The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds Page 4

  “I…”Robert started to say with a shudder.“I can’t”

  “You can and you will.”Kindra continued.“This is about more than you or even this man here. This is about the fate of a kingdom and the thousands of lives there in. I think this man figures in the prophesy.”

  “I haven’t used the power in centuries. I don’t know that I have access to it anymore.”Robert sobbed.

  “You must try.”She demanded.

  “So many people died last time…you cannot ask me to go back to what I was.”Robert’s voice was hoarse with remembered pain.

  “What you were -- was a good and decent man who became processed by an evil not of your own doing…you cannot blame yourself for what happened. A thousand years ago you were the finest healer in the land…you taught the art to Zebendon himself…you cannot walk away from your gifts…Not when a man’s life depends on it.”

  The older man seemed to age as the others watched. His shoulders slumped in defeat. He looked at the others and saw the confusion in some of the younger eyes. As if to answer their questions he said meekly“I am quite a bit older than I look…and yes at one time I was a healer…but that was a lifetime ago. I have the knowledge but I’m no longer sure I have the power.”

  Gawin and Jewel watched in awe as this strange conversation unfolded.“I have the power.”Jewel offered.“I can feel it come awake within me.”

  “That’s your body learning to defend the new life within it. It is quite natural for members of our race to come into their magical gifts at this time”Kindra offered.

  “Then let me use this new gift to help.”Jewel pleaded with Robert.“Show me what to do!”

  “I…”the old man faltered. He looked at Tep’s tearful eyes.“I can.”he said finally.

  “It’s too great a wound to heal at once.”Kindra observed.

  “I agree”Robert said.“Such a healing would steal too much of his strength–he would never survive. We must clean the burn site and then promote just enough skin re-growth to protect against infection.”

  A thoughtful look crossed Bendon’s face. Something stirred in his memory of a magic that could heal without burning out the one being healed. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember more…

  Jewel approached Robert and her mother.“How do I help?”Jewel asked.

  “Put your hand on my shoulder. Be sure to touch the skin of my neck. Try to follow my mind as I transfer my essence to our friend here. I will draw upon your strength as I need it.”

  Jewel did as she was instructed. The old man let her hand touch his neck and he closed his eyes. Jewel did the same. He paused. For a moment Kindra and Gawin thought he would proceed no further. “Understand young one…what I do now requires a lot of trust…I am vulnerable to your magics when we do this. Many years ago that trust was violated and a number of very good people–friends–died.”Robert admitted.

  “I am honored that you are letting me help you. I will not betray you.”Jewel said softly.

  Robert took a deep breath.“I know.”Slowly, reluctantly, he raised his hand and began to trace the outline of Sergeant Tolivier’s back with an open palm hovering just inches from the seared flesh. Never did he open his eyes and yet his hand seemed to know exactly where it was.“Here we go.”he whispered.

  Gawin felt the familiar pressure of magic build at the base of his neck. A slight blue glow emanated from the hand Robert moved over the sergeant’s back. As he moved the flesh turned from an angry red and charred black to a mottled pink. A new layer of skin seemed to form over the entire expanse. As the hand moved to cover the entire damaged area, the portly soldier began to moan in great pain.

  “E’s hurtin him!”Tep cried.

  “Easy child.”Kindra said gently.“There’s nothing to be done for it. As the healer regenerates the skin, nerve cells that had been quiet are being restored as well.”

  “But he’s hurtin him.”Tep repeated with a sob.

  “I will block his pain in a moment.”Robert assured the boy.“But for the moment that pain is his friend. It lets him know that he’s alive and it lets me know that we have been successful.”

  “Pain is his friend?”Tep asked dubiously.

  “Sometimes it is.”Tommy confirmed while giving the boy’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.“Sometimes it is.”

  Robert, whose eyes were now open, reached a hand to Sergeant Tolivier’s neck. The hand glowed brightly for a moment and the sergeant ceased moaning.

