by Mike Shelton
Shaeleen’s heart leaped with fear, but she tried to control her voice as she said, “My name is Shaeleen, and I am traveling to Riverton.”
“For what purpose?” the man asked, looking even more menacing, if possible. His hair was dark and short, but his goatee was spotted with gray. And his strength was apparent through the way his uniform fit.
Without thinking, she said, “To see a friend.” The words were clearly a bold lie, and she couldn’t help but bend over in pain.
One of the other soldiers moved to her side and grabbed her arms, lifting her back up. “What is wrong with you?” the soldier said. “Don’t you know who you are speaking with?”
Shaeleen certainly didn’t know the man that had asked the questions, but she knew she couldn’t afford to lie to him again—at least, not such a strong lie.
“What is your friend’s name?” came the next question from the man.
Orin moved up next to Shaeleen and touched the side of her arm. She knew what he meant to do. He could whisk her out of there—but where would they go? They were on the water.
Before Shaeleen could answer the man, Erlinda stepped forward out of the dark corner. Shaeleen winced. The woman was going to give them away, she was sure.
The man standing before Shaeleen took a step back in surprise. “TruthSeer.” He bowed his head slightly at Erlinda.
“Commander Kerr,” Erlinda said.
“Commander Kerr, what are you doing here?” Shaeleen said before thinking—once again.
The soldier next to Shaeleen slapped her on the mouth and said, “You do not speak so to the battle commander of Gabor.”
“Commander Kerr!” Erlinda stepped forward. “Kindly control your thugs.”
The soldier gave the old TruthSeer a murderous look.
But the commander put his hand out toward the soldier. “Retreat, soldier. You two may wait outside the door.”
The two soldiers obediently left and closed the door behind them. Then Erlinda walked over to Shaeleen and handed her a cloth to wipe the blood off her mouth.
“Since when do we go about hitting young girls, Commander?” Erlinda pulled herself up to her full height, which was still much shorter than the commander’s.
“Times are stressful, TruthSeer,” Commander Kerr said. “You of all people should know that.”
Shaeleen gave Erlinda a sideways look. It appeared that the two knew each other. And the man’s wife had been at the dinner with Prince Calix the previous evening.
“How is Queen Victoria?” Erlinda asked.
The commander paled, and his eyes opened wide. Shaeleen knew the next words out of his mouth were likely to be false, so she braced herself.
“The queen is fine and rules Gabor well, of course,” Commander Kerr said with an almost memorized cadence.
Shaeleen felt the pain in her head rather than her gut this time, which seemed easier to control. She winced only briefly and saw the old TruthSeer sway slightly. Erlinda recovered quickly and didn’t debate the commander’s words.
“Why are you here, TruthSeer? And who are these two?” The commander turned and gave a hard look at Shaeleen and Orin.
“I am on my way to see the queen and her TruthSeer. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Justyn.”
As the commander watched Erlinda carefully, Shaeleen noticed that Erlinda had answered without any lies.
“And these two young ones are accompanying me,” Erlinda continued. “I’m not as young as I once was, and I need help.”
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to go to Riverton right now, TruthSeer,” Commander Kerr said. “It’s not safe there.”
Shaeleen noticed how his demand was also worded without any lies. Safe for whom? Them, the people of Gabor, or the queen?
“You have no authority over her,” Shaeleen said, for she knew they had to get to Riverton. The closer they got, the stronger the Red Jasper StrengthStone pulled to her, as the IntelligenceStone in Galena had done.
The commander shrugged. “Authority or not, I am sure Prince Calix would like his TruthSeer at his side when I meet with him.”
As the commander moved toward the door, Shaeleen reached out in desperation and grabbed his arm, pulling forth the power of the TruthStone. It raced through her body and mind, filling her with strength and determination. The commander tried to pull away, but somehow Shaeleen held on to him.
“Why are you going to meet with Prince Calix?” Shaeleen asked, using her power to force him to answer.
