“I think people misunderstand reality,” she replied thoughtfully. “I used to believe that reality was what physically existed, that was made up of particles and matter and stuff… or even anti matter I guess. Now I’m starting to understand that it’s a lot more complicated. When I dream normally it seems sort of obvious after I wake up that the dream wasn’t physically real, even though it felt like it at the time. When I have an… an elven dream, I know that nothing physically exists and yet it’s every bit as real as the physical world. Maybe even more real. It’s a strange feeling.”
Martay smiled at her.
“Not meaning to get too philosophical but what do you think reality is then?”
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “It’s just that, now I’ve realised that I actually don’t know. That I was wrong before, when I thought I knew. Now I think…” she paused, “I think you can’t have physical reality without conceptual reality, you know, dream realities. Without the connection between the two you couldn’t have either.”
They both considered this, gazing at nothing as thoughts of recent events swept through their minds. Martay turned, despite the pain it caused, to look Amy directly in the eyes.
“Amy are you sure that you want to do all this?”
“I don’t really have a choice do I. Whether I want it or not, I’m going to be hunted down.”
Martay's expression was full of sympathy. He loved her. After all they had been through he knew it for certain. It was a strange feeling. He had never been in love before and had often wondered how you were meant to tell. Yes, they were young and he had very little romantic experience but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loved her and would do anything to help her, protect her and make her happy. He would even have the scars to prove it now. The anaesthetic had long since worn off, leaving him in a constant state of low level pain. What he found strange was that, although he hoped she would love him back, it wasn’t nearly as important to him as making sure that she was safe.
Perhaps that is what real love is, he thought to himself.
“Are you scared,” he asked Amy bluntly?
“Yes,” she replied, and her tone did indeed sound subdued and daunted. “It’s not just being pursued either,” she continued, “I’m scared of myself! Of my powers! Martay…” her voice dropped to an almost inaudible whisper and she leaned over, brushing past his cheek to say in his ear, “I killed someone.”
Her voice trembled as much as her body and her eyes were wet and full of fear and remorse.
“I never meant to but it happened and I can never take it back. And I mean, think about it, why am I being hunted? Why am I so important? Because people believe that I can get rid of someone who is otherwise unstoppable. I’m meant to be able to create anything I want but everything I have created has just caused destruction! It’s like a cruel irony. It makes me sick!”
“No,” said Martay flatly, putting his hand firmly on her arm. “It’s not all destructive. Your ability has only caused hurt because of this… monster chasing after you. You think about it! The tree was nothing but a beautiful creation. There was nothing destructive about that at all. Everything was fine until he got involved. Even when things go wrong it’s not your fault and it doesn’t make you a bad person. A bad person uses power to be destructive on purpose. Good people only try to make things better and that’s what you have done.”
Amy had to smile at this even though her eyes were full of tears.
“It’s funny, the Arbiter said something really similar.”
“Wise man… or… whatever he is,” Martay finished.
Amy let out a short moment of laughter. It felt easier to deal with her burden when the reality of it was made more comical. Nevertheless, she still had something serious to say to Martay.
“You don’t have to come with me you know. No matter where I go or what I do, the danger will just follow me. You can always go back home if you want. I don’t want you to get hurt for my sake.”
Martay looked at her half incredulously, half bemused.
“I think you mean hurt again.”
He looked down quickly at his side then grinned at her. Amy didn’t find the moment overly funny. In her opinion it just reinforced what she was saying.
“How is it?”
“It throbs badly but I’m getting used to that. Besides, the doctor said it wasn’t anything serious. People probably get hurt a lot worse doing normal things.”
Amy nodded slowly as she thought more carefully about Martay's injury. He was putting on a very brave face but even with stitches it would take ages to heal and be at risk of infection. She tried to stay positive. Martay was right. He could even pass it off as a skiing injury. At least it wasn’t critical. So long as they kept fresh dressings on it, everything would be fine.
She placed her hand in his and squeezed it gently. It was surprisingly warm to the touch.
Martay tried to keep his face as calm as possible but in truth her touch had sent his heart racing.
“I wish I could heal it for you. Then I’d feel like my power was at least good for something. If I can hurt people why can’t I heal them?”
“How would that even work,” Martay asked in surprise?
He vaguely remembered Snipping saying something about not being able to directly change people’s bodies as a dreamwalker.
“Something to do with people’s subconscious identity being connected to the dream plane I think.”
Amy couldn’t remember the details either. Maybe she should ask the Arbiter about it. After all, what was the danger so long as she could shut off her mind to outside influence while she dreamed. As long as she didn’t actually create anything she shouldn’t draw any attention.
“Maybe I could find out if there is anything I can do,” she proffered.
“What do you mean exactly?”
“I could ask the Arbiter if there is any way I can help you.”
“I thought Snipping wanted you to stay awake throughout the flight?”
