by Linda Jordan
There were still too many unanswered questions for her.
“And ever since the raid, new recruits have been flooding in. There’s a lot of new blood around here. The whole place feels revitalized. I overhear people talking when they’re eating. Since Morrigu’s speech everyone’s become more focused. Working together better. She gave everyone a goal. To be ready to fight in spring.”
“I don’t want to fight,” said Evangeline. “I just want to stay here.”
“Don’t know how that’s going to work,” said Angie. “Not if everyone else is picking up and leaving. You can become a healer, but there won’t be anyone left to heal.”
“I know,” said Evangeline. “I don’t have a plan. I’m just tired of fighting.”
“The stuff that happened to you in that village really had an effect on you, didn’t it?”
“Yes, but even before that. I dedicated myself to Yemaya and healing. I fell in love with this place. It feels like home. I’ve never had a home. Ever. I just want to stay here, to linger and take it all in. Every single day. Not be focused on some war and more people dying.”
Angie nodded, a sad look on her face.
“I think I understand. I like it here. I could live out the rest of my life here quite nicely. Although I would miss the coffee and all the wonderful things we got to cook with at the Zoo. Then again, I’m getting older. I can do this work for another ten, twenty years maybe. After that I’ll be too old. Won’t be able to lift those heavy pots. Or stand all day. My knees and feet hurt every night as it is.”
“Yes,” said Evangeline. “I’m not even thirty and some mornings all the parts of my body that I’ve broken or damaged ache. What will it be like when I’m sixty?”
“Well, I’m nearly there and I’ve never broken anything. It hurts like hell. Especially when Callie knocks me to the ground.”
“How’s your training going? I feel guilty at having abandoned teaching the classes.”
“We’re all doing fine. You’re just starting to walk again. No reason for you to feel guilty. I do miss your instruction. Then again, sparring with Jackie didn’t challenge me as much as Callie does. She makes me really work. But I wouldn’t be where I am without the beginning you gave us all.”
“Thank you. I miss teaching the class and watching all of you grow.”
“Well, when you can get back to it you’ll find the support staff: cooks, builders, medical and others, will be doubled or tripled. I’m sure they could use your help. I think you’ll need to teach two, maybe three extra classes now.”
“Really? The amount of people coming here has grown that much?”
“Yes, Karan and Sandy and their team are building barracks as fast as they can. They’re running out of room to build them. They’ll have to either take more trees down to have the space to build more, or build in between the other buildings, crowd things in. Or something.”
“I’ve missed a lot, apparently.”
“With good reason. You’ve been taking care of yourself. Trying to heal.”
“Well, it’s going too slow to suit me.”
“Always does,” said Angie. “This tea is really awful, isn’t it?”
“Not my favorite. What is it?”
“Horsetail and sage. Not making it again. No one’s liked it.”
“Don’t know how you come up with something new every day.”
“We don’t have a choice. Otherwise we’d exhaust our supply of herbs. Tea for Two Hundred is our newest motto. We chant it every morning.”
“Two hundred?”
“That’s about how many people live here now. Damon said we’ll need to add another hundred soldiers in order to have a real army. And of course, more support people. Right now we only have maybe twenty or thirty people who aren’t soldiers. Carlos, Martina, Karan, Sandy, Maci, all of us cooks. All the people tending animals, growing food and making material and clothes for everyone. Some of those are soldiers. A lot of people are hidden here among the trees.”
“I guess,” said Evangeline.
She hadn’t been paying attention. Hadn’t really counted all the new people coming in. But of course, Angie had. She was in charge of feeding everyone. With all the shrubbery and trees in the village, the true number of people was hidden.
Later that day, Evangeline talked to Damon as he was taking Callie around the village. Showing her what his plans entailed.
“Do we really have two hundred people living her now?” she asked.
“Just over. Four more people yesterday. That surprise you?”
“I haven’t been paying attention. When does the war start?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Morrigu hasn’t returned yet. She’s overdue, but I’m not worried. She’s a goddess and can take care of herself. I expect she’s exploring options. The current plan is spring.”
“Will we be ready?”
“We’re doing everything we can to get there. If people keep coming at this rate, we’ll have bodies. Hopefully, trained ones.”
“Good,” said Evangeline. “Will anyone be left here?”
He looked at her, strangely.
Then he said, “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. I’m hoping Morrigu can negotiate something that will avoid an all-out war. Just because we’re ready to go doesn’t mean we can win this. Collins has sophisticated weapons on land, air and water. We can only attack by land and our weapons will all be fairly simple. His planes could wipe us out on our way there. Depending on what Morrigu can negotiate, we might still need everyone. To take and hold Collin’s estate. Everything’s up in the air.”
“And you don’t like that,” said Evangeline.
“No, I don’t. I want things more nailed down. I’m a rotten general and a good bodyguard.”
Evangeline nodded. There wasn’t much hope she could stay behind.
“Why do you ask?”
“I want to stay here,” said Evangeline. “Although, not alone. I actually like it here.”
