The Ways of Mages: Starfire Read online

  Bendon shrugged and called“What ho?!”

  The girl was instantly awake. She looked down at the two older men. Then she started to look frantically around for somewhere to hide.

  Robert glared at Bendon.“And if she fell, oh mystical wizard?”He hissed.

  “I would have slowed her decent.”Bendon muttered. He called up to the girl again.“Don’t be afraid. We are friends.”

  “I don’t know you. How can you be friends?”The girl replied, her words hesitant as if she was unsure about how to speak.

  “My name is Bendon. My companion is known as Robert.”Bendon said gesturing helpfully between himself and Robert.“You know who we are now. Friends?”

  “You don’t know who I am.”She countered

  “You’re right. I don’t know your name, but I do know some things.”Bendon caught Robert’s half hidden smirk. He decided to ignore it…for now. “I know that you somehow survived a meeting with an evil, yet beautiful woman with a scar on her left cheek.”He saw the girl’s eyes widen.“Her name is Altana and she is our enemy. Since you are not with her, that makes us potentially friends.”

  “That…that may be, but how can I trust you?”

  “I can only say so much. The rest is up to you.”Bendon told her honestly.

  “You also have something of mine.”Robert called softly. The girl, who had been starting to scoot into denser branches, paused. She peered down at Robert blankly. “A black sword with a brass hilt. You probably pulled it from a strange machine back in South Port. I want to thank you for keeping it from Altana. I would like it back now.”

  “You left it there.”

  “Because we were ambushed and I had to leave it.”

  Kairevasigh stared down at the two men. What if this was all some elaborate trick? What if it wasn’t? She put her head against the rough bark. Her head hurt so much. She didn’t know if she could trust them or not. She desperately wanted to be safe. Her lack of sleep was making her head hurt and she couldn’t think straight.

  Safe. A thought whispered. Kairevasigh had no idea if that was her mind creating a desperate illusion because it was being driven hard, one of the men down there, God, or the Voice from earlier. She was too tired to try to muddle it out.

  Bendon and Robert shared a glance as the girl stayed where she was. Not moving. Suddenly Bendon got an answer to how the girl had gotten up in the tree in the first place. He wasn’t sure if he felt pressure or not, but suddenly the girl was standing before them. Close up, Bendon guessed her to be around twelve. Her brown hair just touched her bare shoulders. She wore pants and a breast band. A familiar brass hilt poked over her right shoulder. The shirt cloth she had used to tie the sword to her was strapped diagonally from her right shoulder to her left hip. Her strange, but beautiful black veined blue eyes were tired and wary.

  She swayed slightly as she eyed the two men. Finally, she spoke, her voice flowing over the strange sounds.“I’m Kairevasigh séEel Cressi.”

  ***

  Arathin- Plarn, Marlhema

  Keeping Zeeve a secret was near impossible, Jeremy and Terana soon found out. He went where ever his little heart desired. Who cared if it was more than likely that someone would see him? Zeeve was a curious creature. And at the time neither Jeremy nor Terana could figure out what he saw that was so fascinating in a small town like Plarn.

  Everything was simple. There were no adventures or anything really fun. If anyone made a single step out of tradition, then their respectability went down. In a small town, such a thing as respectability hardly ever returned to their name. The town was full of gossips and small mistakes soon became large. But the one thing that that town especially loved to ridicule and blame was Terana. It did not take long for the town’s children to learn a very simple trick.‘If in trouble, tell adults that Terana told you to do it.’ The adults, looking for anything else to add to their list of gossiping materials, loved it. And they say children are harmless.

  Sometimes, Terana thought that the only things keeping her in the town were her parents, her vow to them not to leave, and the terrible thought of where she would go. The town probably did not insist that she leave because she offered such a treasure trove of gossiping material. She still could not figure that one out. It was like they wanted her to be a part of them and yet they did not accept her. It was very confusing.

  Mira, of course, was absolutely no help. She and Terana were never close and Mira liked the attention she got for saying anything about Terana. All Mira really had to do was say to her little friends that her sister talked to spiders.‘Yelping Spiders.’Then her little hen like friends would talk to their parents and the parents would talk and…it got a whole lot bigger.

