The rabbit jumped and his dark eyes tuned on it as one corner of his mouth rose in a wicked grin. “Your time is near my little friend, but not quite here yet,” he said.
He pushed the cage away, revealing a handle on the surface of the table. He pulled it and a small section detached, exposing a dark hole. Two long thin legs reached out of the darkness and a large black spider crept out. The spider dashed toward the wall and he replaced the panel, grabbed the spider, and threw it into his mouth.
The bite was instantaneous, on the side of his cheek. He blanked his mind and focused on the spider; not on how it squirmed inside his mouth, but on the pulse of energy coming from inside its small body. He took deep breaths, let his hands dangle, and relaxed. Reaching out with his mind and spirit, he surrounded the frail spider with a cloud of mental energy. As the venom loosened his mind, the room began to sway and he felt light. It was time. He smashed its body with his tongue, killing it and freeing its soul. Its spirit floated helplessly as his dark powers closed in around it. He crushed it again, not with his tongue this time, but with his essence and its soul became his. The life energy charged him, giving him enough energy for a fleeting connection to the spiritual realm and he called across the mountains.
ZieZee, Come to the lair.
She resisted.
It’s about the girl.
She agreed, reluctantly.
He swallowed the spider, dropped to the floor, and laid on his back. Even simple use of the spiritual world like this exhausted him. And the spider’s venom, although essential to help release his mind, made him dream wide awake: the room spun, lights flashed, images danced. His eyes rolled up into his head and he felt light and peaceful. It never lasted long enough. Within moments the room stopped pitching and his senses returned to normal and he relaxed through a slight wave of nausea. Thousands of years ago, he would vomit and struggle to drink the antidote after the kiss of the spider. Now he required no serum and rarely did he lose his stomach. When his head stopped spinning, he saw the portal across the room had a faint blue glow.
He stood as blue light filled the room but turned away from the brightness and heard her step inside. When the light faded, he faced her.
The ataiki weren’t so different from humans. They walked on two legs, used their hands, and were highly intelligent. Tusks curved from their snout-like mouths and coarse hair covered their bodies. They looked like the warped offspring of a human and giant forest boar; no wonder the humans called them the dark ones.
Her yellow eyes vanished as she blinked, adjusting to the dim light. “Greetings Dorg,” she said in more of a bark than a voice.
“Thanks for coming.”
“What of the girl?”
“It’s more than the girl. The prince has been banished and I think the king is involved with the Resistance.”
She growled. “You said they were the perfect family.”
“They were. It’s just been too long and the people are forgetting why it’s important to follow the laws. They need a reminder.”
She rubbed her eyes. “Such as?”
“An invasion; something to scare them.”
ZieZee shook her head. “No, I finally have the dark ones under control. It’s not my fault you can’t control the humans.”
“I am controlling them just fine.” His words were sharp. “Or have you forgotten who planned and executed this entire operation and taught you everything you know.”
“I haven’t. But this is working for me and I’m not going to mess it up.”
Working for her? Does she think she actually has any sort of power over them? She could never lead the ataiki on her own. Although she had more power than any mortal, she was nothing compared to him. Her power existed only because she was not of this world, not because she was anything special. But he still needed her and, therefore, had to play her; just as he did the humans.
“If the humans revolt, the spell on Nix will break. Do you want to lose a thousand years of work?”
She pawed at the ground with her hoof and snorted. “Is the girl still willing?”
“Yes, and from now on I’ll keep her separate from the others. Her mind and body crave the tea now, she won’t be a problem. But her family will. Banishing the prince was risky enough; I can’t banish the king and queen too. It would be exactly what the Resistance needs to become a serious threat.”
“And you think a war with the dark ones will solve your problems?” Her sarcastic tone mocked him.
“No, it won’t solve all my problems.” He snapped, but managed to withhold an insult. He breathed deeply; he didn’t want to make her mad. “The people need to be afraid; they are starting to think too much. I’m dealing with an entire generation that doesn’t even know the meaning of fear. Why should they be afraid? They have lived their life in peace and prosperity.”
She grunted. “You don’t need me for that. Create your own terror. We need the dark ones as much as the humans and once I open them to war and bloodshed, it won’t end. You lose control with peace, I lose control with war. There would be no such thing as a small invasion.”
“But if I lose control of the humans, they will attack. War is inevitable, we might as well control it.”
“You don’t need the dark ones for your war, Dorg. I agree that you need something to bring back their fear. It’s just doesn’t need to involve both nations.”
“Really,” he drew out the word until it covered her in sarcasm. Who did she think she was, giving him advice? “And how do I do that?”
“Turn everyone against the Resistance,” she said.
“Everyone is already against them. The people are loyal to me.”
“But are they terrified? Do they lay awake in bed at night afraid of being murdered in their sleep? You need to make the Resistance as real as the dark ones and then your people will hunt them for you.”
He was speechless. She was right; so obvious, so perfect. And the more he thought, the better it became. He nodded. “But I’ll still need your help.”
