by Kim Stokely
The muscles in her face slackened as Quinn continued to chant. Then he guided the lids of her eyes down with his thumbs. His voice grew louder and he seemed to squeeze her head. He pushed her away then sat back.
“What’s he doing to her?” I asked Kennis, who’d come to stand by my side.
“He’s forcing a picture of what happened into her mind. Creating a false memory.”
“So what will she remember?”
“Josh became upset when you told him you were leaving town for good. He insisted on walking down to the docks. Renee drove after him once I’d picked you and Tegan up. When she arrived, she heard yelling on the beach. Josh was struggling with several men. She ran back to her car, called the police, but someone knocked her out before she saw what happened to Josh.”
“He can make her remember all that?” I asked as Quinn exited the car.
My mother’s face tightened. “It’s a trick some of the more powerful Mystics would do on unsuspecting victims.”
Quinn looked hurt. “We do not have the luxury of time and we cannot let the girl wake up ranting about her brother disappearing.”
She lowered her head. “I know. But I don’t like it.”
Quinn picked up a stone and walked back to the car.
I caught his arm. “You’re not really going to hit her with it, are you?”
“I have to, if the story is to be believed.”
Kennis pointed to Renee’s purse. “Get her phone and get ready to dial 911.”
Quinn sat Renee up while I grabbed her purse. He chanted something in her ear. I took her phone out and dialed the emergency number. When the dispatcher answered I held it out toward Renee. Quinn pressed on her chest and she screamed. A chill ran through me as she called out, “My brother! Somebody help my brother!” Quinn hit the back of her head with the rock. She fell forward into the dashboard. I didn’t hang up the phone. Quinn grabbed Kennis and the two of them disappeared.
I whispered my promise to bring Josh back then said goodbye to my best friend. I stepped away from the car, closed my eyes and found the passage home.
The four of them waited for me in the living room. Tegan stood in the corner by the picture window, Geran sat in the chair, Quinn and Kennis remained together by the dining table.
Kennis broke away. “We’ll have to leave tonight before the police get here to question you and Tegan. There are too many holes in the story.” She ran up the stairs toward her bedroom.
I followed her up. “Where are you going?”
“I packed a medical bag with some essential things.” She pulled the bag out from under her bed. “Penicillin, ibuprofen, some codeine. Things that will help us survive.” She looked up at me. “Is there anything small you want to bring?”
I ran into my room, struck by the thought that this would be the last time I saw it. I made note of all my books, pictures and knick knacks on the shelves,trying to commit each one of them to memory. I opened up my jewelry box and took out the necklace Josh had given me for my birthday last year. He’d made it in a special glass fusion class he’d taken. The pendant sparkled with iridescent ribbons of gold, green and blue. I fumbled as I tried to put it on.
“Let me help,” Tegan offered as he stepped in from the doorway. I hadn’t even known he was there. He slipped the necklace around my neck and fastened the catch. His fingers brushed the top of my back. I moved away, patting the stone at my chest, as if to assure myself it hung there.
“It’s beautiful,” Tegan said.
My hand clutched the pendant. “Josh made it for me.”
Tegan’s eyes flashed with sorrow. He turned away, then sat on the edge of my bed. “Ye love him, don’t ye?”
“Funny, he asked me the same thing about you.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Aye? And what did ye tell him?”
“That it didn’t matter what I felt for you. We could never be together.”
His fingers ran over the patterns in the quilt on my bed. “I wish…”
“What?”
“I wish things could be different. That ye were not going to be queen . . . .”
I smiled weakly. “That I was just a girl from your village? I don’t think you’d like me as much then. I’m not a very good cook.”
He let out a soft laugh. “No? Well, no matter. I’d be too busy looking at ye to wonder what ye fed me.”
A knot formed in my stomach. “Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t say things like that, because you’re jealous of Josh. What I feel for him is entirely different than what I feel for you.”
He stood up. “I did not mean—”
I cut him off as everything bubbled to the surface, “It doesn’t matter anyway. I can’t have you no matter how much I love you. I can’t have Josh, even if I manage to save him.” I glimpsed Kennis standing in the doorway. “I can’t have anything I thought I wanted for my life. I don’t even know what to hope for anymore.”
Kennis had changed into a pale gray gown I’d never seen before. It must have come from Ayden. “We have to go.” She held a pile of clothes in her arms. “I have your things here, Tegan. Come get dressed.”
Tegan glanced back over his shoulder, but didn’t say any more to me. I took the heavy silk gown I’d worn in Ayden down off its hanger. By the time I’d slipped it on, Kennis had returned to fasten the laces up the back.
“I didn’t have time to do a great mending job, but it’ll do for now.” Her fingertips played across the scar on my shoulder. “How is it?”
“It hurts. I think Geran pulled something.”
She tightened the laces up past the wound. “You want some ibuprofen before we leave?”
I nodded.
She paused before she tied the laces off. “I’m sorry, Alystrine . . . for not telling you sooner what your life was destined to be. After so many years I had hoped . . . prayed . . . that neither of us would have to return to that world. I hoped it even until tonight.”
I twisted around to look at her. “But Josh.”
