Part 6 (1/2)
Her mother reached up a slender hand and caressed Adesina's face. ”I promise.”
Somewhere a pan clattered, and Adesina jerked awake. She opened her eyes and saw Kendan stirring the fire and preparing some breakfast. She sat up with a start. ”Kendan! How are you feeling today?”
He was still quite pale, but he looked much more calm. ”I am doing better. I heard music last night. Singing. It helped to quiet the voices I hear.”
Adesina glanced at Ravi, but he was preoccupied and did not return her look. ”I am glad to hear it.”
Kendan shuddered slightly as he put more wood on the fire. ”I will be relieved when we leave this cursed place. I wish we had never come.”
Adesina dropped her gaze to the ground and muttered quietly, ”Yes, well. We do not have much farther to go.”
He turned to face her with a worried expression on his face. ”I have been so preoccupied with my own struggles that I have not checked to see how you are doing.”
She waved aside his concerns, trying to appear unaffected. ”I am fine. I suppose an advantage to having a sheltered childhood is that there are few memories that can be used against me in a place such as this.”
Kendan folded his arms tightly against his chest. ”I envy you that. My childhood wasarather violent.”
”Your parents?” she asked gently.
”And the rest of my family,” he replied. ”I really only have the s.h.i.+mat order left as far as people who are close to me are concerned.”
Adesina didn't really know what to say, and so she settled on what she had heard others say in similar situations. ”I am sorry.”
He pressed his lips together. ”It would have been worse if I had been left on my own rather than being brought to the fortress.” He glanced up at her. ”In spite of all of our troubles, we are more fortunate than most of the people in this world.”
She could see that Kendan was embarra.s.sed by this show of emotion. He cleared his throat and broke eye contact with her, finis.h.i.+ng his preparations for their morning meal.
They did not speak anymore throughout breakfast or as they broke down the camp. Just as before, Kendan took the horses' reins in one hand and held on to Adesina's hand with the other. She rested her free hand on Ravi's back, and they walked purposefully through the trees.
The voices returned full force as soon as they left the sanctuary of their camp. Kendan had a sharp intake of breath and squeezed Adesina's hand painfully. The young woman sighed softly and did her best to shut out the noise.
”You were given a Dream last night, were you not?” asked Ravi.
Adesina frowned. ”How did you know?” she whispered to keep Kendan from hearing.
A smile flitted across Ravi's feline face. ”One learns to recognize these things.”
They walked in thoughtful silence for a few moments more before Ravi spoke again. ”Will you tell me about your Dream?”
Adesina was actually relieved to be asked. She wanted to talk about it with someone who might be able to tell her what it all meant. She described the Dream exactly how she remembered it and waited for Ravi's response. When he continued to be silent, she prompted him impatiently.
”What does it mean, Ravi?”
”That is something only you can decide. That is part of what makes Dreams what they are.”
Adesina blew out her breath in frustration. ”I should have known you would have nothing useful to say.”
Ravi chuckled. ”You are still young, Ma'eve. Understanding will come in time.”
His words struck a chord with Adesina. ”My mother said that in my dream.”
Ravi nodded slowly. ”Yes. Your mother is a good and wise woman.”
Adesina almost stopped in her tracks. ”Is? My mother is alive?”
Ravi considered his answer thoughtfully. ”That depends on what you consider to be alive.”
This time Adesina did stop. ”No more riddles, Ravi. Is my mother alive or not?”
Ravi turned his golden eyes on Adesina's purple ones. ”Her mortal body no longer lives, but her immortal spirit will never die.”
Adesina could not quite get her head around this way of thinking. She shook her head stubbornly. ”It was just a dream.”
”No, it was a Dream.”
Adesina couldn't keep her anger out of her voice. ”What is the difference?”
”A dream is a thing of fantasya”a creation of your mind. Dreams, however, are real. They are glimpses into other times, other worlds. The sooner you can accept that, the sooner you will understand.”
Both of them stood still and silent for a few minutes. Adesina's inner struggle was only made more chaotic by the words whispered to her by the incorporeal voices. Part of her wanted to believe what she had been told over the past several hours, but it felt so wrong when placed next to all that she had ever been taught. Part of her said that it was all inconsequential anyway and to just let it go, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that this was part of something bigger. Something deeper.
Ravi stood patiently for a while before walking back over to the young s.h.i.+mat. ”Keep walking, Ma'eve. We still have a long way to go.”
Adesina forced herself to move forward. She knew Kendan needed to be led out of the forest as soon as possible. The day dragged on like an eternity, and both Kendan and Adesina were relieved to stop for the night. She set up the camp, persuaded Kendan to eat some food, and curled up next to the fire. Ravi began to sing quietly, and soon Adesina's eyes became heavy.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt herself being pulled far away from the world that she knew.
She found herself standing in a corridor similar to the ones found in the s.h.i.+mat fortress, only the walls were made of white marble and there were arched windows that lined the wall high up next to the ceiling. Moonlight streamed through, illuminating the corridor with a mystical glow. The hall opened to a columned walkway that lined some sort of courtyard. Within the courtyard, Adesina saw something that took her breath away.
A utopian garden lay before her. Large exotic-looking flowers bloomed in brilliant grandeur, displaying shades of color that Adesina never knew existed. These were offset by smaller, more demure flowers that gave the garden a pleasing sense of balance. Many tall, beautiful trees swayed to the soft breeze, and the ground was carpeted with the greenest gra.s.s she could have ever imagined.
In the center of the garden was a fountain made of pure white stone that glowed in the moonlight. It made the white marble of the corridor and columns dull and gray in comparison. Engraved in the stone were several strange symbols that were defined by the luminous glow of reflected light. The crystal water heaved upward in the center to form a pedestal for a s.h.i.+mmering orb the size of a man's head.
Seated on the edge of this fountain was Adesina's mother. Their eyes met and a shy smile appeared on each of their faces. Her mother patted the stone next to her. ”Come and sit with me, Ma'eve.”
Adesina did so, fairly bursting with questions. ”What is your name?”
Her mother smiled her sweet smile. ”E'rian.”
The word sounded slightly musical. It settled into Adesina's heart like a warm liquid. ”Am I to call you that?”
E'rian raised her eyebrows. ”If you wish. Or you may simply call me *mother.'”
This had a strangely strong appeal to Adesina. ”Very well, mother.”
The young s.h.i.+mat studied the stunning garden that surrounded them. ”Where are we?”