“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing,” he said as he turned away.
Traven said it in such a way that she could tell it did mean something important but that he didn’t want to talk about it. As such, it aroused her curiosity. She wondered if she could convince him to elaborate.
“Surely dreams do not scare a powerful wielder like yourself,” she stated. “What harm can come from dreams?”
“I said it was nothing,” he replied. He then turned and looked at her with a cheerful smile. “What else would you like to see me do?”
Traven was intentionally changing the subject. Despite the smile on his face, his eyes told a different story. Something was troubling him.
“I would like to see you tell me about these troubling dreams of yours,” she replied.
The young man stared back at her for a few moments as if deciding whether to say anything about them or not. He shook his head a few times as if dismissing certain thoughts but finally opened his mouth.
“I’m not bothered by dreams,” he said. “It’s my visions. Sometimes wielders have what are called visions. They’re like normal dreams but more realistic. They sometimes tell the future.”
“You can see the future?” Kalista exclaimed. That was interesting indeed. She wondered why he had been so hesitant to talk about it.
“It doesn’t really work like that,” Traven replied. “The visions give hints at important things, sometimes things that will occur in the future, but they’re not always easy to understand.”
“What’s so disturbing about that?” she asked with interest as she scooted closer to him. It was fascinating to think that he dreamt of the future.
“My visions often leave me unsettled,” he said. “They are very realistic and often repetitive.”
She waited for more, but that was all Traven offered. He shifted on the stone bench and turned away from her as he began to intently study a bush. It was apparent he would need coaxing to share more. She reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. He visibly flinched at her touch. She gently pulled on his shoulder, and he turned and looked at her as she put her hand back in her lap.
“You can talk to me about them,” she said encouragingly. “Sometimes things are easier to bear if we talk about them.”
A wry smile passed over Traven’s face. He opened his mouth to say something but then quickly clamped it shut. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then opened his mouth again and this time began talking.
“It seems that my visions often have something to do with death. Sometimes it is me being killed, and sometimes it is others.”
“So you are worried you will die soon?” Kalista asked with concern.
“No,” Traven replied with a thoughtful smile. “I don’t think that’s what they mean. Though, it is unnerving to die over and over again every night.”
“Then you are worried for others?” she continued as she probed for the answer. “Do you have visions of those you know dying?”
“Not right now,” he answered. “I just have a foreboding feeling that something bad is about to happen.”
“Perhaps you are just imagining it,” she suggested.
“No,” Traven replied as he shook his head. “It is similar to the feelings I had when . . .” he trailed off and paused before continuing. “It is similar to when I had visions of your death.”
“What!” Kalista exclaimed as she sat straight up in shock. “You had a vision that I’m going to die?”
“Don’t worry,” Traven said in a calming voice. “That threat has already passed. It was my visions of you that caused me to leave Faldor’s Keep and journey to the battlefield. I had reason to believe that your life was in danger. It turned out I was right. Luckily, I reached you just in time.”
“You mean you came specifically to save me?” she asked.
“Yes,” Traven replied as his face reddened slightly.
A new flood of gratitude nearly overcame her. He had not just happened to be in the right place at the right time in order to save her. Traven had left his training at Faldor’s Keep and journeyed across the entire length of Kalia to save her because of a dream.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m just glad you’re safe. Ever since the end of the battle, I haven’t had any more visions of you being in danger.”
She was relieved to hear that. She wondered how often he had these visions. Obviously, his most recent one was bothering him.
“Do you have visions often?”
“Almost every night,” he replied.
“So you dreamt of something horrible happening to me every night on your journey across Kalia?” She felt sorry for the nightmares he must have endured.
“Not exactly,” he replied as he averted his eyes.
Kalista wondered why he was acting so uncomfortable once again. She didn’t understand why it bothered him so much to talk about his dreams. She was about to ask another question but stopped. She suddenly realized that she had plenty of dreams she would not want to share with anyone. Some were personal while others were just strange. She supposed if she had been having dreams about Traven, she would not want to necessarily talk about them either.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you do not want to,” she said quickly.
“It’s okay,” Traven replied. “I did have several visions where I saw your lifeless body, but most of the time you were missing from my visions. Your absence was what left me feeling so unsettled.”
Her absence was what left him feeling unsettled? That seemed to indicate the young wielder had often dreamt of her before she disappeared from his visions. His embarrassment now made perfect sense. She held in a giggle. Traven had been dreaming of her. As she stared at him, she wondered what those dreams had been like. She shook the thought from her head. It was best not to dwell on that subject.
“So you traveled to the battlefield not knowing whether I was alive or dead?” she asked, changing the subject.
“No,” Traven said as he looked up. “I knew you were still alive.”
“How could you know that?”
“I screed you,” he answered. He then grew red once again. “Just to make sure you were still okay,” he added in a rush.