  “Done.”the older engineer, turned healer, said. Gawin looked at his friend. Robert caught his glance and saw the questions in his face. He shrugged.“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, my friend. Not all of it is good.”

  “Oh piddle.”Kindra swore uncharacteristically.“You’re as good a man as they come. What happened all those years ago was never your fault.”

  “Fault or not, the memories remain; and they will haunt me until the end of my days.”

  “I don’t know half of what you two are babbling about,”Gawin said firmly.“But I know this; the man who stands before me is a good man. He saved the life of the woman I love, not once but twice. He is a good man and one I’m proud to call friend.”

  The older man’s eyes widened. He then inclined his head to the young engineer. I hope I am worthy of your friendship. He thought to himself. He then glanced at Tep.

  Tep approached the bed cautiously, as if afraid of what he might see. When he saw the pink but healthy skin of Tolivier’s back he wiped half formed tears from his eyes.“E’s gonna be alright?”

  “He’ll be fine.”Robert said with a genuine smile for the boy.“He needs a week of bed rest to build up his strength.”He pointed to several areas of the portly soldier’s back and spine.“There’s still quite a bit of deep muscle damage; here and again here. I’ll work on repairing those over the next few days.”

  “A week?”Tep asked, his eyes widening in alarm.

  “A week.”Robert confirmed sternly.

  “I got a go without‘em.”Tep said softly.

  “Where do you have to go, young one?”Kindra said in a motherly tone.

  “We was head’n north to find King Thomas and let‘em know‘e was riding towards a trap.”

  “Then put your mind at ease. Stay here with your friend. We’ll send some food up for the two of you. When he wakes, we’ll hear his story and get a message to the King’s army by magic.”

  “You can do that?”Tep said breathlessly.

  “My daughter is with the army.”Bendon replied having returned to the present from chasing that elusive memory.

  Kindra and Jewel smiled and tousled the boy’s hair with a hand by way of answer.

  “As for the King himself,”Gawin said firmly,“we’re on a mission to rescue him ourselves.”

  Chapter Five- Not Spatial…Temporal?

  3000 Years before present- Arathin

  Kairevasigh covertly watched her friend as the two walked down the hallway. Kaizir wanted to show her something. She had a feeling that it had been on his mind for a long time…

  Kaizir and his retinue had returned home from a fruitful trip to Pershara. But long before they had left that land of‘true’dragons, Kaizir had been having trouble sleeping. A recurring dream. A dream that concerned him greatly. He prayed about it often.

  She asked him why he prayed to something he couldn’t see.“I do not see the wind, but I can feel it. In the same way, I know God is there. He has always been and will always be.”He had answered her with calm assurance.“He is my rock in this crazy world. I knowHe is there for me. After all, He gave his son so I could be free from evil and live with him when I leave this world.”

  Kairevasigh had wondered if he was crazy. But he didn’t rave like a mad man and he treated not just her, but everyone around him with a respect that she had never seen before. Everyone here did. There was joy even when times were hard. There was a…something she couldn’t explain around her that she had never felt before. She longed for it, but knew not for what she yearn
ed.

  When they had returned to Arathin, Kaizir had started to work on something during the dark hours of night. She knew because she often practiced her magic at night. Several times she had been sorely tempted to follow him, but then she would shrink back. She didn’t want him to think she was a snoop. But the mystery still gnawed on her. Her mind wouldn’t ever let her sleep, so she turned to reading. None of the histories she picked up made any since. The names were foreign and many, if not all, she had never heard of before. So tonight she had looked for something else to keep her mind occupied. That was when she found a book describing the art of creating Swords of Power (with a capital‘s’and‘p’). The book said that Swords of Power were, in a way, alive. They could, based on their forging, pick their masters.

  According to the book, there were three very powerful Swords. Two were forged by the swordsmiths of Arathin. The third was forged in Pershara.

  Tonight, while she was reading in fascination, Kaizir had found her. He knew that she worried about his lack of sleep and that she was very curious about what he was up to.“Do you want to know what I’ve been working on?”He had asked.