“Yes, but then again, he was happy for me to create the passport, wasn’t he? I’m not in a coma anymore. I can keep my mind closed and wake up if I need to. You heard Snipping, I need to continue my training anyway and I can’t stay awake forever. I’d already been thinking about it but I didn’t want to say anything in front of him because I knew he would freak out about getting trapped on a plane.”
Martay appreciated her concern, and given the pain in his side he was tempted to give it a try but in the end his desire to keep her safe was stronger.
“Not yet,” he said. “Snipping is right. If you stay out of the dreams through the flight the enemy definitely can’t find us. Even if he can’t get into your head, think how many people sleep on long flights that he could control. It would be much safer to wait until we are back on the ground.”
Amy hadn’t thought about it that way and she saw the validity of what Martay was saying. She gave a sigh of resignation.
“Well you should try to get some sleep at least. You need to rest!”
Amy wasn’t wrong. The trip so far had been exhausting for Martay but at the same time he was extremely reluctant to do anything that would mean letting go of Amy’s delicate hand. She smiled at him then let go and started unwrapping the headphones provided for the flight. Martay leaned back and closed his eyes. His dreams were very pleasant ones, though he wasn’t sure when they changed from thoughts to dreams.
Amy settled in by starting a movie on the in-flight entertainment system but she kept an eye on Martay until he had actually fallen into a deep sleep. As she looked at him lying there helplessly, a pang of emotion shot through her. She turned back to the movie with a little shake of the head. She couldn’t stand the idea of putting anyone in danger let alone doing so for an indefinite amount of time. What was she going to do? Her thoughts swam at the front of her mind for some time before she was finally able to let it go and relax a little. She was getting by at the moment by keeping herself emotionally n
umb.
✽ ✽ ✽
Kestel looked up suddenly at the booming sound as someone hammered on the large double-doors which led into the library.
“What the hell,” he grumbled.
The sound was much louder than usual and had a metallic ring to it. Someone was hammering on his library doors wearing gauntlets! He made his way carefully back down the sliding ladder and swung the doors open fiercely when he reached them. Standing on the other side, looking distinctly pale was one of his gate guards.
“Peshti? What the devil is wrong man?”
The man jerked his head down and up in a very rushed attempt at a bow.
“Lord,” he said, seeming a little out of breath, “there is a Ducal regiment at the gate demanding entrance to complete an inquiry.”
Kestel stiffened. A few years ago he might have thought the guards were playing a joke. However, in recent days he had been expecting this. Fortunately, he had been spending a lot of time reading from a very specific section of his library.
“Well Peshti, you can gather the other guards to the gate,” he looked the young man in the eye with a deadly serious expression, “and then tell them to piss off. The Duke has no legal right to demand any such thing from another Lord.”
“Ahhh…” Peshti’s legs were almost visibly shaking.
“What is it man? Come on, spit it out, spit it out!”
“Their captain said he thought you might say that and told me to give you this.”
Peshti handed over a thick scroll, sealed with the Duke’s own mark. It took Kestel a few moments to read through it, then he took a sharp intake of breath.
“Surely he wouldn’t… The arrogant fool!” Kestel expounded. “He’s trying to re-write the damn rules! Well that settles that. Follow me please.”
Kestel was too old to truly stride anymore but even slightly hobbled, he moved with impressive speed out through the gardens and down into the town, eventually reaching the gates that normally stood open. Lately they had been kept closed due to the attacks in the south. Kestel was a cautious man when it came to the protection of his people and this was the only reason the Ducal regiment hadn’t just walked straight in, unchallenged.
Kestel began to climb the spiral staircase inside a gate tower, grunting a little with the effort of each left step on the leg that pained him. He soon reached the walkway over the gate and looked down at the lines of heavily armoured horsemen. He had genuinely hoped it wouldn’t come to this but the Duke had clearly reached the point of paranoia.
“Well gentlemen,” his voice barked rather than boomed, “it would appear you have lawful orders to investigate matters of state which have not been disclosed to you, is that correct?”
A tall man, who had already dismounted, stepped forward from the group. The insignia stitched into his travel cloak identified him as the Captain.
“Yes, m’lord and I assure you we shall be swift and avoid any disruption where possible.”
Kestel thought there was something familiar about the young man. The neatly trimmed black beard was somewhat unique amongst troops, who were, in general, clean shaven as privates and otherwise very scruffy.
“What is your name lad?”
“Captain Gerhart m’lord.”
“Excellent. I do believe in courtesy, even during disagreement, Captain Gerhart, and now that I have observed courtesy, I demand that your regiment piss off.”
Some men behind the captain began to murmur. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The young captain, felt Kestel, handled it better than most officers would. He remained assertive and polite in the face of blatant dismissal.
“My apologies m’lord but we cannot do that. We are under orders, and though I would personally have questioned them in the past, I have read the letter confirming the legality of the action. As such, I am honor bound to carry out my order, and recommend that you also honor the law in turn.”
Really, Kestel thought, the boy was quite good. A shame that he had been dropped into something well over his head. Oh well, time to see if he sinks or swims.
“And which law would you be talking about boy?”
