by Ada Haynes
Ekbeth said, “Wait a second. Watanabe? He’s out of jail?”
Najeb just nodded curtly. That was a bit of news neither Kimiel nor Najeb had mentioned earlier, thought Ekbeth.
“Where is she now?”
Najeb said, “Resting on your bed, Akeneires’el. Father?”
Kalem grumbled. “Damned if I’m going to watch over her!”
“I don’t ask you to. Just find someone to do so.”
Najeb was really troubled, Ekbeth realized. “There’s more to it, Najeb? Is she angry with you as well?
Najeb nodded, hesitated but finally said, “I had to knock her out yesterday. To get her out of a dangerous situation. She knows I did it. I’m not sure she’ll ever forgive me. Maybe you’ll have to make the replacement permanent.”
Kalem was still reluctant. “She’s safe if she stays here while you’re gone, Najeb. She does not need anyone to guard her.”
Najeb shook his head. “Father. We are talking of Kimiel Keh Niriel. She won’t stay here. She needs someone to watch over her.”
Ekbeth understood he had to intervene. Kalem was just being difficult because it was Kimiel they were discussing. And Najeb was right about her being trouble.
“I’ll solve this, Najeb. You can go.”
Najeb bowed to them then disappeared.
“The boy is really rude! He did not even thank you!”
“No need. Find someone, Kalem. Najeb is right, she’s not going to stay here long, and he looked concerned for her security.”
“Akeneires’el. I would be continuously concerned about such a woman’s security, if she was my charge! She just runs into trouble; that’s her way of being!”
Ekbeth had to admit it was not a totally unfair judgment of her, no matter how biased Kalem was towards her.
“Good. I’m going to go and talk to her. Share a quick lunch with her. Solve the bodyguard issue in the meantime, please.”
He looked at his watch again. “We leave in half an hour.”
55
Shona was putting another cold compress on her brow when she saw Ekbeth approaching her, carrying a small paper bag.
She growled, “Leave me alone.”
He just ignored her. He came and sat next to her. “Good day to you too, Kimiel. Here, have some food!”
“I’m not hungry. That bastard of a bodyguard hit me too hard. I probably have a concussion. I don’t want to see his face ever again.”
“So he’s told me. Sure about the food? You’re missing something. The cook makes these cookies only once a month, and people have been known to bribe him to get some. Being Akeneires’el does have its privileges. Will you at least try one?”
The man was impossible! He was going to bother her until she gave up. She took the cookie and munched on it. It was indeed very good.
She accepted the offer of a second one. “I’m still going to kill that sneaky bastard!”
Her back started glowing at that. She ignored the pain.
Ekbeth shrugged. “Najeb is only doing his job. He tried to protect you.”
She glared at him. “I never asked for the protection in the first place, remember?”
Ekbeth took one of her hands in his. “He only has your best interest in mind, Kimiel. As your friend Watanabe has. As I have.”
She threw the cold compress in his face. “He has no rights! This is important to me! I talked to Kellerman and kept my control! Toshio got out of jail to help me! Not to put me aside during our very first opportunity! He has no right!”
Ekbeth’s only reaction to this was to offer her another cookie. The man was just impossible!
She suddenly realized she was saying too much. He had no idea who Kellerman was. She managed a weak smile. “I’m ranting—sorry.”
He nodded. “Badly. But you’ve been through a lot lately, Kimiel. And that baby growing in you is probably not helping either. Everyone knows pregnant women have trouble controlling their temper.”
She punched him in his arm. Hard. “That’s such a stupid thing to say, Ekbeth!”
“Ouch! Point proven.”
Ekbeth then looked at his watch and cursed softly. “I really have to go, Kimiel. Another meeting, I’m afraid! I hope we’ll be able to finish our conversation later. Here, have the cookies. Do I get a goodbye kiss?”
His kiss certainly helped quiet her anger, if only a bit. She put her hand behind his neck and looked him in the eye. “Don’t think some cookies and a kiss are going to solve everything, Ekbeth. I don’t believe in fairytales.”