“I told you, I’m not going to—”
“—this won’t involve the dark ones. I need to do a possession. And I need to do it tonight,” he said, the plan already fully formed in his mind.
“Impossible. It takes weeks to prepare for something like that,” she replied.
“I have enough,” he pointed to the green liquid on the workbench. “It was for my tests, but they can wait.”
She looked at the jar, obviously surprised at how full it was. “You are feeding it too much, what if it becomes too powerful?”
“It’s fine, just be ready for tonight?” he said.
“Does it really have to be tonight?” she asked in a tone begging him to change his mind.
“Yes, I’ve banished the prince and the king and queen are unstable. I can’t hide it from the people. This will allow me to fix that mess and put plenty of fear into everyone, they will hate the Resistance. It’s perfect.”
“You ask a lot. A spell like this will put me out for days.”
“I know, but I’m still exhausted from the dragon and even if I wasn’t, I can’t do this alone. Besides, you owe me for doing the dragon every year.”
“I’ll need to take care of a few things first. I can’t just disappear from Toq for days on end.”
“That’s fine,” he replied. “I still need to get our subject. Just be ready to start at dawn.”
“Fine.” She turned and faced the portal.
“Tell your grunts I left them a present at the river,” he said.
The portal burst into a blue glow.
* * * Endell and Thamus collapsed on the ground, breathless. The course sound of air rushing in and out of their starving lungs drowned out the sounds of the night. Thamus squeezed the side of his aching stomach. He was in good shape, but a sprint that far pushed him.
When his breathing slowed, he rolled towards his pack. He heard the sheep and crickets filling the night with gentle sounds. He fumbled for his
canteen and then took several deep gulps of the cool water. He could have drunk it dry but instead stopped halfway and passed it to Endell, who finished it off.
“What a night,” he looked at Endell with a half grin and removed his cape.
Endell did the same and Thamus held up a small leather bag.
“I stick mine in here and hide it behind the bench in the barn. Yours will fit, too, if you want,” he tossed it to Endell.
Endell began stuffing his cape into the satchel. “How will they rescue Jasper?”
Thamus shrugged. “I don’t know, but if they can’t, nobody can.”
“How long have you been in the…” Endell trailed off.
“We can talk about our ideas and feelings, just not specifics about what happened tonight.” Thamus chose his words carefully. “That said, I have only recently acted on my thoughts and feelings, but I have had them for quite a while.”
“I wish I could have known a few days ago. Sure would have saved a lot of trouble.”
Thamus nodded. “Once your mother overheard there was nothing we could do.”
Thamus reached again into his pack and pulled out dinner. It wasn’t much, old bread and dried meat. He ripped the loaf in half and tossed the larger portion to Endell. They devoured the bread and then the meat. They finished off the backup canteen and Thamus spread his blanket on the ground.
“Will we see any wolves?” Endell asked.
“There are no wolves, there never is.”
“So why do you come out here every night?”
Thamus sighed, “It’s a long story, one you really shouldn’t hear.”
He laid down and looked up into the starry night. Endell crawled over and rolled up next to him.
“I love you,” Endell said.
Thamus never tired of hearing those words. “I love you too.”
He intended to say something else, perhaps have some sort of deep conversation with his son before sleeping, but fatigue came fast. Exhausted from the late night and physical exertion, Thamus dozed off much sooner than he’d expected.
* * * “Get up!”
Thamus tried to sit but a sharp blow to his head forced him back down.
“Not you old man!”
Half asleep and disoriented, he tried again. A foot met his chest and planted him to the ground. He heard the sound of rustling and turned his head. Shadows moved in the moonlight around him.
“Hey, what—” Endell said a short distance away.
“—Endell!” Thamus yelled and tried to move but the foot pressed harder, nearly cracking his ribs. He coughed and gasped.
“Let me go!” Endell screamed. There was a deep thud and Endell grunted.
Thamus rolled hard to the right and escaped the foot pinning him down. He started to stand and heard the metallic ting of steel, a sound he hadn’t heard in over 30 years. He turned and saw a shiny blade pointing at him.
“I said, don’t move old man.”
Endell sounded further away, still fighting and struggling.
Again Thamus moved and cold steel pressed his neck. “What’s going on?” he demanded.
“You tell me. What were you doing at the windmill?”
“We have been here tending our sheep…all night.” He tried to see Endell, turning against the blade until he felt blood trickle down his neck. “Since when do the guards carry weapons?”
“Since we learned a bunch of traitors were meeting in the windmill.”
A horse galloped away and Endell’s yells quickly faded. The night was quiet.
“It’s just you, me, and my sword old man. I have been dying to use this for years.”
Thamus lunged back and swung around with his legs. The guard’s knee bent sideways and cracked. He fell screaming. The sword clanked to the ground and Thamus rolled and sprang to his feet with the sword in hand. He approached the fallen guard who was holding his leg and cursing.
Thamus looked at him with pity. He wasn’t much older than Endell.