The question silenced the captain for a moment as he tried to work out whether this was a trick. His face betrayed confusion, and as Kestel was waiting for a response he gave a subtle nod to the commander of his guard.
The captain finally spoke up.
“The common law of the Kingdom of Aerandos of course m’lord.”
And now for the hammer fall, Kestel thought.
“I see. Well in that case I feel compelled to reiterate: piss off. The common law of the Kingdom of Aerandos does not apply to the independent state of Oszterhaz. If your men require provisions before your journey home, we will be gracious enough to provide some. We are, after all, not enemies.”
The captain was flummoxed.
“M’lord I am truly sorry but I must insist you comply with our request, otherwise we must enter by force.”
“To do so would be an act of war and we shall defend ourselves,” Kestel retorted defiantly.
“How can it be an act of war? We are one Kingdom!”
The captain had intended to seem commanding but his voice betrayed his confusion.
“As I already told you, we are an independent state. You will find, young man, that in the absence of a King, provinces may decide to become independent of the Kingdom if they have grounds to believe that the actions of the steward are not in the best interest of the province. By all means though, attempt to enter by force if you feel you are honor bound by your duty.”
The captain stared hard at Kestel and saw nothing bu grim determination. This was further punctuated by the steady influx of archers on the gate. They weren’t drawing arrows but their strung weapons were in their hands. He looked back at Kestel and nodded. He wasn’t going to risk his soldiers’ lives for the sake of bad politics.
“If you are right then I have no authority to start a war. I will return this information to the Duke.”
“Clever boy. Send him my regards.”
Kestel turned to leave but the captain called out to him.
“A moment please m’lord.”
“Yes lad, what is it?”
“You do realise of course what will happen if you don’t actually have the right to claim this so-called independence?”
“Let me see if my legal knowledge still serves me well…” Kestel gave a loud ‘harumph’ to signify he was thinking hard. “The Duke will unify an army from the provincial forces, invade my city and have me hung drawn and quartered for treason. Is that about right?”
Captain Gerhart ignored the rhetorical question.
“And you would risk the lives of your people on such a gambit?”
“Of course not! Use your brain lad. I wouldn’t risk anyone’s life on a gambit.”
“I see.”
“Thankfully, this isn’t a gambit. Now I suggest you make camp for a night and rest before the long ride home. Further away from my walls if you don’t mind.”
A little later Kestel was brooding in the library again. Had he gone too far? The damn boy was right, he was risking innocent lives here and the risk was a gamble on politics.
“Damn, bloody politics,” he barked out loud. Well at some point you had to stand up for what was right and hope that for once you could use politics for some good, rather than its usual function. After all, he was within his rights to claim independence. The problem was, the Duke probably wouldn’t agree on the grounds for this claim.
Kestel had already sent messengers out to the provinces he knew were friendly to garner pre-emptive support. Now he had to wait and watch the metaphorical storm clouds develop.
✽ ✽ ✽
The flight was uneventful overall. They had been served the typically average food for dinner and breakfast. Martay and Snipping had caught up on sleep and Amy had caught up on all the recently released movies. Not surprisingly, all of them were keen to be back on the ground by the time they were d
escending into Vancouver.
Their first tense moment came while they were clearing customs. Unlike their experience leaving Europe, the Canadian passport control officer took a lengthy amount of time to check through all the details, and asked a number of questions about how long they were planning to stay and the purpose of their visit. He even spent unexplained time typing rapidly into his computer with a frown on his face. But in the end he let the three of them through.
Snowfall greeted them when they finally exited the airport to find a taxi and they pulled all of their winter clothes out and wrapped up. The air seemed to pierce straight through their jackets and they had barely been outside more than thirty seconds. They hailed a taxi and clambered in without hesitation.
Snipping directed the driver to take them to the city centre. Although they had a rough plan, they still needed to find and book some accommodation.
They had not even gotten as far as the city when suddenly the driver’s mobile phone rang. He looked at the incoming call with an odd expression before apologizing and explaining that he would have to stop and take the call. He pulled over smoothly and got out of the car to answer the call.
“That’s… unusual,” said Amy nervously. She watched the driver as he paced up and down on the phone. Snipping was watching him intently as well but the driver soon hung up and got back into the car.
“Sorry about that,” he said with a weak smile. It was clear that whatever the phone call had been about, it had shaken him.
“So, city centre right? Don’t have a hotel or something booked that you would like to go to?”
The question seemed harmless but Snipping’s paranoid attitude jumped to a negative conclusion.
“No, we’re meetin’ friends there who’ll be lookin’ after us while we’re ‘ere.”
“I see. Good way to see a country that! Always better if you know locals. You folks been here before?”
Snipping didn’t like the sudden talkative nature of the driver and quickly sought to shut down the conversation. The driver must have noticed because his cheeks went red and he was silent the rest of the way. Nevertheless, Snipping was glad when they were able to get out and quickly hustled the others out of sight of the cab who stayed put after dropping them off.
Bridge Between the Worlds (Dreamwalker Book 1) Page 41