  And Zeeve was everywhere. Whenever Terana saw him, she either had to stuff him in her bag quickly, which caused him to yelp, or try to block him from passerby. Then she would turn and whisper scold him and tell him to go home. But a town had many eyes, and the kids claimed they saw Terana and her yelping spider.

  The town folk would then talk about Terana in front of her parents. Jeremy, who was often in the same room, would grind his teeth and use any excuse to get out of the room. No young adult could leave without a reason while his elders talked. Nor was he to say anything that could be viewed as an interruption. However, if he was asked or there was a pause he could fill, then yes, he could talk. He also had to wait for the pause to excuse himself. When Jeremy was alone he would pace and yell at imaginary town folk.

  Terana could hardly leave the house anymore, the ridicule and gossiping got so bad. To go outside also meant to be badgered by little boys who wanted a‘yelping spider’. That was annoying. If she snapped at them she would receive a tongue lashing from the nearest adult. The unfairness of it made her want to cry, but she would die before she let these people see tears fall from her eyes.

  A rock smacked the sill outside Terana’s window. Terana peeked out between the shutter panes. Down in the street below, she saw the two twin boys who were her biggest tormentors. Terana clutched her fist hard. She wished desperately that the boys would simply go away. Another rock came to tap the window. This time the rock bounced off of the shutter that blocked the window. Leave me alone!!She wanted to shout. The rock that had clacked the shutter swerved to fall right between the twins. On the dirt ground it cracked in two. The halves struck each boy in the leg with enough force to draw blood. Terana stared as other rocks around the boys shattered. The twins stared around in panic. They did the first sensible thing she had ever seen them do; they ran. She felt odd. It wasn’t everyday that rocks decided to crack for no reason.

  “Are they bothering you again?”Jeremy asked from the doorway. Terana looked at him a moment before answering.

  “Jeremy, the day they stop bothering me is the day they accept me.”She sighed shaking her head.“And we both know the likelihood of that.”

  Jeremy grimaced. He knew. He knew perfectly well that the towns’people would never accept Terana.“Who was it?”He asked.

  “You had better not do anything to them, Jeremy.”Terana said warningly.

  “Them?”He asked. She realized her mistake when his eyes turned hard. He knew exactly who she spoke off.‘I’ve had enough of those twins. I’m going to…”

  “Jeremy no!”Terana grabbed his arm before he could leave.“Don’t let them have a reason to ruin your future. At least don’t let me be the cause of it. Besides, they left already.” She only let him go when he relaxed and submitted to her pleas.

  Jeremy sighed as he walked into the room. Terana had not noticed the tiny sack he was carrying until he dumped it out on her bed.“At the very least, we need to decide what we are going to do with Trouble here.”Zeeve toppled out of the bag. He swayed for a moment, and then glared at Jeremy.“I found him in misses Pan’s garden. And wouldn’t you know it, he was talking.”

  “Zeeve not talking loudly.”Zeeve replied defensively.“Zeeve was just muttering.”

  “Muttering loud enough that passerby
could hear.”Jeremy clarified.“Terana, he can’t stay here.”Terana looked at him sharply. Zeeve gave a strangled cry that sounded very much like‘what!?’ “He is making your life even harder.”Jeremy continued.

  “That may be, but he is still my friend.”Terana told him softly.

  Jeremy sighed.“A friend wouldn’t do this to you. He would stay where he was supposed to.”While he said this, Jeremy gave Zeeve a meaningful look.

  “Zeeve don’t want to go nowhere!”Zeeve cried.“Zeeve can stay in room!”

  “I doubt it.”Jeremy told him.“You couldn’t before.”

  “Zeeve could and Zeeve will.”The moleci sat on the bed stubbornly with his arms crossed.

  “Terana, you know perfectly well that he can’t.”Jeremy appealed to her sensibility.“He needs to go.”

  “Where do we put him?”Terana asked.

  “Right here.”Zeeve informed her.

  Jeremy overrode him.“In the forest somewhere.”He thought for a second.“Hey! What about the Room? You know, the thicket?”

  Terana thought about it. No one knew about it, but Jeremy and she. It was thick enough to offer shelter. It was perfect. The only problem was getting there. She said as much to Jeremy.

