Nalia stepped over and kissed him. “You know I will go wherever you do. I have seen many things in your world that could aid us in our struggle. I will help you. You must remember, however, that time is not constant between the two worlds. We may have been gone from Telani for a few minutes or several years. Also, we may only be there for a day but years may pass here. What if, by trying to help, we miss the conflict altogether?”
“Oh,” Sam sighed. “I didn’t really think about that. I still think the risk is worth what we could accomplish. If Rasaad’s army gets through to us, we’re finished.”
“I understand,” Nalia said. “It is your choice. I will help you if you want to go to Telani.”
Sam hugged her and then looked at Rindu. “I have to try to do something, Master Rindu.”
“I understand,” the Zouy said. “I will not condemn you. You must do what you think to be the honorable thing. I will wait as you transport. Perhaps you will return in a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” Sam said.
Sam sat down on the thick rug sprawling across his floor. Nalia joined him and matched the cross-legged posture he was in. Soon, they were both breathing slowly and deeply, both were attaining the khulim.
Sam felt the familiar sensations of the unique vibratory signature of his room. He let the vibrations flow through him and he became one with them. He saw Nalia there in his mind’s eye, sitting right in front of him as she was in real life. In his mind, she opened her eyes and looked at him, her eyes bright green in the strange light swirling around them. He felt his heart flutter, as it normally did when she trained those beautiful eyes on him. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
The sequence was familiar to him now. He would give control over to Nalia once he had sensed the tunnel opening to Telani. Then, she would lead him there. It was a revelation when he found that all he had ever needed to return home was to trust someone enough to give control over completely to her. Once that was clear, their traveling to and from Gythe had been relatively easy. He waited for the tunnel in the midst of the swirling lights to appear.
It didn’t.
He focused more intensely on the vibration of his world, of Telani.
Still nothing.
Puzzled, he tried changing little things. He adjusted his vibrations a little this way and that, but that didn’t help. He tried giving over control of everything to Nalia, thinking maybe he had left one small part of him that he didn’t surrender. That didn’t help either.
He tried for what seemed to be hours to no avail. Finally frustrated, he left the khulim and turned his mind back on the waking world. He took a deep breath with his body. It felt like the first breath his physical form had taken in a very long time. He opened his eyes slowly, the dim brazier light hurting them with its brightness.
When he was able to see clearly, he was looking right into Nalia’s eyes. Not her eyes in his mind, but in truth. His heart fluttered again. They were back to their normal blue/green color, but they were just as amazing as they were in his mind.
“What happened?” Rindu asked.
Sam had forgotten the Zouy was there. He turned to look at the master. “I don’t know. I tried to go, but I couldn’t. Maybe I’m just tired or I didn’t give it enough time.”
“You have been in the khulim for more than three hours, Sam,” Rindu said.
Sam was shocked. It had seemed a long time, but he didn’t actually think it had been a long time in reality.
“It felt the same as it did before,” Nalia said, “except that it felt like something was keeping the tunnel from opening. It was easy when we came back to Gythe, even easier than when we went to Telani together the first time.”
“I don’t understand it,” Sam said.
“Perhaps it is the rohw telling you that what you had planned is not of the wireh,” Rindu said. “Perhaps it is telling you to address Gythe’s problems with that which is already in Gythe.”
Sam scratched his head. “Maybe. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
He got up and stretched his legs, which were stiff from sitting motionless for so long. “I’m going to go and talk to Dr. Walt. Maybe he has some ideas.”
“We will come with you,” Rindu said. “We will see if he agrees with me in this.”
Fifteen minutes later, the three were in front of Dr. Walt in his library.
“And you felt no connection at all to Telani?” Dr. Walt asked.
“None,” Sam said. “It was different than before when I just didn’t know how to do it. It was like something was blocking me from finding the particular vibratory signature I was looking for. It was like what I was trying to find didn’t exist.”