He smiled at her in a way that made her hot all over. Then vanished.
Damn! She picked up the bag of cookies. She allowed herself another cookie as a reward. Ekbeth had apparently believed her and Najeb. Not that it had all been lies. She was mad at Najeb. She was still hurting from his blow. But they had both agreed he would be more helpful on the Other Side, protecting As’leandra and helping Toshio and his men. Their main problem was that he was her bodyguard. He was not supposed to go away from her at any time.
So she had come up with this plan: exaggerate her anger, give a few details that would intrigue Ekbeth without telling him much, and insist she hated Najeb. Najeb, on his side, would tell everyone he had to go on a mission for her to prevent her from doing something crazy.
It was not all lies. And it had worked. Najeb was free to go to Toshio and As’leandra.
She still wanted very much to be with them, but she had to be realistic. She would only delay everyone—or, worse, put them at risk. It was better this way. Najeb had promised to report to her every day, hadn’t he?
She sighed and left her bed. Walked through the open windows, to the balcony. Watched the city below her. The Lake.
What was she going to do? The wait was surely going to drive her mad. She needed to do something! The only thing that she could think of was how much she wanted to kill Kellerman. Toshio had made her promise to leave the man alone. She wanted to hurt the bastard as badly as he had hurt her. If only he had a family…
Her lower back glowed fiercely. She was getting better at ignoring it.
The only thing that counted to the bastard was his business. Suddenly, she had an idea. A vague idea… Yes, maybe… It would not be breaking her promise…
She had a lot of money. More than even Jeffrey was aware of. It was, of course, not enough to buy Kellerman’s company, but maybe enough to knock Kellerman out of his position.
She got on her feet. It was going to take time, but she did not care about time. As long as the bastard was brought down in the end. She also knew she would need some help. Ekbeth was not an option, but he might be able to advise someone.
Her headache was gone. Her head was now buzzing with this idea. She could not wait to start. But Ekbeth was not here. She needed some distraction, something to take her mind off her plan, until she could speak to him.
She looked blankly at the Lake in front of her for a moment. She suddenly remembered Sarah-Lysliana and her offer to write some songs with her. Meeting her cousin probably meant she had to go to the Island in the Highlands. Enter the McLeans’ house. A sure way to temper her current enthusiasm, she reflected. But, hell, she would have to go there at some point, anyway! Delaying had never helped before.
She grabbed the cookie bag as if it was a talisman, and left the room, heading for Nukri na Liom’s house. She could have called him with her mind, but she still preferred going to his place for the transfers when she could.
An unknown man in a meticulous black uniform was waiting for her behind the door.
Shona sighed. Great. Another guardian angel.
She walked quickly to the Caller’s house.
*
The wind almost swept her away.
Shona looked around her. This was the Island, no doubt about it. The landscape was typically Scottish, with its gentle hills covered with fern and heather. What made her certain of the location was the lighthouse on the next island. There was none like it anywhere in the world.
Someone had finally taken the time to repaint it.
Another sweep of wind. She could taste the salt on it. And it was as cold as she remembered.
“Kimiel! What a good surprise! Come here! It’s not so chilly behind the wall!”
Shona ran towards her cousin. “Sally! What are you doing here?”
Sarah-Lysliana’s face was reddened by the wind and her nose was running. Still her eyes were shining. “Listening for inspiration! Who’s that with you?”
Shona crouched, as near to the wall as she could. It was indeed a bit better here, but still chilly. Her new bodyguard did not seem to be able to decide what to do, standing like this in the cold.
Shona laughed. “Come over here! Just keep some distance. We’ll introduce ourselves later. Sally, you are mad! I’m sure you could find your inspiration in your room, with a good fire in the chimney, and some hot cocoa to drink! You’ll only find death here!”
“Good words! I have to write them down!” Sarah-Lysliana extracted a notebook and a pen from her bag and started scribbling furiously.