“What does ‘screed’ mean?” she asked. She had never heard of the word before.
“It allows me to see things that are far away,” Traven explained. “I can create a reflection of an image that would normally be too far away to see.” He must have recognized the confusion in her eyes. “I can show you if you want?”
“Go ahead,” she said.
Traven stood up and looked around. He glanced at a few flowers and some bushes but shook his head. He then bent over and picked up a large rock. He took the rock and knelt down in the shade of a nearby tree. Kalista rose from the stone bench and walked over next to him to see what he was doing. She watched as he used the rock to quickly dig a shallow hole in the dirt at the base of the tree.
“It would work better if it was darker,” he said. “But I think the shadows here will allow us to make out the images.”
Kalista gasped with surprise as water began to pool in the hole. Traven smiled as he looked up. His eyes no longer were clouded with worry but shone with excitement. They always seemed to sparkle when he was excited.
“You’ll need to get close in order to see,” he said. “I’m sorry it’s on the ground. I guess we can go back to the palace if you want and use a real dish.”
“I don’t mind,” she said as she gathered her dress and carefully knelt down next to Traven. She still was not sure exactly what he was doing, but it was obvious that whatever it was, she needed to get close to the shallow hole of water in front of them.
“What would you like to see?” Traven asked.
“What do you mean?”
“We can look at anything you want on the surface of the water. Do you want to see your home?”
Traven turned from her and stared intently at the small pool of water. Kalista followed his lead and looked down at the water as well. She gasped in surprise. Before, there had been nothing but the glassy surface of the water; now there was a perfectly sharp image of the Royal Palace.
She scooted up next to Traven and moved her head towards the small pool in order to take a closer look. The image was slightly faded, but she had never seen such a perfect rendering of the palace from above. Everything was there to the last detail. The tops of the palace towers shown in the morning light, and the palace gardens were bursting with the colors of late spring flowers. She started in surprise as a large seagull moved across the picture.
“This is an actual picture of the palace as it is right now?” she asked in amazement.
“Yes,” he replied. “Screeing allows you to view anywhere in the land and magnify the image to see whatever you want to. I’ll show you.”
The palace began to get smaller as the pool of water now showed the entire city of Calyn. Soon she was seeing the surrounding countryside and then the entire land of Kalia. She stared at it with wonder. She had seen many maps of her beloved kingdom, but none of them came close to what she was currently looking at. The image shifted again and suddenly she was looking at the city of Candus. The image was magnified, and she saw the palace gardens. As the gardens were magnified, she saw a tree with two people under it kneeling on the ground and staring at something.
Kalista gasped once again as she realized that she was seeing herself. She smiled at how silly she looked in her yellow dress, kneeling on the ground staring at the pool of water. She also realized how close her head was to Traven’s. She noticed she could hear him breathing in her ear and if she turned her head ever so slightly they would be cheek to cheek. The hand holding her up was also directly next to his. Her heart quickened slightly at the realization. She was actually alone with and very close to a handsome young man. She shifted slightly away from Traven and looked at him with a smile. He was still concentrating on the image but let it disappear when he noticed her gaze. He turned to her with an awkward smile.
“That’s how I knew where to find you and that you were still okay,” he said sheepishly. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Mind what?” she asked.
“That I screed your image while traveling across Kalia.”
“You saved my life didn’t you?” she replied. “I think that is all that matters.”
She smiled as she noticed the visible relief that came over Traven’s face. Why should she care if he had screed her image? If he hadn’t, he would not have known where to find her. She had often watched people in the grand square below her tower window without them knowing they were being observed. She supposed it was basically the same thing. Unless . . .
“Can you scree images of people even if they are not out in the open?” she asked nervously.
“Yes,” Traven replied.
“Even if they are inside a building or a tent?”
“Sure,” he answered. “It doesn’t matter what physical barriers are in the way. I could scree into a dungeon if I wanted to.”
Kalista shifted away from Traven uncomfortably. She wondered what he had seen when he had screed her image. The thought of someone being able to see her no matter where she was left her feeling very uncomfortable. She glanced intently at his face with a slight frown, and she could feel her cheeks warming. He looked back at her with a look of confusion. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with understanding as to why she had asked her last two questions.
“Don’t worry,” he said quickly as he turned a bright red. “I would never invade someone’s privacy, least of all yours. You have my word.”
As he earnestly stared back at her, she could not help but believe he was telling the truth. The sincerity of his assurance and the honesty in his eyes calmed her worries.
“I believe you,” she said as her frown melted away.
Another wave of relief passed over the young wielder’s face as he nodded. He then pushed himself up from the ground. Kalista held up her hand so that he could assist her to her feet as well. He hesitated for a split second before taking her hand in his. As his strong hand wrapped around hers, a jolt of energy coursed through her body. She stared up into his sparkling eyes as he effortlessly pulled her to her feet.