“Oh, dear,” Dr. Walt said. “I was afraid of this. Do you remember how you told me that it was much easier to get back to Gythe than it had been to get to Telani after the last time you were here? And how you thought it was just that you had increased in your ability to use the rohw? Do you remember how you told me that the rohw was much less powerful in Telani when you went back?”
“Yes, I remember all of that.” Sam started to get a sinking feeling in his belly.
“Well,” Dr. Walt said. “I have been thinking about those things and I have a theory.”
“A theory about the rohw?” Rindu asked. “Does it involve taking the honorable path?”
“No,” Dr. Walt answered, wearing a puzzled look, “not exactly. I believe that technology affects the rohw. Whether it’s because the energies used by technology, magnetic fields and microwaves and such, are increased and interfere with the rohw or if it is simply because less people use and nurture the rohw when technology is present, I don’t know. Either way, I believe the more technology is present, the weaker the universal rohw. I believe the rohw on Telani is simply not strong enough any longer to sustain a doorway from our world.
“From the few records I’ve seen about the subject here, it looks as if rohw-users were rare during the time of Gythe’s high technology. It wouldn’t surprise me if there were similar problems with the energy being weaker during that time as well.”
“So,” Sam said, “you’re saying that there is no getting back to Telani because the rohw is too weak there? How is that possible? I just came from there.”
“Yes, Sam,” Rindu said. “You came from there. Going back to Telani has always given you difficulties. Perhaps what Dr. Walt says is correct. I believe that the rohw could be affected thusly by science.”
“That would mean I’m here for good, then,” Sam said. “It’s not a big deal because I had already decided to stay, but it means we won’t have the ability to get things from Telani that could help us in our quest. Or in our defense.”
“I’m afraid so, my boy,” Dr. Walt said. “if what I believe is correct. Feel free to try it out. I could be wrong, but I’ve been thinking about it since you returned and it fits into what I had already been hypothesizing.”
“It is okay, Sam,” Nalia said, patting his arm. “We will be victorious without things from Telani. We are not defenseless.”
“I know, Nal.” Sam felt as if the energy had been sucked out of him. “It seemed like it would make things better, give us an edge. Maybe we’ll just have to do things the old-fashioned way. Let’s get some sleep. We need to head out in the morning. There are still villains to catch.”
Chapter 38
Everyone met in one of the dining halls before the sun was up. They ate quietly, all of them either still sleepy or not in the mood for conversation. After their meal, they all made their way to the area in front of the stables they had been using as a teleport point.
“Everyone gather close,” Sam said. There were five humans—Sam, Rindu, Nalia, Emerius, and Inoria—as well as three rakkeben, Skitter, and Oro the bear. They made quite a sight preparing to disappear like they were. The party traveled light, with only snacks, minor provisions, and their weapons. Sam sat in his normal cross-legged posture, went almost instantly into the khulim, and had teleported them all wit
hin a few minutes.
They appeared just outside the ruined hapaki community. Sam had almost forgotten how devastated the area looked, with dens half dug up and the vegetation trampled everywhere. He got a lump in his throat when he saw it again. It became worse when he felt Skitter’s sorrow leak into his mind. We’ll find them, Skitter, and we’ll rescue the hapaki that are left and punish those who did this.
I know, Sam, Skitter sent back, but that won’t bring back the dead hapaki or rebuild their ruined dens.
Sam shook his head sadly and mounted Shonyb to begin the day’s travel.
They were to travel south and east, hugging the base of the mountain range that would be to their left as they moved. Rindu told Sam that he would ensure that they traveled in the correct direction, but that his help would not be needed. If they stayed to the flatter lands—flatter compared to the mountains, anyway—they would be going the right way.
An hour into their trip, Sam looked off toward where they were heading. The land was fairly flat and the trees were not as thick as those they passed through in Gromarisa, so he could see ahead for several miles when they were on top of one of the small hills they had to climb. It looked to be a slow, constant grind to where they were going. He just wished they could speed it up somehow.
