Two Rompeerial military trucks passing an arm’s length from her hiding place sparked a wave of aversion so powerful it left her shaking. She glared after them. I hate you.
Enmity propelled her along the road for a better view. They braked to a stop in front of the sacred hall, the only building left standing. The front doors flew open. Soldiers herded frightened women and children into the street, marched them to the back of a truck, and loaded them into the bed. Huddled together, they peered between boards and the canvas roof.
A soldier closed the hall doors and jogged down the steps. “All clear.”
Orders were given. The building exploded into flames.
A woman screamed. “You are nothing but murderers. How can you roast men alive? Are your gods so heinous—”
A soldier caught her by the hair, yanked her around, and slapped her so hard she crumpled and lay unmoving. He jumped from the truck bed, slammed the gate shut, and threw the bolts.
Amid the crackle and hiss of the raging inferno, the soldiers climbed aboard the second truck. Engines growled to life. The trucks roared out of sight.
Rayn raced toward the hall. The aroma of roasting flesh tainting the air made her gag. A bell’s dissonant clang rose above the audible groan of blazing walls. The bell tower trembled in the murky light and collapsed in a flaming heap. A miasma of death rose from the ruins. Wavering specters of men floated over the hall. Their whispered moans escalated into a tortured keening.
Outrage rumbled in her gut, outrage fueled by so much force her knees buckled. Gulping air into lungs squeezed empty, Rayn calmed her pounding heart. Shaking loosened hair back from her face, she rubbed her hands in the burnt grass and marked her forehead, cheeks, chin, and nose with black.
Thunder crashed and lightening flashed. She came to her feet, threw her head back. Arms raised to the heavens, she yelled above the approaching tempest.
“With the storm gods as my witness, I swear to avenge the deaths of our people and the destruction of our homelands.” She lowered her arms and bowed her head as rain pelted down.
Rayn bolted upright. The quartz in her hand throbbed. Alkina’s rosy iridescence pooled on the windowsill and spilled onto the bench. Uncurling her fingers, she set the crystal in the moonlight and rested her face in her hands.
The tranquility of night on Osullini diluted the horror of her dream, but not the ache in her heart. I will not forget you or the promise I have made.
A soft knock preceded her grandparents into the room. Arden held a chair for his companion and pulled his next to her.
Observing them from a new place of understanding, Rayn realized they, too, had experienced the dream. Keelyn’s tear-damp eyes reflected her sorrow in their moonlit depths. Her granddah’s, gleaming with Alkina’s warmth, did not hide the ache in his soul.
He cleared his throat. “Why do you wish to become an Animilero?”
“To avenge our people.” She picked up the crystal and pressed it between her palms. “I realize, Granddah, that I must release my personal need for revenge if I am to accomplish this as an Animilero.”
“Are you able to do that, Rayn Jaradee Palmira? Can you leave revenge behind and allow love for all life to guide you?”
She held the crystal up in the golden light and watched the prisms dance. Cradling it next to her heart, she gave him her answer. “I cannot promise that I will succeed, but I promise to do my best.”
A smile changed his serious expression to satisfaction. “That is all I can ask of any student, Rayn. If you wish to be an Animilero, we will be proud to teach you.”
A smiling Keelyn indicated a door at the end of the room. “I think you might want to clean your face before we invite your friend to join us.”
Rayn touched her cheek and stared at the black soot on her finger tips. “This is from the village in the dream. I don’t understand.”
Her grandmameen hugged her. “Not all questions have an answer. Go, wash your face. Rasiana is anxious to see you.”
Rayn’s throat tightened. “And Kuparak.”
Impenetrability cloaked her granddah. “He’s gone, Rayn. He received a message soon after you landed, one important enough for him to depart without seeing you.”
“Do you know where—”
Arden stood. “Wash your face. Your friend waits.”
Rayn scowled at her reflection, glimpsed a resemblance to her granddah, and frowned. “Why does he make me so cross?” Pushing the unanswerable question to the back of her mind, she pondered her refection and thought back to her lessons about the indigenous tribes of El QuilTran.