She could see him struggling under her command. The power of strength flowing through his veins fought with all its might, but Shaeleen dug deeper and opened up a well of power that she hardly knew existed.
“Tell me!” Shaeleen’s voice roared through the room, and a wind rushed out of her, almost knocking over the commander. The TruthStone ruled all other stones.
The commander’s tongue was loosed, but he fought every word as he said, “To – form – an – alliance – to – give – Prince Calix – the – throne – of – Gabor.”
“Why?” Shaeleen held his arm in her small hand and forced another answer. She could feel his muscles rippling under her fingers, from him trying to get away.
“The…TruthSeer…told…me…to,” Commander Kerr said through gritted teeth. Then, with one last burst of strength, he pulled away from her and fell against the door.
The TruthSeer! What TruthSeer?
With the contact gone, the power Shaeleen held retreated back into the stone, and she crumpled in weakness to the floor.
“What have you done, child?” Erlinda said. “You can’t force someone’s mind like that. You could kill them.”
“Shae, Shae!” Orin kneeled down next to her.
She tried to stay conscious, but she was so weak. Out of squinting eyes, she saw Commander Kerr give her the most murderous look she had ever seen in her life. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Take them!” the commander barked out. “All three of them.”
Into the room came a dozen soldiers, swords out in front of them. The strength of the Red Jasper stone filled them all.
Shaeleen looked up into the eyes of Orin and nodded to him. He knew what she meant. He grabbed her hand and pulled on the power of the orange Garnet SpeedStone that flowed through his own blood.
They had to get away!
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Shaeleen felt Orin’s hold on her hand. Then everyone else in the room seemed to freeze around them as Orin worked his way across the room. It was crowded, and each time they tried to move, they would bump into one of the soldiers, and that would take them out of the speed. Then Orin would pull them back in. This constant changing of speed was confusing and disorienting.
Cries of dismay filled the room between the barking demands of Commander Kerr to “catch and hold them.” Once, a soldier reached his enormous hands around Shaeleen’s throat, and she felt herself getting dizzy, but Orin pulled them away again. However, the soldier came with them. His surprise allowed her to get out of his grasp. With the little strength she had, she hit him in the gut. But it did no good. Then Orin stopped speeding, and the soldier fell away.
They were almost to the door when she saw Erlinda standing there, her mouth agape at what was happening.
“Should we take her too?” Orin asked.
Shaeleen shook her head. The old TruthSeer had slowed their journey down too much. And Shaeleen was fairly certain the commander wouldn’t hurt Erlinda.
In the brief moment they had conversed, the commander himself had moved to block them. Due to his strength, he was also faster than most men. He grabbed Orin, holding his shoulder. Orin tried to pull away with his powers of speed, but the strength of the commander held on to him.
Shaeleen wished that Cole could have been with them. Maybe it had been a mistake to leave him.
But she couldn’t let them be caught. Shaeleen pulled once more on the strength of the TruthStone. The small IntelligenceStone of Labradorite ga
ve her the knowledge of how to use her powers better. Somehow, by touching Orin and the commander, she as a holder of the TruthStone was able to pull upon their powers of speed and strength temporarily. The only powers she was missing at the moment were healing and hearing.
With four powers at her disposal, she brought her hands out in front of her and formed a ball of blue power, crackling in its intensity as it grew bigger and bigger. Then she slammed the ball of power into the commander with all the force she had, shards of the power flying out into all the soldiers in the room. The power had been immense, but the aftereffect was also vast.
Shaeleen screamed out in pain and then said, “Now, Orin!”
Orin pulled them through the door, up the stairs, and onto the deck of the ship in the blink of an eye. They stopped at the stern, where the warship had docked against theirs. Shaeleen fell against the railing with gasping breaths. She raised a finger and pointed to the warship.
