He noticed her gasp and startled look, and he raised his left eyebrow questionably upon seeing her, because it felt as if he’d seen her before. She too had a look of recognition on her face; her large almond-shaped dark blue eyes wavered for a moment, then she knotted her brows and shook her head before walking on. The red headscarf partly covered the top of her head; her long dark strands of hair falling across her shoulders from underneath the fabric. Shazar bit his lip. Twello had been staring at the girl as well. Annoyingly the girl had not looked back at him, but only had had eyes for his dad!
Figures! Twello thought annoyed.
It’s not Sula, Shazar thought, though she resembles her! Her skin complexion is too pale, but her hair, her delicate features…though her eyes remained blue and unchanging; Sula’s daughter perhaps? But if so, how come she seems to know me?
He had no time to ponder over it, for an old grey man with thick glasses on his nose blocked their way. They halted their horses to avoid them from walking into him.
‘Can I take care of your steeds, gentlemen?’ He asked in a very thick accent.
‘That’s very kind of you to offer, but may we ask you a question instead?’ Shazar replied.
‘Ah, so you haven’t been here before! I did tell my Gladys the same thing. I might be short sighted but-’
‘Is Gladys the pretty girl we’ve just seen?’ Twello interrupted, thinking the girl to be his daughter perhaps.
‘Er, I don’t think so. Gladys is me missus who’s just left to pick our last apples, but if you say she is a pretty girl, she sure will be very pleased to hear that!’ He let out a rumbling laughter.
Twello turned crimson and turned his face away while Shazar gave the man a friendly smile.
‘I’m an old friend of someone living here. Perhaps you know her? Her name is Sula. Could tell me where she resides?’
The man’s old eyes, which already seemed bigger because of his glasses, started to glow, and wrinkles covered his face, making him look like an old dry apple as he smiled. His voice was suddenly tender, ‘Everyone knows where she lives. Since Sula arrived the village has changed for the better! It was food that brought them two together,’ he smiled mysteriously, ‘or the lack of it.’ The man nodded as he turned his thoughts inwards. ‘She saved our village from starvation, she did. Although they keep to themselves, she and her family, the village is thriving because of her. She’s a real gem!’ And he pointed to the hills. ‘You’ll find her in the last farm near Rose Vale, at the foot of the mountains. You can’t miss it. It’s a steep climb though. It’s the house with the finest fruit trees, the prettiest flowers and the most beautiful rose garden of the village.’ He added cheerfully, ‘We always had good soil here, but since Sula came along and settled up there, the roses seem to pop up everywhere near their place, and they flourish with the biggest heads ever; and the colours, oh my! There are no thorns, mind you, ever! My Gladys is certainly very jealous of all that! All the women are in fact, and they desperately want to know her secret. Mind you, that’s not the only thing they’re envious about!’ He winked in conspiracy.
What? Her beauty, her way with animals and children? What are they envious about? Twello felt like asking, but Shazar only nodded, guessing by the glint in the man’s eyes that it must have been Sula’s beauty that the other women were jealous of. Grateful for the unasked information he received he thanked the man.
‘Have a good day, young sirs, and say hello to her and her family from me and Gladys will you?’
‘Will do,’ Twello replied before turning to his father, whilst they nudged the horses on, ‘He said she and her family.’
‘Hmm?’ Shazar responded absentmindedly whilst heading for the valley.
‘Are you aware of that?’ Twello added.
‘Of course I am.’
The contented smug look on Shazar’s face showed something different; something Twello didn’t quite grasp.
Family…that means children as well, wouldn’t it? And new hope surged through him. Shazar calculated that Fay had left home by now, her being over twenty-five?
Part IV Children Of The Sun
You who were darkness warmed my flesh
where out of darkness rose the seed.
Then all a world I made in me;
All the world you hear and see
hung upon my dreaming blood.
There moved the multitudinous stars,
and coloured birds and fishes moved.
There swam the sliding continents.