“Charnlandian's paint their faces on feast days and for birth celebrations and spiritual ceremonies and to alert the gods to protect them in battle.”
She touched the surface of the mirror, traced the soot black lines, and raised a quizzical brow. “Why did you paint your face, Rayn Jaradee?” Understanding flashed back at her. She squared her shoulders. “I painted my face to show I am willing to fight for my people. I am ready.”
When Rayn returned to the main room, Rasiana sat alone by the open window. “Where are my grandparents?”
“They have gone to prepare food and to allow us to catch up.” She patted the seat beside her. “What happened to you? One moment you were beside me, the next you were gone.”
Rayn slipped a hand in her pocket and wrapped her fingers around the crystal’s pulsing warmth. Placing it on the windowsill, she focused on its glowing iridescence and shared her story, reliving it one word at a time. With the sound of the bell tower’s final moments ringing in her ears, she released a long breath and looked at her friend.
“Oh, Rayn, it must have been awful.” Rasiana hugged herself and shuddered.
“It was horrible, but also good. Kuparak told me I wasn’t ready to jump into the height of battle in Chunarrie. Of course, I thought I knew better.” The young boy’s image formed in her mind. Resentment seeped into her tone. “I know nothing about the agony of our people.”
Rasiana responded in her gentle unhurried way. “But you do, dear Rayn. You have lost your mother, your birth-mate, and your tukoolo. What you lack is knowledge and the experience to understand others. That’s why we are here, is it not?”
Alkina’s light had gradually diminished until the garden and the room were dark, but for one candle. In its flickering light, she observed her friend’s beautiful nutmeg skin and long, russet hair. She soaked in her gentleness, even as she recognized the will of steel beneath it.
“That is why I am here. Why are you?”
A laugh filled the room. “Oh, Rayn, do you have to ask? I’m here because I have sworn to fight by your side and to protect you.” She grew serious. “But most of all, I’m here because I love you as a sister—like the one I lost so long ago.”
Rayn clasped Rasiana’s hand between hers. “Rasi, I had no idea… I am sorry.”
Rasiana looked from their sandwiched hands to Rayn’s face. “You have never touched me of your own accord. Thank you.”
Releasing her hand, Rayn sat for a time in silence. Calming a rush of emotion, she drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Tell me what happened to you after I disappeared.”
After a long look at the night dome, Rasiana released a soft breath. “I landed next to Kuparak, panicked because you had vanished. When he smiled that knowing smile of his, I knew you must be safe. Abruptly his demeanor changed. Quiescent energy as sharp as the blade of your dagger cloaked him. Toa swept over the beach. The next instant two smoky galees streaked across the dome headed for El SyrTundi. You can imagine my chagrin. The sunset had melted into the soft hues of early evening. A few stars already twinkled over my head.”
“What did you do, Rasi? Were you scared?”
She leaned an elbow on the window sill and wrinkled her brow in concentration. “Not really scared. Oha landed close by. You were safe. At least, I assumed you were. Kup would not have left me on a deserted island to die. I chose not to panic. Instea
d, I accepted I was safe also. The moment I released the need to control the situation, the air around me began to undulate and glow. Blue sand and ocean vanished. I stood in a glass house. Long tables covered with planting boxes lined the space.
At one of them, a woman not much older than I placed a handful of herbs in her basket and faced me. “Come, Rasiana, we have much to do. I’m so glad you’ve arrived.” She hurried through a doorway.
“Collecting my scattered wits, I hastened after her along a sterile, white hallway and into a room lined on both sides with beds—beds full of injured men, women, and children. The woman handed the basket to a young girl and instructed her to take them to Granni Aloe. Over her shoulder, she instructed me to follow.”
Rayn nodded. “Kup did say Osullini was more than it seemed. You were in an infirmary, right?”
“Yes. The woman turned out to be the head healer. Your grandmameen had told her to watch for me. Her name is Ceri. A family had just arrived from the mainland. The boy and the granddah were both wounded. The mother was in a state of shock. Her baby daughter’s arm was badly burnt. Ceri had been informed of my training as a healer, so we worked on the family together.”