“So do I,” said Damon. “I can understand that.”
Callie looked like she was about to bite her tongue off.
Evangeline didn’t know her very well, just knew she was smart and competent. Otherwise Damon wouldn’t have chosen her to be his aide.
“You want to say something, please do,” said Evangeline.
Callie looked relieved, then glanced at Damon, who nodded.
“You’ve just gone through what must be hell. You overextended yourself and from what I’ve heard, your magic’s gone, for now or for good. No one knows. You decided to become a healer, to give up fighting. So you don’t want to go along and would rather stay here. You’re recovering from a head injury that took you out for two weeks. And now you can barely walk. Your body’s let you down, too.,” said Callie.
She gave a shrug as if to say it was just her opinion. The way people do when they don’t have a lot of confidence.
“How did you get so smart for someone so young?” asked Evangeline.
Callie smiled, but shrugged again.
Evangeline asked, “So, what do I do?”
“Time,” said Callie. “It will take time for you to heal physically. And probably for you to find out if your magic’s coming back. That’s the hard part. Especially with a deadline of the spring move out. Morrigu’s putting a lot of pressure on all of us. I can feel it every time I sit down to rest. She’s in my brain saying “try harder”. I don’t know about the magic part. I’ve never had magic and I don’t really understand it. One of my brothers had magic, but he didn’t understand how it worked.”
“What do you mean had?” asked Evangeline.
“A bunch of boys in our village killed him. They said he hung himself. I never believed it though. The village didn’t like people who were different.”
“I’m sorry, that’s awful,” said Evangeline.
“Thanks. It was a long time ago. I was ten and he was twelve. I still miss him.”
“I would too,” said Damon.
Evangeline had never bound herself to Morrigu the way the others had and she was sure that the Goddess used magic in that binding. She’d only felt Morrigu in her mind during that spell. And Evangeline hadn’t liked it.
“Do you feel her in your mind, too?” she asked Damon.
“Every minute of every day. It’s not like she’s there, but I feel a pressure to please her.”
What must that be like? No wonder everyone felt so passionate about this war. They had Morrigu driving them.
Evangeline felt relieved that she didn’t. Although it also made her feel like sort of an outcast. Then again, she always had felt that.
She spent the rest of the day walking and sitting to rest. Then she’d walk again. Finally, she went to the Cap for dinner. It was roasted deer and potatoes with rosemary. The deer was tender and smokey tasting. The rosemary strong. She ate it eagerly.
Looking around, she realized that everyone in the entire room was a stranger. Even the cooks were new. And the place was completely filled up. It made her feel alienated.
She’d always embraced change. Loved seeing new places, meeting new people. Had the loss of her magic and physical power changed everything so much?
She needed to be alone. To spend time thinking about all this. Then, there was the fear. Fear of reclaiming her magic.
She didn’t want to be used again. To feel the sort of terror those villagers had. Never again. To be unable to get out or stop it.
And yet, here she was. In a village where everyone would be going to war. And there would be death, horror and fear surrounding all of them.
She could talk to Morrigu. Try to get an assurance that Morrigu would never use her like that again. The Goddess would probably never give her such a promise.
There seemed to be only one alternative. Well, one good one. Death was not a good choice.
She would have to leave. Before spring.
Disappear somewhere Morrigu would never find her. Never follow her.
That saddened her even more. Evangeline had a hard time swallowing the bite of roasted potato.
She really like Maci. Could have loved her. Although, Maci didn’t seem to be interested on that level. Maci saw her as a friend and felt responsible for her as a patient.
As far as Evangeline could tell, both Jackie and Maci liked men. They were always talking about some hot new guy who’d just joined up.
No, as soon as she was strong enough, she should leave. Hopefully, before Morrigu returned.
Where would she go?
15
Cady
Cady stood, leaning on her walking stick, watching a group of young children play near the Commons. Fire and Moss watched them too, whispering between each other. Gentian and Onyx were both sleeping nearby.
Something about the way Fire and Moss looked at the kids bothered her. As if the dragons thought they might make a tasty snack. The young dragons hadn’t been here long enough to trust them. It was better not to invite trouble.
Cady walked over to the two young dragons and asked, “Do you know how old you are?”
Fire spoke, “We were hatched when the trees leafed out, not this last time, but the time before.”
“We call that spring. Spring of last year. So that makes you a year and a half old.”
“How old are you?” asked Moss.
“It’s hard to remember when I was born,” said Cady. “I don’t know anyone who was alive then, since I’ve moved around so much in my life. I know I’m over fifty years old, but not the exact number of years.”
“Is that old for a human?” asked Fire, the dragon’s head tilted slightly.
“Yes,” said Cady. “Although most people used to live a lot longer. Before the world was destroyed. Life is harder now. But Joe is older than I am. You met him the other night.”
“I remember Joe,” said Moss.
“Me too,” said Fire.
“Do dragons have genders?” asked Cady. She’d always wanted to ask Onyx, but somehow had never dared.
