Part 26 (2/2)
In a panic, I looked about. There was a window at the back of the room. I bolted toward it.
”JASON!” Gaza sounded like a parent scolding a naughty child. Gaza sounded like a parent scolding a naughty child.
Particles of gla.s.s exploded all around me as I plummeted from, what I realized now, was a tower! tower! The expanse below was dizzying! I twisted around in the air to see Gaza's face materialize in the window. Mild irritation quickly melted into wide eyed despair, as he realized what I was holding in my grasp. The expanse below was dizzying! I twisted around in the air to see Gaza's face materialize in the window. Mild irritation quickly melted into wide eyed despair, as he realized what I was holding in my grasp.
My mind called out to Kitaya. ”Take me to you!” ”Take me to you!”
”Hhnnnoooooo!” was the last thing I heard, before vanis.h.i.+ng in a flash of blue fire. was the last thing I heard, before vanis.h.i.+ng in a flash of blue fire.
In my sickened state, I could not decipher my surroundings. ”Hide me quickly! He's watching, ”Hide me quickly! He's watching,” was all I could get out through The tender strand connecting me to Kitaya. Something soft enveloped me.
”Who is watching?”
”Continue doing what you were doing. Gaza is watching. You must get as far away from me as you can. You're in danger here.”
”Not until I find out what is going on.”
”I've stolen something from Gaza's fortress, something that will ensure I will never be safe again, a vital tool Gaza is using to find his wife and daughter. They were not killed. Gaza still searches for them.”
”What? How do you know this?”
”I don't have time to explain, but Gaza's lost his faculties. There's no reasoning with him.”
”Then all hope is lost.”
”Not entirely. I have a plan. But I need to get out of here undetected, which means you'll have to leave. Gaza's watching you, and if he sees me here, we're both in danger.”
”How will you protect yourself?”
”By staying as far away from the G.o.ds as possible! I'm going to seek out Arganis as I originally intended, and as much as I would like you to come with me, I need to go alone.”
”I will have a servant prepare a horse and supplies for you. I will tell him I am sending Moota on a journey. Go to the stable. The horse will be left unattended.”
”Thank you.”
”Stay here,” she whispered through the thread. she whispered through the thread.
”Okay,” I whispered back. I whispered back.
Her footsteps grew fainter, and a door slammed. I thrust the cover off me and went to the window. Night had descended over Trinador. Tiny lights danced like fireflies in the trees. Good. The night would conceal my escape. It would be slow going by horse, but if I attempted to travel through another thread, Gaza might be able to track me. I looked up at the three glowing orbs in the night sky, and was thankful Gaza had a liking for moons. I would need their light. I leaned out the window and took a deep breath.
Suddenly the sky flashed a brilliant orange. I jerked my head back in. The walls began to groan with a deafening vibration. Is this it? Is this it? I thought, gripping the windowsill. I thought, gripping the windowsill. Did I push Gaza over the edge? Did I push Gaza over the edge? The vibrations mutated into a resonating hum, and in the distance, m.u.f.fled screams of terror echoed. The voice of Gaza boomed out. ” The vibrations mutated into a resonating hum, and in the distance, m.u.f.fled screams of terror echoed. The voice of Gaza boomed out. ”CHARM! YOU HAVE ONE DAY TO RETURN WHAT YOU HAVE STOLEN!”
And as quickly as they had begun, the vibrations ceased, leaving me shaken, but somewhat relieved. He didn't know where I was, which meant I was safe-- for the moment.
I gathered my wits, and a measure of courage, and made my way down to the stables. My destination, Pagnia. Time was running out and it looked like the fate of Vrin rested on me.
I followed the roads but kept a hood over my head to shroud my ident.i.ty. The landscape was cold and lifeless in the blue moonlight. Shadows s.h.i.+fted restlessly among the trees. As Charm, growing up, I could remember playing in woods like these, but now they seemed empty. It never occurred to me then to consider the lack of insects. Vrin never had such things, and I'd never noticed. Now, however, I found their absence troubling. Vrin had been my home, but now it was nothing more than an imperfect shadow of a world just beyond my memory. I wanted my my Vrin back, the one I had built my life in. Vrin back, the one I had built my life in.
I hunched over, and pushed the horse harder.
The sky was beginning to glow with the first signs of dawn as I entered the well-manicured area of Pagnia. The town was all but deserted, and as I guided my horse along, his footfalls echoed loudly through the vacant streets. When I reached SCAR's hideout, there were no signs of life, and the door was bolted, so I guided the horse around the back to find a way in.
A cellar door gave me access. I creaked it open and groped my way down the stone stairs. It was dark, except for the faint light from a lantern in the far corner. I moved in closer. And that's when I saw him. A figure lay next to the lamp on a wooden cot. But that was all I saw, before a sharp pain shot through my head, and everything went black.
I squinted. The light was bright. A river rushed past me and turned into a waterfall but I could not see its base. The sun was high in the sky and seagulls played in the wisps of cloud above. I sat down on a gray rock and absorbed the beauty of the mountain scape stretching out before me. It was peaceful here, even though I was not sure where here was.
”You have questions,” said the man in white next to me.
”I always do,” I replied.
”Yes, but now you have a question you have never thought to ask before, which is not surprising really, since you are no longer the person you were.”
”I have been here many times haven't I?”
He smiled. ”Oh yes.”
”But I have never asked you what this place is.”
”Right. You never asked because you never thought to. You had never known any different.”
”But now I've changed.”
”Yes. Now you carry in you the imprint of Thomas Tardin and this causes you to consider things you would have never thought to consider before. Thomas believes this is a dream because that is what Charm believes, and Charm has never been able to see this place as it truly is. But Thomas can't understand why it is so vivid, and thus the question. I know it's disconcerting, but don't worry, we will eventually pa.s.s beyond this realm and enter into more familiar territory.”
”How can we pa.s.s beyond, if we're not moving?”
He put his hand on my shoulder. ”It's like riding the bus where you find yourself engrossed in a book or a conversation with the person next to you. You're oblivious to the scenery pa.s.sing by outside.”
”It's peaceful here. I don't want to move beyond.”
”Well, you know something Thomas. The real mystery is you never really leave. It's all a matter of perception.”
My brow furrowed. ”I'm not following you.”
”Don't worry. You will soon forget we had this conversation, and it won't matter that you don't understand.”
”So why have the conversation at all?”
”The answer to your question is very complicated,” he smiled, ”but you're going to ask me anyway.”
I laughed. ”I suppose I will.”
He repositioned himself on the rock. ”Focus on me, and don't look away until I tell you, or it will hurt considerably.”
I focused on him and immediately something began to happen in my peripheral. The scene s.h.i.+mmered like Jello. Lights and shapes melted around me, swirling and pulsating like a living organism.
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