All time lay rolled in me, and sense,
and love that knew not its beloved.
I wither and you break from me;
yet though you dance in living light
I am the earth, I am the root,
I am the stem that fed the fruit,
the link that joins you to the night.
Judith Wright
Chapter 16 Sula The Sun
‘A man who looks like Aigle?’ The striking, dark-haired woman asked, alarmed.
‘Only older,’ replied the eighteen year old girl who resembled her mother remarkably. ‘broader of shoulder, and maybe a tick taller, and you know what the weirdest thing is?’
‘What?’
‘He wears a similar black headband to what Aigle does amongst people, now how bizarre is that?’
Sula’s green eyes grew big and she swallowed hard. She immediately knew it was Shazar when she heard her daughter telling her about the traveller and his companion, but she had to be sure.
‘So, you know who he is then, Mum?’ Valeria asked, but Sula did not reply.
Her daughter babbled on, spreading washed clothes out on the table, folding them whilst Sula’s thoughts wandered off.
‘-to her that she can’t move her arms like the wings of a beetle, because physically that wouldn’t be possible for us, and the lifecycle for insects is soooo much faster than ours that we cannot keep up with them. She could try a hummingbird in a few years time…’ The pretty girl suddenly stopped mid-sentence to gape uncertainly at her mother.
‘Mum?’
Sula stared out of the window deep in thought, not hearing anything, and that in itself was quite unusual for a comyenti. If not mediating, or going into a chant, this was exceptional behaviour for her mother, who normally wasn’t that dreamy but alert as a cat, and the best listener ever. Her children loved that about her.
‘Mum, you haven’t heard a thing I said, have you?
‘Hmm? What dear?’
Valeria made a face and rolled her eyes. ‘Never mind, it was something about Almaz, but nothing alarming. Are you still worried about that man who looks like Aigle?’
When she didn’t respond Sula’s face said it all.
‘You are! Normally you would ease my mind by saying something like; everyone has a double somewhere and it’s nothing to worry about, but you haven’t, so…’ her daughter rattled on. Valera was very much a talker. ‘You do know him, don’t you? She narrowed her eyes.
‘Val-’ Sula said, irritably.
‘You do! I can hear your stream of thoughts!’
‘Don’t Val, I don’t want you to!’
Sula was getting upset and that was something that did not happen easily. They had a rule in their house, filled with mind-speaking people; to never invade the privacy of each other’s thoughts unasked. Valera recovered and nodded in regret, ‘I’m sorry, but if he’s a relative I should know about him, right?’
Sula was still absentminded and she ignored her daughter’s question as she walked over to the door, turned round and said, ‘Could you supervise Almaz and Jolaz, and make sure they’re doing their homework?’
‘But I have things to do-’
‘Your father is coming home soon, so it’s just until he gets back.’
Sula opened the door and didn’t wait for an answer.
‘Your coat!’
But out Sula went into the darkening, late autumn afternoon, leaving a confused Valera behind her.
~~~
/> Her heart was beating fast in her chest, but not as fast as her speeding legs. She first took a short cut to the village to catch his scent; it was him alright; she had already felt him come closer somehow since this morning as if they shared a bond… then she headed through the forest, having decided to follow his tracks from there on.
Sula knew that he would come to visit her at some point in the future, but she had to prevent that. This time she would find him. It was going to be on her terms, he owed her that much…
Shocked to see the blond head of her husband through the trees before her, the darker man opposite him she stopped in her tracks. These oak woods were the children’s playground, where they would play with the squirrels and birds. She almost bumped into Felix. She had been daydreaming again…
I’m too late, she thought in that instant. They had met, and she had just heard the last angry line spoken, ‘-I have every right to be here!’ It had been Shazar’s voice.
The other comyenti looked past Felix directly at her. Felix followed his eyes, but already felt a warmth hugging his back, and two hands on his shoulders.
‘Sula!’ both men called her name in surprise.