With their hands and eyes connected, something passed between them. She should have let go of his hand the second she was on her feet, but she did not. She loved how her hand felt in his.
“Traven!” someone shouted in the distance.
They both let their hands drop quickly to their sides as they turned towards the voice.
“Over here!” Traven shouted back.
Kalista stared up at him out of the corner of her eye as she waited for whoever it was to find them. He continued looking forward at where the garden path came around the large tree and gave access to the secluded clearing they were in. She began to see him differently than she had before.
“There you are,” Commander General Blaize said as he rounded the tree. “Oh, excuse me, Princess.”
The large general looked between Traven and her and the corner of his mouth twitched. Kalista realized that she and Traven were still standing right next to each other. She took a prudent step away from the young wielder as Gavin and Traven’s cloaked servant also appeared from around the tree. Gavin’s countenance darkened slightly as he glanced at the two of them together in the secluded clearing. The look passed quickly as he replaced it with a smile and walked over to her.
“I did not realize I would find you here as well,” Gavin said as he reached her side. She smiled in return and took his arm.
“Wielder Traven was showing me some of the things he can do with the ambience,” she explained.
“Good,” Gavin responded as he turned towards Traven. “We are in need of your abilities at this moment.”
7
Traven followed as Blaize led the small group to the east city gate. Gavin and Kalista walked arm in arm just in front of Traven, and Darian walked at his side. Apparently, there were refugees on their way to the city and a horde of creatures wasn’t far behind them. From the brief description of the beasts, it sounded to him like they were possibly galdaks, but he didn’t want to say anything until he had a chance to scree them.
As they made their way along the streets of the city, Traven noticed Kalista giving him strange, sidelong glances whenever she had the chance. It was also difficult for him to keep his eyes off her. He was sure it was she who had held onto his hand longer than was necessary when he had helped her to her feet. She had looked into his eyes intently, and he could have sworn that something special passed between them.
Even though he had enjoyed it, he wished the moment hadn’t occurred. It would make it that much harder for him to leave. Then again, if there really was a horde of galdaks coming to attack the city, he would be forced to delay his departure. As much as he wanted to be near Kalista, he would have to make a concerted effort to keep his distance from her. She was engaged, and he didn’t want any misunderstandings or accusations to surface.
He knew Blaize had noticed how close they had been standing to each other. His friend wouldn’t say anything to anyone else about it, but Traven was sure Blaize would have something to say to him. From Darian’s mischievous smiles, half hidden by his hood, Traven knew the elf had some comments of his own to make as well.
They reached the gate and followed Blaize up the stairs to the top of the wall. The refugees were easily visible from the view at the top. Traven was surprised at how many there were. It looked as though there were at least ten thousand. Surprisingly, there were also a handful of Balthan soldiers amongst the villagers. They were all being escorted by a small group of Kalian troops.
Beyond the refugees, he could see dark clouds on the horizon. It looked as tho
ugh a storm was coming. Luckily, it wouldn’t take long for the villagers to reach the gate of the city. They should be sheltered long before the storm arrived.
“The refugees will be housed in the barracks,” Blaize stated. “I have already sent the order for twenty thousand soldiers to set up camp outside the city walls. Traven, we would like you to scree the approaching horde to know if an attack truly is imminent and how large of a threat we are facing. Can you scree from here?”
“Not very effectively,” Traven replied. “It would work better if we could go inside a dark room.” Blaize and Gavin gave him strange looks. “Trust me.”
“The guardroom below will work,” Blaize said. “Let’s hurry. I can better organize the soldiers if I have an idea of what we’ll be facing.”
Traven nodded in understanding. He followed as Blaize descended the stairs and walked over to the guardroom. Kalista and Gavin stayed behind on the wall, discussing the needs of those who would soon be arriving in the city. Traven glanced back over his shoulder at Kalista’s graceful silhouette and shook his head. He needed to forget about what had just happened and focus on the task at hand.
They reached the base of the stairs and entered the guardhouse. There was soon a large shield, full of water, sitting on a rickety wooden table. The windows were quickly shuttered, and the guards were told to wait outside. As the door shut, Traven, Darian, and Blaize were bathed in shadows. There was plenty of light for Traven and Darian to see in the darkened room, but Traven was sure Blaize couldn’t see much of anything. Blaize was the first to speak.
“Traven, what was going on back there in the garden?” the large warrior asked pointedly.
“Shouldn’t we be screeing the monsters?” Traven replied.
Darian began chuckling.
“Don’t change the subject,” Blaize said. “Thank goodness the princess was wise enough to take a step away from you before her fiancé arrived. Even so, I don’t think Gavin was very happy to find the two of you alone in a secluded part of the garden.”
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