslaving mortal creatures and overthrowing the light.”
A handful of murmurs gave approval to her words.
“Patience,” pled Toraun. “We are indeed here to act, but thy desire to strike without forethought is foolish. It will lead to disaster.”
“He is right,” asserted Sitara. “We must plan carefully or we will not triumph.”
The dissenters settled down, albeit without enthusiasm. All eyes turned back to the Serraf, and she addressed the assembly once more.
“We still have not spoken of a resolution to the fourth concern. How do we compel the demons to enter the Threshold? This is a problem that the Serraf do not have the power to overcome.”
The winged serpent spoke again. “That issss a tasssssk that we Qetza can accomplissssssssh. Assss long asssss you can get the demonsss to a sssssingle location at the sssssame time, we can drive them through the Thressssshold.”
Toraun swept his eyes around the room, gazing at each individual face. “It doth seem that we are of like minds in this matter. The plan of our sisters will be put into action.” He took a deep breath. “And now…we must prepare for war.”
Chapter Twenty-eight: Faith to Endure
Adesina awoke feeling hopeful and excited. She immediately turned to Ravi and placed a hand on his sleek back. “Did you see that? That vision was from before the Great Wars.”
Ravi nodded somberly. “Yes, I saw it.”
“How can you be so calm? The Great Desert is trying to give us information to help us on our quest.”
“Perhaps,” he allowed, “but perhaps not. It is difficult to know why Dreams are given, Ma’eve. It would be best not to jump to conclusions.”
Adesina wasn’t listening. “If we can find out how the Serraf opened the Threshold, then we will know what Basha intends to do. We can devise a plan to stop her. Perhaps we can even stop her before she even tries to begin…”
Ravi tried to reason with her. “Ma’eve, please listen to me. The only way we can hope to stop Basha before she begins is to discover the origins of the texts she has obtained. If they were not written by the Serrafites—the mortals dedicated to serve the Serraf—then these visions will not help us.”
That got her attention.
“What do you mean?”
“We know very little about the gateways into other realms. Perhaps there is only one way to open them, but there may be several ways. If Basha’s ritual comes from a source other than the Serraf, then we have no way of stopping her unless we catch up to her and take the tome away.”
Adesina felt her heart drop. “I see.”
She could feel his remorse through their bond.
“I am sorry, dear one.”
“I wonder why I was given that Dream,” she pondered.
“It could be any number of reasons,” he replied.
The young queen shook her head. “No, there must be a reason. I have never been given a Dream without a purpose.”
“Ma’eve…”
“No, Ravi. I have to believe that good is on my side.” She found herself fighting back tears. “I cannot believe that this task was given to me with so little chance of success. You once said that the Creator does not give us tasks so we can fail.”
His eyes grew sad as he looked at his young ward. “No, but this is not a test of the Creator. This is the work of evil men and women.”
“Do you bel
ieve that light will prevail over darkness?” she challenged.
“In the end, yes. But the battle is long, and none of us go through this life unscathed.”
Despite her efforts, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “I want to believe, truly I do. I just do not see how someone as good as L’iam can be used for such evil. How can this journey be so void of any advantage to us?”
Ravi gave a deep sigh and lowered his head. “I believe that I am in the wrong, dear one. You are right to hope for the best. Yes, our quest is difficult and fraught with peril, but we would not be left to face it alone.”
She stared at him in amazement, which caused him to smile.
“I am not perfect, Ma’eve. I am grateful that you have reminded me of the need in believing that we have the light on our side.”
Adesina wasn’t sure how to respond.
“We will continue exploring your Dreams,” her guardian said in a decisive tone. “They may hold the key to our mission.”
The rest of the camp was stirring, and so their conversation ended for the present. Their morning meal was made up of their previous rations, and they packed up as quickly as possible.
Maizah continued to lead them southeast with little variation. Occasionally, they found themselves backtracking because their path led them to obstacles that the horses could not surmount.
“Perhaps we should have hired a guide as well,” mused Than’os, as they retraced their steps for the third time.
“The Tracker has not lost the trail,” Kendan said tersely. “She is simply not familiar with the terrain.”
The L’avan raised his hand in a soothing gesture. “That is my point. I do not doubt that she is able to follow L’iam, but she does not know this land as well as the locals. A guide could save us some time and trouble by guiding us through the easiest paths.”
With great concentration, Maizah could visualize her quarry and the surrounding area. For the most part, though, her mind was simply locked on the direction of those she pursued—as if they were a beacon. It would take too much mental strength for her to visualize the path they were to take to reach their goal.