She opened her mouth to respond, but her heart nearly stopped when she saw how little Shazar had changed since she had last seen him. Indeed, she noticed the striking resemblance between him and her eldest son, Aigle, who was twenty-three now. The bronze complexion, slightly darker than Valera’s, high cheekbones, the same jade eyes, same arched dark eyebrows, the same black hair which shone crimson in the sun, but blue in the moonlight…
He too didn’t speak, but both comyentis stared into each other’s eyes and she heard him saying the comyenti greeting in her mind, Hello, Sister.
She appeared to stand her ground calmly, but inside she was raging. How could she hear him in her head when he was not even blood related? She knew that fact for sure, as last time they met she had used the ability of a watervole: a species which could determine the relationship between the other voles, just by smelling their pheromones. This vital information allowed them to produce healthy offspring and to venture further away from their burrows. Also, last time Sula hadn’t been able to hear his thoughts; so why was she able to now?
Don’t look so surprised. You know why…
Turning crimson, she bit her lower lip at that and glanced at Felix. Poor Felix, who stood there alarmed and upset upon seeing his beloved wife standing so close to his old rival; sensing the unique bond between them. Even he, being human, could sense that.
‘He was about to visit us, but I stopped him. He has no right,’ Felix hissed angrily, clenching his fists.
‘And I told him he couldn’t stop me, according to the promise, I have every right.’ I am back Sula, whether he likes it or not.
Stop talking to me in my head in front of my husband!
‘The promise was that you would leave our family alone until you created your own. Have you raised children of your own then?’ she asked out loud, a little too cold for her own liking, but she didn’t like this situation at all.
‘”Raised” yes. I’ve stayed true to my word.’ He stepped a little closer to her, not once unlocking his eyes from hers eyes. Felix stepped between them straight away, shielding his wife in an attempt to break the eye contact.
‘Twello, you can show yourself now,’ Shazar spoke.
A short, but handsome young fellow stepped from behind a tree, and seemingly nervous, he walked over to the three of them. His brown, curly hair was lush, and his eyes were as bright and pale as the spring sky.
Felix laid a protective arm around her shoulders. Sula could feel his heart beat fast against her arm. Don’t worry, love.
But of course Felix couldn’t hear her, for a moment she had forgotten that. Instead Shazar had heard her, and he grinned at that with one corner of his mouth raised.
‘This is my son; Twello,’ he announced with pride in his voice.
Twello greeted them kindly, nodding to Felix and Sula, though tense as if he didn’t want to be there.
Sula stared at the lad with his brown curled hair, rosy face and toned arms, his greenish tunic a bit tight around the chest. He was handsome, that was certain and he looked like he was in his mid twenties, which should be right according to the time that had elapsed. However a comyenti son, even a halfling, would have appeared much younger than Twello did. Comyentis usually looked about four or five years younger than humans of the same age. Had Shazar forget to mention that he had fathered a son earlier on? He had confessed to Sula that he had not mated with other women, although he did say something about a special person in his life at the time. What ever the case was, she would not pry.
Sula smiled at the boy and extended her hand, which he took. His hand was warm and damp and his eyes big. He swallowed away a lump in his throat. She is stunning, was all that Twello could think.
‘Welcome to Rosinhill, Twello. Do you have lodgings for the night for you and your horses?’ Felix spoke courteously, also shaking the boy’s hand, and gave him an encouraging squeeze to bestow some strength upon him. He would be nice to the boy, Felix had decided. After all, he thought, It’s not his fault he has that fool for a father!
Twello opened his mouth, but Shazar answered, ‘We do, we wanted to wait until morning to visit you, if that time is convenient?’
We? Twello thought, You!
Sula was surprised by his seemingly polite manners, she wasn’t used to that from Shazar, although he had not let the boy speak for himself. She was caught off guard for a moment before answering: ‘Stop by at noon and we’ll talk.’