Orin understood and, pulling her back up, they sped through the air, landing on the battle commander’s warship. Most of the soldiers from the warship had followed the commander onto the boat Shaeleen had been on. But there were still a few soldiers standing here with the crew. Their eyes opened wide, and their swords flew out of their scabbards as Shaeleen and Orin appeared, almost as if out of nowhere, landing on the deck of their ship.
Shaeleen could barely stand, but she could still think. Thoughts flew with such clarity and intensity through her mind that she could hardly keep up with them. She pointed to the stern of the warship, and Orin took them there, leaving the soldiers and crew behind them. The shore was not too far away from this side of the ship.
Tied up at the back of the commander’s ship was a small rowboat. Shaeleen and Orin jumped into it, and Orin, who was used to working on ships, pulled the rope that allowed the small rowboat to drop onto the water. Arrows from above were loosed around them. One stuck into the wood right by Shaeleen’s leg.
“Row, Orin, row!” Shaeleen yelled out as she fought to keep herself upright.
Orin must have been tired and almost ready to collapse himself, but he pulled himself up with a determined look and grabbed the oars. Just as he began to row furiously, an arrow sailed through the air from above and stuck into Orin’s shoulder.
“Owww!” Orin howled in pain and faltered in his rowing.
“Keep going, Orin. You can do it!” Shaeleen encouraged him between ragged breaths. She felt so weak. Then the power left her—all of it. There wasn’t any left, and blackness began to close in around her vision.
Orin grunted and tried to pull the arrow out, but couldn’t’ do it himself.
“To the shore,” she whispered, and before she blacked out entirely, she watched in amazement as Orin’s arms – even the one with the arrow in it, began spinning terribly fast. She reached a hand back, against the side of the boat, to keep from falling out. Salty water sprayed over her face as she slumped down lower.
Succumbing to the darkness, she hoped Orin was fast enough—then everything went silent.
* * *
“Shae, Shae!”
Shaeleen could hear a faraway voice calling her name.
“Shae, Shae!” the voice said, getting louder, and her mind started to clear up. “Shae, wake up. I can’t go any farther.”
Orin! It was Orin’s voice calling to her. Suddenly, she remembered what had happened, and she slowly opened her eyes. She found herself lying on the ground. She brought up a hand to shield her vision from the fading light. Putting her other hand down by her side, she felt the small grains of sand beneath her.
“Shae,” Orin said, sitting down next to her. “My power is gone and I can’t move my arm.”
Shaeleen noticed the stub of the arrow still sticking out of his shoulder, blood mixed with water dribbled down from it.
In response to her glance Orin turned and looked at his own shoulder. “I broke it off, but can’t get it out. I’m so tired Shae, but we have to get farther inland. They may send someone after us.”
Shaeleen sat up and blinked a few times. The light did not seem so bright now; in fact, she could see that the sun would set soon and darkness would fall quick up against the trees.
“I don’t know what to do about the arrow, Orin,” It was her fault he was hurt. “I’m so sorry. We need to get you help.”
Orin’s clothes were soaked, and sand clung to him everywhere. His blond hair was plastered against his head, and beside the arrow wound she could see a scrape on the side of his face. He looked exhausted, but he still wore a big smile.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Did you see how fast I rowed?”
Shaeleen shook her head and grinned. “I was out of it most of the time. But you did get us away from them.”
“I sure did.”
“How long have we been here?” Shaeleen asked as they both stood up. Shaeleen wobbled for a moment, still weak from the experience. Off in the distance, she could see the three warships and the smaller trading ship they had been on, sitting on the water. They seemed to be still anchored farther out and had not moved. “How long have I been out?”
“I dragged you out of the rowboat maybe half an hour ago. You wouldn’t wake up, and I didn’t have any more strength or speed to get you farther. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Shaeleen put her hand on Orin’s arm. “You saved us!”
Orin flinched at Shaeleen’s touch and looked at her hand, but he didn’t pull away.