“Yes.” She tied the strings. “Now we have no choice. We have to save Josh.” She cupped my face in her hands. “I may not have prepared you, but you can do this. You’re strong enough, you’re smart enough. You’ll have my help and that of the Elders behind you. Now you just have to have faith in yourself and you will succeed.”
“Kennis?” Quinn called from the floor below. “We must hurry!”
My mother’s eyes glistened. She swallowed hard. “We’re coming!” She kissed my cheek. “Are you ready to do this?”
I shook my head. “No. But I’ll do it anyway.”
She brought me a couple of ibuprofen and a paper cup from the bathroom. “Let’s go.”
“Give me just one more minute.”
“No more than that.”
“I know.” I downed the pills.
My mother left me alone. I straightened out the pictures of Kennis and me that sat on the shelf and closed the lid to my jewelry box. I put my sundress in the laundry basket even though I knew no one would wash it. I hated the thought of the police rummaging through my things and thinking I was a slob.
I took one last look at my room, knowing I would never see it again. I struggled to breathe under the weight of homesickness that overcame me. I pressed my hand to my chest and felt Josh’s necklace.
I had to return to Ayden. I had to save my friend.
CHAPTER TEN
Welcome Home and Goodbye
We gathered in the living room looking as if we were on our way to a costume party. “How are we going to do this?” I asked Quinn. “When we left, I had someone to focus on traveling to.”
Quinn wore his Portal’s robe. “We need to get to the Elders first. From there, we can get a message to Braedon of your return.”
“I never made it to the Elders. How will I find a passage there?”
“Maris has had a temporary passage built in the Elder Lands. But as you’ve never been there . . .” Quinn scratched
his chin. “I could take Kennis through first. Then you could focus on her.”
Tegan entered the room wearing his cream linen shirt, brown pants and leather boots. “Am I strong enough to bring him through?” I asked.
Geran came to my side. “I can help you.”
My palms sweated as I took his hand. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if we didn’t make it. Tegan came up to us and completed the circle. Quinn stood in front of Kennis. For a moment, they seemed like lovers clasping hands. But then Quinn closed his eyes and the two of them disappeared.
Tegan’s hand trembled in mine, or maybe mine trembled in his. My breathing quickened. Geran frowned at me.
“Calm yourself, Alystrine. You must focus.”
“Yes, sir.” I closed my eyes and concentrated on finding my mother through the passages. In my mind I saw a thin, golden thread. It drew itself out of my body and floated through space. Somehow I knew the other end connected to Kennis. My heart warmed, knowing that even when separated by time and space, we were still together. I watched the gold string and pushed my mind out toward the other end.
Traveling through the passages to Ayden took a great deal of energy. Tegan’s hand tightened around mine as the wind roared around us. We plummeted through the black tunnel. For a moment I thought I’d lost Geran, but then realized that since he was a Portal himself, he didn’t need to hold on as tight. I kept my focus on the gold thread and the picture of Kennis in my mind. The wind increased in strength, its howling like someone crying out in pain.
And then I felt the ground under my feet. Someone stumbled against me as I opened my eyes. Geran fell to his knees. Kennis rushed over to him, helping him to lie on the grass. His eyes rolled to the back of his head.
I knelt by his side as a group of twenty or thirty strangers crowded around us. “What’s wrong with him?”
Kennis brushed the graying blonde hair from his face. “The passage took too much from him. It would have been better if we could have waited.”
“Geran!” a voice called. “My son!”
The on-lookers cleared a path so my grandmother could make her way through. She knelt across from me and gently lifted Geran’s head into her lap. “My son . . .” Tears streamed down her wrinkled cheeks. “Sarai! Nathan!” she cried out. “Come take him into my tent.”
As two Elders placed my father on a crude stretcher, I finally looked around me. We stood inside a roughly made circle of standing stones, similar to the one in the palace, but on a larger scale. Outside of the circle was a village of tents, like those Eben and Vaschel had lived in on the plains of Sharne.
My father remained unconscious as the Elders carried him off to be cared for by healers. Maris followed behind them but stopped before she entered her tent. She walked back inside the circle, then placed her hand against my cheek.
“Forgive me for not welcoming you properly.” She looked to the crowd that formed around us. “Elders of Ayden, this is my granddaughter, Alystrine. She is the daughter of my son and Queen Etain and as such is heir to the throne of Ayden.” She sank down into a curtsey. The others bowed low.
I figured running into the woods was not a proper response to their homage. I looked to Kennis for a clue as to what I should do. She mouthed, Thank her.
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Maris rose to her feet. “Your Majesty, if you’ll excuse me, I want to see to my son.”
“Of course.”
My grandmother hurried to her tent. For a moment, no one moved. Then like someone opened a dam, Kennis, Tegan, Quinn and I were swarmed by fifty to a hundred Elders. We were escorted into a tent and given goblets of wine. An older man bowed his head toward me before approaching where we sat down on maroon rugs.
“Your Majesty, my name is Oded. Let me say, on behalf of all the Elders, we are so pleased that you have returned.” His white beard stood out against his carmel-colored skin.
“Thank you.”
He remained standing.