“What is that?” asked Fire.
“Humans can be divided up into male on one end of a line and female on the other end and myriads of other people who are somewhere in between. With humans, one must have a female body in order to carry a child within them and give birth to it. I was wondering about dragons.”
“Oh, Onyx told us all about it,” said Moss. “Dragons are neither and both. When two dragons come together to mate, one of them decides to be the egg layer, the other spends more time being the guardian and finding food. The next time they mate, with the same dragon or another one, they might decide to switch roles. Onyx also said, it has been known to happen, at times when there were few dragons, for one dragon to take on both roles.”
“That’s fascinating,” said Cady.
Moss’s explanation confirmed what she’d suspected. Dragons were unlike any creature Cady had ever met. Full of powerful magic, at least Onyx was. The young ones, she wasn’t sure about. Cady hoped they would be strong allies. She also hoped the village wouldn’t need them.
The number of deities and other spirits coming to the lake was still increasing. Yesterday, she’d seen a griffin fly past her house. Monster had raced back inside the house, terrified. The griffin, of course, hadn’t even noticed them. It was just passing through.
What would happen when the magical beings reached critical mass? When would that be? Cady felt as if she were just waiting for a bomb to explode. Hoping the debris wouldn’t hit her and those she loved.
“What are the children doing?” asked Fire.
“Playing a game,” said Cady. “They’re using the sticks to try to hit the wooden ball into the can. Whoever does it the most times is the best at that game.”
“Why do some of them get to stand so close? And why do they fight about where everyone stands?”
“Those who are younger or less skilled at the game get to stand closer. Those who are better have to stand farther away. It gives everyone a more even chance at winning the game. They argue because it’s fun for them. They learn how to negotiate with each other, to hold their ground.”
Moss said, “I really don’t understand humans.”
“Humans are very complex. Just like dragons. But different,” said Fire.
“You’re right,” said Cady. “We are very complex and each human is an individual. Much like dragons. There are no two of us entirely alike.”
“How will I ever learn it all?” asked Moss.
“You won’t,” said Cady. “What would you have to live for then? If you could know everything right now. Your life would be over.”
“Oh,” said Moss. As if suddenly understanding mind blowing. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. So, the purpose of life is to learn.”
“And grow,” said Cady.
“Grow in size?” asked Fire.
“Well, partly, but I meant to grow your heart larger. Your soul larger,” she said.
“I’m not sure I understand what that means,” said Moss.
“To grow your heart larger is to become kinder, more compassionate every single day. To grow your soul larger is to become more connected with the world around you, the earth, the sky, the water, the air, the trees and the stones. Until you can understand that everything is connected and we are all alive made of the same stuff,” said Cady, shifting the staff to her other hand.
“Oh,” said Moss. The dragon had been standing, but sat down on its bottom with a thump. Both legs stretched out in front of it with the tail behind for balance.
Fire and Moss only had two legs, whereas Onyx and Gentian had four. Cady was intrigued at how many ways the four dragons were different from each other.
“So, even though we look so different, we are the same?” asked Moss.
“In many ways. We each need love and comfort, food and water, rest and activity. We breathe the same air, stand in the same rain, bask in the same sunlight, walk on the same earth. We are more alike than different,” said Cady.
“I had not thought about it that way,” said Fire.
“So you are my hatchling, too?” asked Moss.
“In a way, yes.”
“But you can’t fly,” said Moss.
“And you don’t wear clothes,” said Cady.
“But I could if someone made them large enough,” said Moss. The dragon cocked its head, trying to catch her out.
Wily, that one.
“True,” she said. “I don’t have wings to fly. You don’t have front arms, hands and fingers and can’t manipulate buttons on a shirt.”
“True. So we are different, but alike? Interesting. I’ll have to think about that.”
There was flashing and yelling out over the lake. Cady looked in that direction and saw two deities fighting with each other. They floated in the air above the surface of the water, circling like two dogs.
The two entities glowed golden and white. They were far enough away she couldn’t make out features or clothes. One had a staff, the other a long thin spear-like weapon. There was no way of recognizing them this far away. Even if she had a better knowledge of ancient deities.
One sent lightening blazing across the lake surface, missing the intended target, but hitting a patch of trees near where Onyx was sleeping. Out of the wooded area flew several ravens, noisily screeching in terror.
Onyx leapt up into the air wide awake. Followed quickly by Gentian, who had been sleeping nearby. They hovered in the air, as if trying to understand what happened.
Three large trees crackled into flame, burning and smoking. The forest was damp enough and other trees far enough away that nothing else caught fire. The three trees burned out. Still standing, their huge trunks turning into black skeletons.
The other god had already retaliated with an earthquake.
The ground shook beneath Cady’s feet. She struggled to stay upright. Both Fire and Moss took to the air.
The earthquake had roused a wall of water about two meters tall. That slapped the first god who shot another bolt of lightning at the first. The wave kept coming.