  “I would.”She had replied. He had smiled and beckoned her to follow him. So that was how she had ended up walking down this incredibly long, winding hallway. Eventually they came to a spiral staircase that went down, down, down. Kairevasigh had a moment of foreboding. Age the rock a bit, add worn depressions in the stairs and the staircase became the twin of the one in the Ulaisékan, the Sheyestivan library. Sure enough the floor they came to was the same she had gotten off at. Or was that will get off at? The hall was different. The stone showed no sign of wear. It also shown brightly. The hall was well lit by mage torches. Kairevasigh wondered to herself how she had not recognized the building she had spent some time in.

  She reasoned that the upper levels of what would become the library had been redone over the years till it became what she knew. It was interesting to see that the old library used to be a palace.

  The tight maze of hallway lacked the forgotten smell it would gain in her time. As they walked, she had a feeling she knew where they were headed. Sure enough, they came to the Room of Mysteries. Same room, but empty of shelves and junk.

  The twenty-five foot across by forty foot long room was glorious. The floor, at least in the section lit in the doorway, was a polished white marble edged in filigreed gold. Alcoves sporting glyphs of old Araathin appeared in regular intervals. Compared to the hallway, the room was dim. The only light came from the glyphs. In the center of the room were the four pillars that would be responsible for bringing her to this time.

  Kairevasigh stared in awe. Kaizir caught her expression and nodded to himself.“What?”She asked.

  He smiled sadly.“You know this place.”

  “Yes, though it was…. Um…a little more cluttered. But I recognized those.”She said indicating the pillars.“How did you know?”She asked glancing at him.

  “My dream. The Lord answered my prayers by making the dreams clearer. The purpose of them, I know it now.”

  Kairevasigh stared at the man who had become her friend; was like the brother she never had aghast.“Didn’t you tell me that your Lord is love? That He longs to give blessings?”Kaizir nodded. His gaze bemused.“Then why does He give you dreams with such horrible occurrences? And if they are true, He is going to send the world into an apocalypse!”

  “Ah, you misunderstand, Kair. The Lord does not wish for that to happen.”Kaizir raised his hand to stall her questions.“God made the world and it was good. But creation fell away from Him. In doing so, evil was allowed in.”

  “But if your Lord is so powerful, why didn’t he destroy the evil?”She demanded, thinking of the customs her people lived by, that she knew now, were…ugly. Wrong. Life meant very little to the customs. Only power and the attainment of power mattered.

  “He could.”Kaizir replied.“But he loves us.”

  “How can he love…?”

  “Let me explain.”When she nodded Kaizir continued.“God made everything. Logically, you would think he could give himself everything too. But there is one thing that He cannot. You see, it cannot be made. It can only be given. And to be worth anything, it must be freely given.”

  “What is it?”She asked curiously.

  Kaizir leaned against the doorjamb.“Love.”Kairevasigh blinked. Kaizir continued.“To give creation the chance to choose him, He let the evil exist. It cannot gainsay Him, which it probably hates. The world has been in a balance ever since. A balance evil will try to tip in its favor. My dream warns what is to come and gives a basic plan to keep evil in its place.”

  As they talked, Kairevasigh drifted into the room.“What you say makes some sense…”She admitted. Her gaze snagged on one of the alcoves.“What does that say?”

  “It’s a prayer.”Kaizir said stepping into the room.“A prayer that nothing wears away or changes what is written.”

  “It is carved in Kales Amei; timeless glass. It can’t change once carved in that.”Kairevasigh pointed out.

  “Consider it a precaution. I want at least one copy to survive.”

  She turned away from the pillars, they kept snagging her gaze, to look at him.“There is more than one?”

  He nodded.“There will be at least two others. I’m sending them to Pershara. I was thinking Thioden and Vandenburg.”

  By this time they were standing before the dark pillars.“Why are they dark? They were glowing in my time.”