“What are you doing?”
“Putting your wise words on paper!”
Sarah-Lysliana looked at her notebook for a second then put it back in the knapsack. Next, she extracted a thermos and a cup.
“I can’t do anything about the fire, but I certainly can help with the warm cocoa. Want to share?”
Shona had to laugh! That woman was surely as crazy as she was! Well, she was family! What could you expect?
“Yes, please! And I have cookies! The Na Duibhnes’ favorites, I was told.”
“Perfect!” Sarah-Lysliana handed her a cup of steaming cocoa, with a grin. “Here!”
It was the strangest place to have a snack, Shona thought. Sitting behind a low stone wall with her cousin, sharing food. Yet it was the perfect place, as well. There was a quality to this place she had never been able to find anywhere else, she realized.
She’d been only six when her father had died, when she had had to leave the Island. Too young to fully grasp what the place meant to her. But she had yearned for it every second of the rest of her life. Unconsciously.
The colors seemed more vibrant here. The gold, green and pink of the landscape, the dark bluish-gray of the sea, the whiteness of the sky.
The wind around them blocked all other sounds. The hot chocolate brew warmed her body. This was home! Her birthplace. She had missed it so much!
“Listen to the wind!” Sarah-Lysliana said joyfully. “It’s saying things to me! It carries stories within it!”
Shona absently nodded to her cousin’s words. They were so true… She frowned. Where had she heard them before? She remembered, and turned to Sarah-Lysliana accusingly. “You’ve been reading my diary! The one I left behind when we had to leave the Island. Where did you find it?”
Her cousin did not deny it. “In the attic. Yes, I read it and I’m glad I have. It was very inspiring! I would never have thought of coming here and listening to the wind without your words. You have a marvelous imagination, Kimiel.”
Shona shook her head. “I was six when I wrote that, Sarah-Lysliana!”
“Doesn’t make it less wise. Are you ready to help me with the songs, Cousin?”
Shona did not ask how her cousin had guessed. There had always been something magical to this place.
She simply nodded.
56
When Ekbeth finally managed to come back to Kse’Annilis and to his apartment, he found Kimiel sprawled on thick pillows on the carpet of his study, a bunch of papers surrounding her, a pen in her hand, nodding to herself. In her other hand was a cookie.
A plate had replaced the bag he had given her, and the fact that it was now almost empty indicated she had eaten more than a few of them in the past hours.
“Enjoying yourself, Kimiel?”
She ignored him.
He suddenly realized why. She was listening to some music on an mp3 player.
Ara! If any member of his family, or the community for that matter, saw her with that device… He did not want to think of the repercussions!
“Kimiel!”
She heard him this time. Turned towards him with an inviting smile that almost made him forget everything. “Ekbeth! Still interested in continuing our kissing?”
He kneeled next to her and took the plugs out of her ears. “This is forbidden here!”
Her smile did not wave. “Relax! I’ve cleared it with Nukri na Liom! He is to make it disappear before anyone enters the room.”
“I’m here and the device is also still here!”
The next second it disappeared. Kimiel stretched lazily. “I suppose Nukri does not consider you as an ‘anyone’!”
He looked closely at her face. She seemed much more at peace than a few hours ago, when he left her. There were many questions he wanted to ask her, but he did not want to spoil her mood. Not when she seemed so happy.
He pointed at the papers. “Redecorating my room?”
“No. Sorry for the mess, but it was the only room I could find with a carpet. It makes a difference in comfort. I’ve decided to help my cousin with her next album.”
Then she caressed his arms. “But it certainly can wait. Where were we?”
He had to laugh. “Are you always so horny, Kimiel, or is this just pregnancy hormones?”
She moved her hands to his torso. “Bit of both, I suppose. Those damned hormones! Kiss me before I change my mind, will you?”
He was planning to do more than just kissing, when the floor suddenly shook violently under them. A low rumbling noise outside. Then nothing.