They took occasional breaks to allow the rakkeben and Oro to rest. The humans needed the breaks anyway. Mile after mile of monotonous travel sapped the energy and made the mind complacent. They didn’t have the twins scout ahead because there was no reason to believe there were any forces nearby that needed to be detected. The pace they kept was so fast that in order for anyone to scout effectively, they would need several mounts or risk killing one.
With the trees thinner and spread out more, it was easy to keep a fast pace. They didn’t need a path or trail but could travel in the direction they needed to go without being slowed so much by the forest.
“What tree is that, Sam?” Inoria asked as they stopped in a clearing for a break. She was pointing to a fifty-foot tree that still had green cloaking it, despite the winter season.
“It’s a pine.” He slumped his shoulders and waited.
“What kind of pine, Sam?” she mock-scolded him.
“Um, knobcone?”
“Very good. Why did you guess that particular tree?”
Sam thought for a moment. “The needles are in groups of three and the cones look to be about four inches and they are tightly bound. There is no drop of resin at the base of the needles, either. So, unless I don’t remember correctly, all those things point to knobcone pine.”
Inoria smiled at him and winked one of her bright green eyes. “Yes. You are a very good student.”
He felt his face heat and turned to look at the tree again. “You are a good teacher. Thank you for showing me all this.”
In response, she quizzed him on other trees. It was more difficult to identify those that had lost their leaves, but he was able to narrow the choices down and guessed correctly more often than he guessed wrong. Soon, they were on their way again.
Sam felt good about the progress they made the first day. In fact, he felt so good about it that they continued to travel for a while after it became dark. Finally, he decided that it was risky to travel at that speed in the dark, even though he thought the moon provided enough light to see by. He didn’t want to have one of the rakkeben or Oro break a leg or get injured in some way because they wanted to push on for an extra hour or two. Besides, they all needed rest, so they stopped and Sam learned the area where they had halted. He teleported them back to Whitehall where they could eat and rest for the night, starting off early the next morning.
On the fourth day of travel, they reached a heavily forested area. They could see it from several miles off before they reached it. Sam was wondering which way they should go. Should they try to skirt it or simply go straight through it? As he was wondering, Emerius spoke.
“We should go to the left,” he said. “We can ride around the edge of the trees at the base of the foothills. It will be easier travel that way.”
Inoria looked at him, but didn’t say anything. Sam looked toward Rindu and Nalia, but neither of them seemed to disagree. With a shrug, Sam followed their lead, heading toward the foothills to the east.
Emerius was correct. The trees thinned at the foothills and they were almost able to keep their pace the same as it had been all day.
The party topped an elevated section of the land and started down into what looked like a shallow bowl. There were very few trees, only some long grasses. When they reached the bottom and started across the meadow, Rindu shouted, “Down!”
Sam, not knowing what was happening, nevertheless dove off Shonyb to the soft ground. Two arrows passed through the space he had just vacated.
He looked around, but with the grass so high, he was unable to see any of his friends. He would just have to hope they weren’t hit. The arrows were too fast for him to determine from where they had come, so he didn’t know where his attackers were. It probably didn’t matter. They had obviously been waiting for the party to arrive, and it seemed that they were surrounded on at least three sides. How were they going to get out of this?
Sam heard a rustling in the grass and separated Ahimiro into two sticks, ready to do battle. It was just Shonyb, crawling toward him. He was amazed again at the intelligence of the big wolf.
“Are you okay?” he asked her, running his hands over her fur to see if he could find any wounds. There were none. The archers, seemingly very skilled, had targeted him, not the rakkeben. Shonyb whined softly at him.
“I know,” he said. “Just stay here. We’ll figure something out.”
Then Sam thought of something. He ran his hands over Shonyb’s back, not wanting to lift his head above the grass to see. When he found what he was looking for, he gasped. Skitter’s litter was empty. What had happened to the hapaki?