Felix shot a disappointed glance at her, but she ignored him. Shazar was comyenti whether he liked it or not, moreover he had brought his son, and in doing so, had kept true to his promise. Shazar nodded gratefully and bowed slightly before mounting his horse, followed by Twello, who kept quiet.
Felix and Sula watched them disappear over the hill to the village.
‘I’ve feared this day would come. I always knew he’d return,’ he said wryly.
‘We both did.’ Sula looked into the wistful eyes of her beloved. He wore his blond hair a little shorter than when they first met, and had in fact become more handsome over the years. The line of his strong jaw had become more manly and less boyish, his body was stronger and his toned chest and shoulders were broader from working on their land and doing carpentry. His eyes were still the same enchanting sparkling blue and the lines around them gave him character.
Don’t fear. You won’t lose me…she thought, not having the strength, all of the sudden, to utter words.
‘Nothing good can come out of this, love, nothing good will,’ he answered as if in response.
Sula suddenly remembered Feline’s warning in her vision when she had lain in a coma five years ago. Feline had predicted Shazar would return, and had cautioned Sula to be wary of him. “Your family will be safe with him, but…you won’t.”
There had been no sign of the lizard people since, but Sula, Felix and her children had become more distrusting of people in general, since the enemies were shapeshifters. After the last encounter with a shape shifter in the form of Oro, Felix had returned to the mine to see if the dwarf prince was alright. The mine had stayed closed to him at first, so he had waited again patiently in the bushes until nightfall for the dwarfs to appear, only without Sula this time. They did show up after a couple of nights and Felix had approached them, asking to see Oro, saying he was a friend, and showing them the magic hammer as proof. They were reluctant and suspicious at first, and tried to shoo him away, but after some persuasion they told Felix that Oro had gone missing, and that they feared the worst. Felix told the dwarfs in return what had occurred at his place.
Your son killed our Prince Oro?’ they had exclaimed in outrage and Felix had answered, ‘No, it was a shapeshifter in Oro’s body! That creature was a tiger at the time, and he would have killed my son and my wife! It wasn’t Oro anymore, I actually don’t think it ever was P
rince Oro. He just looked like him.’
They dwarfs had quarrelled amongst themselves, but in the end they had all agreed that Felix wasn’t to blame directly. Otherwise he wouldn’t have showed up at their door. The shape shifter had stolen Oro’s body. However… they all realised that Oro should never have invited a human in, and given him a gift. Look at where it got him, the dwarfs said to each other. It was probably the hammer the shape shifter was after, or so they reckoned. What ever it was, it was not their business. They concluded that the shape shifter would never have gotten close to Oro to steal his body in the first place if he hadn’t met Felix! Therefore they wanted to get rid of this man as soon as possible. Humans were nothing but trouble.
Guilt ridden, Felix returned the hammer to the dwarfs and they parted ways, each feeling anguish, with Felix feeling immensely sad as well.
Now this; a new danger in the shape of Shazar! Sula was sure he wasn’t one of those shape-shifting lizard people, but he was a danger none the less, to her…
Sula shoved a warm hand in Felix’, reassuring him as if to reassure herself.
‘He has come here to show us his son and to meet our children as agreed to, as long as he behaves. So far he has.’
‘If only he continued to do so, but we both know he most likely won’t,’ Felix said grumpily and glanced sideways at her. ‘You wanted to meet him before he came to our house, didn’t you?’
She lowered her eyes. ‘Yes, so you wouldn’t have to.’
‘Right!’ he retorted cynically, and she picked up the tone in his voice and faced him, holding him by his upper arms, feeling the hard biceps bulge underneath his tunic.
‘No, honestly, because I know how you feel about him and it wouldn’t have been right if he had come to our house, unexpectedly. I shall have to inform and prepare the children accordingly.’
‘Yes, well. I assure you I won’t let the two of you out of my sight. That’s the promise I make!’ Angrily he brushed her off and walked away towards their house.
The Comyenti Series Book Bundle, Volume 1 and 2 (Epic Romantic Supernatural Fantasy) Page 40