“I saw a similar family in my dream.” Rayn mused. “They couldn’t be the same, could they? After all, it was a dream…not real, right?”
Rasiana stood up. “There’s one way to find out.”
38
Jaradee’s Legacy
Part 3 - Conflict
A young woman with the blonde hair and fair skin of the full-blooded Thornlandian met them at the infirmary entrance, acknowledged Rayn with a harried smiled, and a brief and crisp ‘welcome to Osullini,’ and addressed Rasiana.
“I’m so glad you’re here. We have more wounded arriving, and our little family is having difficulties. The granddah passed. I could use your help.”
Rasiana drew Rayn forward. “We can both help, Ceri. Rayn is not a fully trained healer, but she acquired some excellent caregiving skills during her time in Cimondeli.”
Ceri led the way along a corridor defined by rows of beds on both sides. Beckoning Rayn to follow, she made her way to a curtained cubicle, where a tearful woman clung to a fussy baby, and a boy snoozed on an infirmary cot.
Rayn gulped down an exclamation of disbelief and tried not to stare.
Ceri checked the boys pulse and turned to his mother. “This is Rayn, Nolee. She’ll watch Mati, while you and I take care of the baby’s burns.”
Nolee sniffed. “I can’t leave him. I won’t lose him, too.”
Rayn controlled a wave of astonishment and knelt in front of the woman she had seen in her dream. “Your little one needs help, and she needs you to go with her. I promise I won’t let anything happen to Mati.”
The woman pulled a dirty piece of paper from her pocket. “I didn’t think you were real. The RomPeer’s soldiers have hunted everywhere for you. All the villages in El QuilTran have been searched. When you weren’t found, they were torched and the woman and children taken away.”
Rayn accepted the paper, unfolded it, and gasped. Her likeness and the size of the reward stunned her. “I had no idea people were dying and losing their homes because of me. I am so—”
The woman shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. We know you’re going to save our people. Barring that, you’ll find a way to save El QuilTran. Even had you been hiding in our village, no one would have turned you over to the soldiers.” She stood up. “I trust you to protect my son.”
The cubicle curtain whispered shut behind them. Rayn sank onto her chair and studied the drawing on the flyer. The exactness of it left her shivering.
“What’s your name?”
She looked up to find Mati observing her. “Hi. I’m Rayn.”
“I’m Mati, and I’m ten.” He rubbed his eyes and peered at her again. “I saw you.”
“Where?” She scooted the chair nearer the cot.
“In the village after the soldiers burned it down. You were hard to see…kinda blurry around the edges. You saw me, too, didn’t you?”
“I did. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t.”
He pushed up on an elbow. “Were you a ghost?”
“I think we were in a dream.”
Sitting up, he fingered the bandage on his head. “It wasn’t a dream, Rayn. Dreams don’t hurt.”
The curtain whished open. Arden walked to the side of the cot. “Hello, Mati. I’m Rayn’s granddah. May I sit?”
The boy’s chin quivered. “My granddah died. I tried to help, but I’m not big enough.”
Arden sat at the end of the cot. “But you saved your mother and sister. I’m certain your granddah would be proud of you.” He cupped his hands and held them out. “If you put your sorrow in my hands, maybe you will feel better.”
Mati pressed his hands to his heart, placed them over Arden’s, brushed them together, and gave him a tremulous smile. “That feels better.” He cocked his head to one side. “What will you do with my sadness?”
Arden closed his hands and raised them to his lips, then pressed them to his heart. “I will keep it safe until it is no longer needed.”
Relief steadied Mati’s smile. “Thank you, Arden.”
“It is my honor. Now, I believe you’re tired. Perhaps a nap?”
Mati yawned, winced, and touched his head. “Will a nap help my head, Rayn?”
“I am sure it will.” Rayn tucked him in and planted a kiss on his cheek.
He smothered another yawn. “Will I see you again?”
“I’ll come by tomorrow.”
“You, too, Arden?”
“Of course.” Arden touched Mati’s temple. “Sleep and dream your healing.”
Soft, relaxed breathing floated through the cubicle.