Skitter, Sam yelled in his mind. Skitter, are you all right?
A touch on Sam’s shoulder made him jump, almost causing him to rise up above the level of the grass, revealing himself. It was Nalia.
“I’m getting good and tired of being startled by all you ninjas,” he said, trying to regain his breath.
“I am not a ninja, Sam. I am a Sapsyr. That is much better.” She winked at him.
Sam. Sam, are you there? Skitter sent.
Skitter, are you hurt? Sam sent back. Are you okay?
I’m fine, the hapaki sent. The ground is soft, so when I fell off Shonyb as she rolled to the ground, I was only bumped and bruised a little.
Where are you? Sam sent.
Here, I will show you what I am seeing, the hapaki sent back.
An image filled Sam’s mind. It was a viewpoint low to the ground, nestled within the grasses. Through the blades, Sam could see four people, three men and a woman. One of the men had a crossbow and the others had bows. They were scanning the grasses, obviously trying to find Sam and the others.
One of the men was speaking, but since Skitter couldn’t understand the words, it was gibberish to Sam. He would have to tell Dr. Walt about that. It would send the scholar off into his own world thinking about it. Skitter could use Sam’s mind to understand people talking but Sam couldn’t understand human speech coming through Skitter’s mind.
What are you doing? Sam sent. It’s dangerous to be there. Get out of there.
It’s fine, Sam, Skitter sent. If I move, they may see me. It will be best for me to stay where I’m at and spy on them for you. Sam saw the viewpoint shift, Skitter swinging his head and looking to the left and to the right. Almost out of sight, there were people to both sides.
Sam quickly told Nalia what Skitter was seeing. If there were four in front and others within sight of the hapaki, how many must there be all together? It didn’t look good for their escape. At least, not without injury or death.
Not for the first time, Sam wished he could communicate with his other friends like he did with Skitter. Mind-to-mind comm
unication definitely had its advantages.
“Have you seen any of the others?” Sam asked Nalia.
“No, just you. Stay here for a moment. I will be back.”
She crawled through the grasses, barely disturbing them and somehow not making any sound. Even crawling, Nalia was graceful. He found himself inspecting her as she moved. She really was perfectly formed. He could watch her all day.
Sam shook his head to clear the thoughts of how much he liked to look at her. It was not the time to think of such things. When he heard Skitter’s chuckling in his head, he felt his face go warm. He watched as she disappeared from his sight and turned his attention back to what Skitter was seeing.
The man who seemed to be the leader of the four, maybe the leader of the entire group, looked agitated. He was whisper-yelling to the others. Sam thought he could hear it from where he sat, but it was too soft for him to understand what was being said. The man glared at one of the others, obviously not happy with how things had turned out. He turned toward the meadow again, scanning it.
“There is no escape,” the man yelled. “Stand up and surrender and we will take you captive. There’s no need for you all to die here.” As he said it, he motioned for the others to ready their bows. He drew a finger across his throat. There would be no taking of captives here, Sam knew.
The man waited, yelled again, and waited some more. He was becoming more and more agitated. Sam imagined he didn’t want to be the one to tell Ayim Rasaad that he had not completed his mission.
Sam saw the man in Skitter’s vision as he said something to the woman who was with him. She moved out of sight. Less than a minute later, she returned, carrying three lit torches. Skitter turned to face the other people on the periphery of his vision and saw that they, likewise, had torches in their hands.
Another touch on his shoulder made Sam clench his teeth to keep from yelping. He turned quickly, his breaths short and quick.
“Sam, you really must relax,” Nalia said. “You are too excitable.” Her small smile was the only thing that kept him from slapping her. In a playful way. Well, trying to slap her. He knew he would never be able to actually land a blow. Not that he wanted to, anyway. He loved her. He shook his head again. Why was he arguing with himself at a time like this?
Harmonic Magic Series Boxed Set Page 81