  “I haven’t kindled them yet.”Kaizir touched her shoulder, turning her toward him.“You are going on a journey, Kair. Indeed, you have already started. I have three things to tell you before you go. First,”he paused to give her a fatherly kiss on her forehead.“I know you have just met God. Trust him, Kair. He is worth it. Second, take this.”He flicked his hand and the book on Swords of Power appeared out of thin air. There was no betraying trace of magic.

  “I wish I could do that.”She said wistfully as she accepted the book and put it into her sack.

  He grinned.“Keep practicing. You’ll get there.”His expression grew somber.“Third, you need to pay attention to this.”Kaizir stepped into the middle of the pillars. The sword he carried as the King of Arathin appeared in his hand. Its black edged blade made the glowing silver-blue core that much brighter. Kaizir faced her. The tip of the sword rested on the floor.“Jav’la.”He whispered. In response, a pulse of light flashed from the sword’s hilt, down the blade, and into the floor.

  There was a strange chiming sound and all four pillars began to glow. Kaizir spoke again, but his voice had changed subtly. His eye’s glazed over.“The way of the world is tied to the Three. It is done in threes. When the blood of Kings, Dragons, and mages mix first in love then later forced in lust will the beginning meet the end. What once was broken will be re-forged. The two that were shattered will meet their Breaker and upon that Sword’s edge will faith be tested. The Alpha and the Omega will meet face to face and the stronger will prevail. But their strength depends upon the Three of Three: The Fulcrum, the Star’s Sword, and the Catalyst.”Kaizir’s eyes unglazed. He met her eyes and saw the need to continue her journey was strong. In his normal voice he continued.“Be careful, my friend. I fear your road is long and full of strange places. Have faith and remember the prophecy I told you. The world may very well depend upon it.”

  No pressure… She thought as she stepped to the nearest pillar. She met Kaizir’s black and silver veined blue eyes which were shockingly framed by copper hair.“Good bye. It has been…”she trailed off, unable to find the right words. She smiled brightly in their stead,“meeting you.”She finished with her hand a breath from the carved surface.

  Kaizir smiled in return.“The honor was mine…”Kairevasigh’s hand touched the pillar. A short intense spike of pressure coupled with bright light filled the room. When it faded Kaizir was alone.“…my friend.”He finished softly. He went to his knees. His forehead rested against the silver and onyx braided hilt an
d prayed. A tear ran down his face for all the pain Kairevasigh and the rest of his people and Pershara’s descendants would suffer.“Please, Lord, be with them and all your children…”

  ***

  Present day - Pershara

  The next week went slowly for Jewel. On the one hand she was excited that she carried Gawin’s child. On the other, she was anxious to get about the business of rescuing the man she considered her father.

  The first few days were spent browsing the various shops and markets with Kindra and Tommy. More than once Kindra slapped the thief’s hand as he made a suspiciously obvious attempt to practice his craft. Jewel suspected his true goal was attracting and maintaining Kindra’s attention.

  Much to Jewel’s delight, many of Elainia’s mannerisms and expressions were starting to surface in Kindra. Kindra herself reported occasional flashes of memory that could only have come from Elainia. Certainly Elainia’s fascination with Tommy T had survived as their continued courtship games attested to.

  Gawin and Robert were rarely to be seen. The older man had found a machine shop on the far side of town and had rented the facility for crafting whatever it was that he and Gawin had spent the last several months designing. Her husband would come back to the hotel late each evening bubbling over with excitement but absolutely refusing to say what they were working on.

  By the middle of the week, Jewel had had enough. She blew up at the two men when they arrived back at the hotel late one evening. A husband had an obligation to spend time with his wife and that was that.

  Gawin’s reaction took her by surprise. He simply kissed her on the cheek; smiled at Robert and said“Great! We’ll move in the morning.”

  The move turned out to have been a prearranged relocation to another hotel located a few blocks from the machine shop the two men had been frequenting. Jewel couldn’t help feeling she had been manipulated but the new hotel was opulent, had an excellent view of the lake and a pristine beach for swimming. In addition, the new location meant the men could join them for meals.