Ceri peeked around the curtain. “Good. He’s resting. Best thing for him.” She motioned them into the ward. “Keelyn picked up Rasiana. She asked me to tell you your meal is ready. Thanks for helping.”
Preceding Arden through the ward to the hall, Rayn paused. “After we eat, I need to know how my dream and Mati’s reality blended together.”
Good food and good conversation left Rayn relaxed. A torrent of fatigue hit the moment she let down. Keelyn gave her a draught to keep her dreams at bay and sent her to bed. She wondered as she drifted into sleep if she would ever catch up.
The brightness of mid-turning pouring through the open window woke her. Padding across the carpeted floor, she inhaled the sweet smells of grass and flowers. A dog’s elated bark and a child’s laugh floated up from the garden. Rayn leaned out. Mati sat in a wheelchair in the midst of a litter of yipping puppies. He glanced up and waved, then held one up. She waved and withdrew, smiling. What a pleasant way to begin the day.
Sinking onto a chair next to the window, she contemplated how Mati had come into her life and Arden’s explanation of why her dream and Mati’s reality had intersected.
“It’s all about perception,” he’d said. “We each perceive our world from our own perspective, which in itself is dependent upon our personal knowledge and understanding of where we are and how things work. I see Osullini differently than you. You see the island from a fresh perspective. I, on the other hand, have lived here the majority of my long life. It is my home, and I perceive it from my connection to it.
“When your grandmameen and I left you to consider your reasons for wishing to be an Animilero, we went to our room.”
Keelyn picked up the thread of the conversation and continued to weave the explanation. “We knew you would sleep. When you did, we were ready. Arden took us on a seeker’s journey. He felt it was important for you to understand events on El QuilTran so you could make an informed decision.”
Arden reclaimed the thread. “We traveled through a time-fold, which paralleled Mati’s world. His youth allowed him to suspend disbelief and to see you. The subconscious of the soldiers perceived your presence; their conscious minds dismissed it. It is all a matter of perception.” He paused to let his expla
nation sink in.
Rayn watched a healer push Mati back to the infirmary. I think I understand.
She sank onto the edge of the bed. A mental image made her smile: Awinta at her loom, her foot pumping the treadle; the shuttle flying back and forth. The whole conversation had resembled the weaving of one of her tapestries. Arden represented the warp and Keelyn the weft. I was the shuttle carrying the yarn of weft through the shed to weave it with the warp. The interwoven threads helped me to make sense of the whole.
Her thoughts returned to the conversation.
She asked, “What is a time-fold?”
Arden shook out his napkin and folded it in half. “In order for you to see what was occurring without being seen, I used my shameen’s skill to create a distortion or fold in the continuum of space and time. This allowed you to walk in Mati’s reality, but slightly behind the flow of it.” He placed the napkin on the table.
Rayn frowned. “I thought you said we went on the seekers’ journey. Why didn’t I see you there?”
Keelyn explained. “Because we remained in this dimension and Arden transported you via a parallel dimension. We wanted you to have the autonomy to perceive and react to happenings without our influence.”
Arden pushed back his chair. “Let’s adjourn to a more comfortable place. We have a few more things to discuss.”
On Arden’s office veranda, a decanter and glasses awaited them. Settling in comfortable chairs, they sat for a time sipping light berry port and enjoying the quiet of dusk.
Arden placed his glass on the tray. “Tomorrow, you will both begin your training in the skills of the Animilero.”
Rasiana gasped. “But Arden, I cannot kill. I don’t want—”
He dismissed her unwillingness with a wave of his hand. “If you are to accompany Rayn and protect her, then you must know how to fight. I understand your reticence to kill. Animilero honor life. They do not take one unless there is no other choice. You will be studying with both Keelyn and me. Keelyn will teach you spirituality, general survival skills, and the anatomy of the kill. I will teach physical conditioning, weaponry, and one-on-one combat. In addition, Rasiana will continue to help in the infirmary, and, you, Rayn, will work in the greenhouse and gardens.” He stood up. “I suggest you get some rest. You are about to work harder than you have ever worked in your lives.”
The UnFolding Collection Three Page 92