Kennis coughed into her hand, I glanced over at her. Ask him to sit down, she mouthed.
I sighed. This was going to take a lot of getting used to. I motioned to the old man. “Please, sit down.”
He nodded and sat beside Tegan. It struck me then how most of the Elders had given Quinn a wide berth as they led us here. Oded’s hazel eyes glared at the Portal before he turned his attention back to me.
“Please.” I held up my hand before he could speak. “I want you and all the Elders to know how true and faithful a servant Quinn has been to me.”
The old man’s fuzzy white eyebrows rose. “He has been in the service of the Lord Regent these eight years, Your Majesty.”
“No.” I kept my voice firm even though I was uncomfortable reprimanding someone older than me. “He pretended to be on Braedon’s side so that he could help me when the time came. He has been a true friend to the Elders and to me.”
Oded’s mouth formed a hard line. “If Your Majesty would permit us, we would like to question the trai–Quinn, before we allow him back into the circle of Elders.”
I glanced at Quinn. What do you think?
I expected as much.
Do I allow it?
I have nothing to hide.
“Very well.” I turned to Oded. “You may question him.”
Oded’s brown eyes stared at me. “You have the gift of Mind Speak?”
I wondered how he could tell from the brief exchange I’d had with Quinn. My father had known, too. Was I telegraphing it somehow, or could they sense it? “Yes, I can Mind Speak.”
“Do you have other gifts?”
I hesitated. I’d been warned so often not to trust people. I glanced at Kennis. She gave me a nod.
“Yes.”
The old man’s eyes grew wide. “I will tell the Council. We will have much to discuss.” He gave Quinn a cold stare. “But now, if you are willing, Portal, the Council is already gathering to question you.”
Quinn started to rise, but I stopped him with a wave of my hand. “I would prefer this wait.” Oded bristled at my command but I continued, “He has used his powers throughout the night to help me escape Lord Braedon’s servant. He needs something to eat and some time to rest before you question him.”
Quinn tilted his head toward me and sat back down, a slight smile on his face. Thank you, Your Majesty.
Oded lifted his hands, palms up, to his side. “As you wish.” He clapped his hands and a younger man with brown eyes and hair approached. The newcomer leaned down and Oded whispered in his ear.
I noticed that all the Elders wore basically the same color and type of clothes,a cream colored tunic with long sleeves. The hem of the tunic almost reached the ground. Most of them wore a long blue or brown vest over the gown. The men wore their vest loose, while the women tied theirs with a golden cord.
The younger man by Oded’s side nodded, then left the tent. “I’ve sent my servant to tell the Elder Council of your command, and to have food prepared for you.”
“Thank you.” I bowed my head toward him. It surprised me how hungry I felt even though I’d had a big meal only a few hours ago. I looked around the tent. The flap by the main entrance was tied back to allow in sunlight. I wondered what time of day it was.
“It is past the ninth hour,” Oded replied when I asked him.
Kennis held up three fingers.
“I need to get a message to Lord Braedon.”
Oded’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.
“I need to tell him that I’m back in Ayden.”
“We can have a rider sent out immediately, Your Majesty.”
I touched the pendant around my neck. “A rider? How long will that take?”
Oded shrugged. “Two days.”
“That won’t do.” My chest tightened. “I have to get word to him before that.” I thought for a moment. “Quinn, can you go?”
“Of course.” He bowed toward me.
Oded’s eyes darkened. “I don’t think
that’s wise. He must be questioned by the Elder Council to determine what role he’s played in Lord Braedon’s rule.”
Kennis’s hand squeezed my knee, a subtle reminder for me to keep my cool. “I understand your concern, but Lord Braedon must be told of my return before tomorrow or my friend will be killed.” I shivered as I thought of the Breaking. “Or worse.”
“But Your Majesty . . .” Oded brought his hands together and pressed the tips of his index fingers to his lips. “If Quinn is not what he seems, he could provide the Lord Regent with information as to your location and the . . . state of your father.”
My voice rose, but I didn’t get hysterical. “Once Quinn has rested and eaten, he will deliver my message to Braedon. I trust him to act as messenger between the Lord Regent and myself until my friend is released.” I took in a long breath. “When Quinn comes back, then your Council may question him.”
Oded frowned, but said no more.
A team of Elders arrived carrying baskets of bread and bowls of something that looked like hummus. Others carried bowls of raisins and pomegranates. No one but Oded joined us as we ate until my grandmother arrived about ten minutes later.
She lifted her arms toward Kennis as she came into the tent. “Come here, my dearest girl.”
Kennis rose and embraced her. Maris held on to her for a long time, her bony fingers stroking my mother’s back. Finally, the white-haired woman released her but held her at arm’s length so she could look at her face. “You are as beautiful as ever, Lady Kennis.”
My mother curtsied. “As are you.”
Maris stared intently. “But the years have been hard for you, have they not?”
Kennis lowered her head.
Maris lifted it up with a finger under my mother’s chin. “Thank you for all you have done for my son.” Her eyes flickered over to me. “And for my granddaughter. I am indebted to you, as are all the Elders.”
“How is Geran?” I asked.