  “That is a problem. Perhaps at night would be best.”

  “Jeremy! Terana! You have to come see this!”Mira cried, her voice coming from the stairwell.

  “What?”Terana asked as she quickly shoved Zeeve under the coverlet.

  Mira was practically jumping out of her skin. Her eyes were large in wonder. “There is a stranger in town!” Zeeve, who was crammed under the blankets, could not figure out what was so fascinating with a single stranger. Strangers came and went all the time. What Zeeve didn’t know was that Plarn had not seen a stranger for nineteen years.

  ‘What? A stranger?”Terana and Jeremy asked together.

  “Yes!”Mira squealed and raced back toward the stars. Jeremy glanced at Terana. She smiled and tried to run past him.

  He grabbed onto her arm.“Oh, no you don’t!”She struggled to free herself, but Jeremy pushed her playfully away from the door and raced out of it himself.

  “You rogue! You cheat!”She called as she raced after him.

  “Wait!”Cried Zeeve.“Zeeve stuck! In blankets! Wait!”By the time Zeeve surfaced, the two were long gone.“Nice. Zeeve feel loved. Reallyloved.”Still muttering he made his way down onto the floor.

  Chapter Four- The Stranger and the Dark

  “Fresh eyes can repair the damage…At least they can point out those things we are just are too blind to see.”- Unknown

  Down in the sunlight of the square the town’s people were gathered. All had turned out to see the rare sight of a stranger. They waited excitedly as the man rode in. The man was well built and stocky. He looked to be in his late twenties. The man’s looks were kind of exotic, what with his white hair cropped close to his head. The white hair was marveled at. How did a young man have white hair? His eyes were a clear grey. His mount was a dappled grey gilding. He smiled good-naturedly as he halted his horse. Terana could have sworn that some of the girls next to her sighed.

  “Good day.”He said cheerily as he dismounted.

  “Good day, sir.”Said the headman of the town.“Welcome to Plarn, stranger. Who are you and what brings you here?”

  “I am Kadrean Néaina, a healer of Razyan’s Keep. I was hoping to rest my horse for a while before I continue to Ronair.”The headman nodded with a slightly creased brow. Few of the town knew what Ronair was let alone where. To their reasoning it was a small town somewhere else in the mountains. In truth it was the economic and political capital of Marlhema. In other words, a big city.

  The town healer, Missus Herverb, spoke up.“You’re a wizard.”

  A woman’s snort followed that announcement.“There are no such things as wizards.”Said Lila Seedman, the headman’s wife. Lila was a portly woman who had to be the world’s most annoying, empty headed gossip. Maybe that was a bit harsh, but she was a gossip and she was a bit slow.“Those who call themselves wizards are nothing more than charlatans.”

  “You are foolish to say such things.”Herverb responded.

  “You’re a healer.”Lila pointed out.“And you aren’t a wizard.”Lila turned to Kadrean.“I hope you have not taken offense. She is nothing to worry about. Please, you can stay with us.”

  “Thank you, lady.”The stranger said to her with a slight bow. She grinned at the title. Terana felt sick. The headman and his wife led the stranger to their home. Slowly the rest of the town’s folk went back to their daily chores and spoke of nothing else for the next week.

  Well almost nothing else.

  “I wonder where he came from.”Jeremy said curiously.“I wonder what he has seen.”He looked at Terana.“You have to admit, he has the look of one well traveled.

  Terana raised an eyebrow.“And how do you know what a well-traveled person looks like?”

  “I don’t know. He was dirty?”

  Terana rolled her eyes.“Jeremy, we used to get really dirty playing in the woods. And, in case you have forgotten, we are not well traveled.”

  “No, but…still.”Jeremy put his hands into his pockets.“He looks like he has seen interesting things.

  Terana shrugged. She agreed with that. “Where do you think his horse will stay?” She asked, enjoying the sunshine. It was nice to be outside and not pestered.

  It was Jeremy’s turn to shrug“Like you to worry about the horse. I’m sure the headman will let it stay in his sheep barn.”