Shaeleen looked down in shame. She knew what he must be thinking. “I’m sorry about what I did back there with the commander. But I panicked and couldn’t think of anything else to do. I had to know his intentions.”
Orin watched her for a moment, appearing older and more serious than a boy his age should have to be. “Just promise me that you won’t ever do that to me.”
“Oh, Orin!” Shaeleen moved closer to him and tenderly touched his good shoulder. “I would never hurt you.”
When she stepped back away, she noticed Orin’s cheeks had reddened, and she let out a small laugh. Orin scowled and tried not to look at her. She had embarrassed him with her tenderness.
“That was crazy!” Orin finally said. “I can’t believe the power you had, Shae. What are you really?”
Ahh, the question that seems to plague me.
“I don’t really know for sure.” Shaeleen shrugged, having spoken the truth. What was she? And, what was she really meant to do or become? “But your power, Orin. You are powerful—more so, I would guess, than most in Antioch.”
Orin shrugged then laughed again. “It was fun, though!”
“You have a wicked sense of fun for one so young. Now, we need to find help. I don’t’ know how long either one of us can stay on our feet.” As the two of them began walking inland and into the forest, the light disappeared, the forest became darker, and Shaeleen grew worried.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
An hour after sunset, they could barely see the outlines of the forest around them, and the ancient pines blocked any light from the moon or stars. The forest itself held an earthy smell that Shaeleen found different from what she was used to smelling on the coast of Galena. It was not altogether unpleasant. But they were miserable in their wet clothes in the constant humidity and both were stumbling along – Orin more so. His face was flushed and he walked slower and slower as the night drew on.
Shaeleen thought she saw a flicker of light off to her right. She put her arm out in front of Orin to stop him. He tumbled into her and fell to the ground. She bent down to help him back up.
“I can’t Shae,” he mumbled.
Shaeleen gathered any remaining strength she still had and lifted him to his feet. Orin was shorter than her, but didn’t weigh much less. She helped him toward the light she had seen. Soft voices floated through the thick trees as they approached, and they could hear an occasional laugh.
As they moved closer, Shaeleen could see a group of people huddled around a small fire. The people
sat on logs and makeshift chairs and seemed to be eating and drinking.
Orin collapsed in her arms and his weight made both of them fall to the ground just inside the small clearing. The group around the fire jumped up. Two men came at them with swords in hand. Shaeleen put her hand up in the air.
“Please help us,” she begged.
“They’re just children, Harold,” said an older woman standing up by the fire. “Put the swords away and help them over here.”
Harold grumbled and motioned for the other man, about twenty years younger than himself, to do as the older woman had said. The entire group had the dusty brown look of people from Gabor.
Harold helped Shaeleen to the fire and the other man picked up Orin and brought him over and laid him on the ground. Orin’s eyes flickered back open.
The woman beckoned to Shaeleen and Orin. “You poor souls. You’re all wet and hurt.” She was a small woman, even shorter than Shaeleen. Her hair was gray and was held up in a bun, and her clothes were simple but serviceable. A younger woman and a small child stood by her side.
“Please help Orin,” Shaeleen begged, looking at each of them.
Harold knelt down and looked at Orin’s shoulder. With a shake of his head and a whistle he looked back up at the group. “This is going to hurt.”
“Just do it.” Orin said.
Harold took a knife from his belt and held it over the coals of the fire for a moment, then he brought it back toward Orin’s shoulder. Shaeleen sat down next to him and grabbed Orin’s other hand.
The man reached up and cut Orin’s skin around the arrow, the knife sliding effortlessly through his flesh. Orin flinched and held onto Shaeleen’s hand tighter, but didn’t say anything.
In short order, Harold had pulled out the arrow, the younger man had given him some salve and a cloth and quickly they put it on his shoulder, tying the cloth tight.
Orin swooned to the side and his eyes closed for a moment. Shaeleen helped him back up to a sitting position and he opened his eyes back up.
“Thank you,” Orin said to the two men.