Kimiel went very pale. “I know that noise…”
Ekbeth was already on his feet. He rushed towards the balcony. The windows were closed. A huge cloud of dust blocked the familiar view of the Lake outside.
What had happened? He reached for the window lock.
“Ekbeth! Don’t!”
He felt Kimiel’s arms embrace him. The familiar tingling of a Call. The next moment, he recognized the living room of his Zurich house.
Kimiel dropped to the floor, unconscious. She had done the transfer herself, he realized. He took her in his arms and brought her to the sofa, all the while asking himself why she had done so.
That dust of cloud, where had it come from? The Goddess sometimes shook the ground under their feet, to show her displeasure, but there had never been any dust before. He needed to go back. See what was happening.
He closed his eyes and mentally called Nukri na Liom. No one answered him. That had never happened before. Even when he was sleeping, Nukri would wake up to answer him. Ekbeth tried for another minute, but when no answer came, he lowered himself next to the inert form of Kimiel.
His worst fear had happened. Nukri na Liom was dead. That was the only explanation. And something bad was happening in Kse’Annilis. He needed to be there. They needed him, no doubt.
Only, he was on the wrong side of the Veil, because of Kimiel’s uncalled for action. And with no way to get back. He only had one option left. Akalabeth. She was the only other Caller who had ever transferred him. What was he thinking? Akalabeth was banished.
“Ekbeth! I was not expecting…” Lyrian had entered the room, his laptop under his arm—probably to follow the New York Stock Exchange or attend some meeting—but he was now standing in front of Ekbeth, asking, “What happened? My, have you killed her, Ekbeth?”
It took Ekbeth some time to understand the question. “Don’t be ridiculous. Kimiel just fainted, Lyrian. I need to go back to the Valley. Can I please trust you with her?”
Lyrian looked horrified at the prospect.
“Please, Lyrian? This is an emergency. And if she wakes up before my return, ensure she doesn’t follow me to the Valley.”
Lyrian frowned. “Why? What has happened in the Valley?”
“No time… Thanks, Lyrian.”
Akalabeth had answered his mental Call immediately. She, too, must have felt something was amiss.
>
He was now in what had to be the main room of a simple farmhouse. The smell of the cattle nearby was unmistakable. The room was poorly lit with a small fire, which made it difficult to recognize who was in it. Until he noticed a white halo of hair. Akalabeth.
“Uncle? What is happening?”
“I don’t know, Kala. Nukri is not responding. I need you to transfer us both to Kse’Annilis. Now.”
She took a step back from him. “Uncle! I’m banished!”
“And this is your best opportunity to get the ban lifted. If the fools of the High Council don’t lift the ban in return for your help, nothing will.”
A male voice, deep, spoke in reply—probably Sieven, Akalabeth’s man.
“We just saw a strange cloud above the Valley.”
A young boy entered the room screaming something in a dialect with which Ekbeth was not familiar. Judging by the other occupants’ reaction, it was not good news.
Akalabeth jumped to her feet.
“Where are you going, Kala?”
“Outside. I can concentrate better outside. You will need more than me for this, Uncle. I’m going to Call the other Callers, organize some help. The boy has received a message from a friend living nearer the Valley. Looks like half of the crater wall forming the Valley has collapsed.”
Ekbeth slowly lowered himself to the ground. Half of the crater? This was impossible!
Kimiel had understood what was happening and had tried to bring them both to a safe place, he realized. He would have to ask her how she had known. Later.
First, he had to go back to the Valley. See the extent of the damage, and what could be saved.
*
From their vantage point, the damage did not seem so bad. Certainly not half of the crater—maybe one tenth. There was however a huge gap in the crater wall now.
Unfortunately, the catastrophe had also hit the city. The whole left side of the city had collapsed onto itself. Where moments before houses had stood, there was now only ruins, broken pieces of wall, all covered with mud and vegetation transported there from the other side of the volcano wall.