  “Nice of you to wait for Zeeve! Zeeve feels really loved!”Zeeve’s voice came from behind. Terana whirled around and looked down. Zeeve stood behind her and Jeremy, tapping his foot. His expression cross. Terana’s own expression was horrified. Jeremy’s as well.

  “Zeeve!”Terana hissed. She looked around, panicked. Here they were in broad daylight, in the middle of town, no less!“What are you thinking!” What were they to do?

  Jeremy had been trying to make her act normal. He then nudged her with his elbow to alert her to the fact that some of the children were watching. Mira’s friends pointed at Zeeve and screamed. The twin boys, Eric and Rick, swooped in. Eric scooped the startled Zeeve into his hand. He then held Zeeve above his head and shouted.“TERANA’S YELPING SPIDER! TERANA’S YELPING SPIDER!”

  “Eric Pan, give him back to me!”Terana demanded.

  “Gimme, gimme never gets!”The two boys jeered.

  “Give him back!”Terana cried. She lunged for Eric. He jumped out of her reach and threw Zeeve to Rick.

  “Terana! Zeeve need help! Zeeve wasn’t meant to FLY!”Zeeve cried as he was tossed from boy to boy. Rick threw Zeeve to Eric, but Zeeve never made it. He was instead caught by the stranger who stared at Rick and Eric with a disapproving glare. None of them had seen the stranger’s return. The rest of the town watched expectantly.

  “What’s all this? Tossing a living creature like it’s a doll; you two should be ashamed of yourselves.”The stranger told the boys.

  “Why?”Challenged the boy’s mother, Goody Pan.“The girl is at fault, not them. She is old enough to know not to bring wild animals home.” Terana felt her cheeks warm with hatred and humiliation. Why were they all like this? What did she do? It had always seemed to her that the town worried constantly about their outward appearance. Now they did this in front of a stranger. Did they not worry about what the stranger would think of them?

  “ZEEVE IS NOT A WILD ANIMAL!”She bellowed at the stupid woman who’s eyes widened at the venom in Terana’s voice. Terana’s ears buzzed. Goody Pan recovered enough to turn her look smug.“Can’t you see that? Besides what does it matter to you? You find anything and everything to be somehow my fault and not theirs!”She pointed at Rick and Eric. She could hardly see their smug faces through the tears of her frustration. She took several sobbing breaths to calm herself. She turned to the stranger. His eyes were wide and his lips slightly parted in shock. Terana swallowed. “Thank you sir,
for saving my little friend.”She curtsied to him.“I’ll take him now.”She held out her hand which Zeeve jumped into. As she turned to leave this hateful scene, she gave the twins a glare that sent them back a few paces. She ignored everyone. Including Mira, Jeremy, and her parents. Jeremy started to take a step forward but was held back by father. Jeremy started to argue, but father silenced him.

  Terana headed to the wonderfully tranquil eaves of the forest. It beckoned to her to be embraced in its safe shadows and glades. She came readily.

  “Zeeve,”The little moleci looked timidly up at her. She had never shown him her true feelings about Plarn.“I am sorry that you were treated like that.”She looked over her shoulder at the village that she wished would burn. Unbeknownst to her, smoke trickled between the stones of the well before one of the towns’women accidentally spilled water on it. Terana turned back to the forest and sought release for her pent up emotions. She told Zeeve everything that she kept from Jeremy simply because her brother was as trapped as she was. She described every childhood grievance. How people talked behind her back. How all the other kids found ways of framing her for everything they did wrong. And how their parents where too willing to believe every lie. And that was what bothered her the most; the lies that were allowed to exist despite the obvious truth. She vented until late afternoon.

  She had a lot to say.

  After a brief silence, Zeeve changed the topic.“That man is a nice man.”

  She was taken slightly aback. What was he talking about? Then she remembered the white haired, grey eyed stranger.“That he is. And, now since we are out here, let’s get you to the thicket.”She mumbled distractedly.

  “But Zeeve like Plarn!”Zeeve complained.

  Terana stopped and held him away from her.“Have you that bad of a memory? You where being tossed around! Not to mention being called an animal! I think it is quite clear, even to you, that you can’t stay there!”

  “Yes, but I could stay in house and pretend I’m not there.”Zeeve persisted.

  “You idiot. You’re never going to be able to do that.”