“You fool,” the boy on the ground screamed. “I am an elite guard! You will be banished for this!”
“Elite? You are untrained, inexperienced, and weak. I fought for years with one of these. You’ll never beat me with a sword.”
Thamus held out the sword in the moonlight. It felt good in his hand. It made him feel young again. Like the time he, Len, and Rudolpho, surrounded by dark ones, had fought like dragons. Why were his best memories from the war? Because back then he had passion. And now, with this sword in his hand, some of it had returned. It had been years, but it was still there, buried deep. He turned and saw one horse remaining and then lowered the sword to the boy’s neck.
“I should kill you, but I won’t. We don’t believe in violence—or had you forgotten?”
The boy whimpered. “You will die for this.”
“Maybe, but not tonight.” Thamus walked to the horse.
“You can’t leave me here!” the boy screamed. “My leg is broken! I can’t walk.”
Thamus leaped into the saddle. “Tomorrow my wife will be out here looking for me. She’ll have plenty of sympathy for you, you’ll be fine.”
The boy laughed. “Oh, no she won’t. Your wife isn’t going anywhere.”
Thamus scowled bitterly and spurred the horse.
Chapter 8
Truth and Turmoil
“Where am I?” Jasper opened his eyes but saw nothing. The world was dark and blurry.
A cool hand caressed his cheek and Jewell leaned over him. “You are safe now. How are you feeling?”
“Dizzy,” he said, looking around at the swaying room. He was covered in animal skins and lying comfortably on the floor of what looked to be a small hut. On the far wall, sunlight beamed through the gaps of a skin covered door. “Where am I?”
“My hut, you don’t remember?”
He shook his head.
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
He thought. “The note, from my…uh, from Migun.”
The reference to the letter made her beam. “We dressed your wounds and brought you here to our little village. We call it Westwater, because to the west,” she pointed, “is a river that we don’t cross. The dark ones are on the other side. We tried to put you in a hut with Gareth, our healer, but you insisted on staying here with me.”
“I did?” he hoped he wasn’t blushing.
She laughed. “You did and I’m glad.”
He sat up and she stacked blankets behind him. He leaned back and she knelt next to him.
“I know you are in pain, but, if you are able…can you tell me about Rudolfo and the girls?”
How much should he tell her? They were healthy but her husband constantly struggled to raise four girls alone. They all missed her horribly. And Migun had often confided to him that she felt like a burden and wanted to leave.
“They are healthy and doing well. They really miss you.”
She bit her lip and looked away. “He hasn’t…” she struggled. “He hasn’t remarried has he?”
Jasper shook his head. “No, and from what Migun has said, he’s not even interested in trying.”
She sighed and dabbed her eyes. “I’m glad to hear that. Do they think I’m dead?”
He nodded. “There was an accident, a fire in the stables where you worked. There was a funeral and everything.”
“I heard about the accident from Gareth, he was banished after me. I just hoped that somehow they knew I was still alive. I wasn’t even in that barn when it burned. The guards took me to the Guide and I begged him to let me stay but he said I was a traitor. Someone from the Resistance must have betrayed me and they faked the accident to explain my disappearance.” A tear streaked down her cheek.
“The guards brought me out here and beat me senseless. I woke up chained to a stone slab down by the river, where they take everyone.” She looked down at her wrist and rubbed it. “But the chains weren’t locked and I’ve been here in this canyon ever since.”
“But then
you found the others?” he asked.
“I was alone for a long time, the others came later.”
“Why didn’t you just go back?”
”I tried, we’ve all tried.” She sighed. “Maybe someday, but right now it doesn’t seem possible. The dark ones patrol everything west of the river, the mountains are too high, and the door is sealed by some sort of magic. We are only safe here in this canyon.” Her eyes suddenly fired up with a fierce intensity. “Don’t try to leave, Jasper. The few who have tried did not survive.”
He swallowed, and nodded. “Because of the dark ones?”
“Yes, they’re real close.”
“Can’t you fight them?”
“We have cheap wooden weapons, spears and bows that work good for hunting but we can’t make anything suitable for war. We’re lucky to even survive without taking on the dark ones. The winters are terrible. It gets cold and there is lots of snow. We only had three deaths last winter, which is better than the one before. We are finally starting to keep people alive out here.”
“Why not attack the guards when they come out? Then go into the cave.”
“Our biggest advantage right now is that they don’t know we are here and we can’t afford to lose that. Someday we’ll go back, but right now, it would just get us killed. And now that we have made contact with the Resistance…” she winked.
“The Resistance?”
“You aren’t with the Resistance?” she asked, surprised.
He shook his head.
“So why were you banished?”
He told her most of his story. Rather than focusing on his sorrow for Kalina, he said he was upset about Delorah being offered next year.
“That’s interesting. Everyone else here is with the Resistance. We think somebody betrayed us. Hopefully Char realizes there is a traitor.”
Mandala's Catalyst (Gardone Trilogy) Page 9
