Troy rose with the golden sun and watched as, one by one, fire fighters rolled from beds of dried leaves and ferns. He joined the Adventurer personnel. They were quiet and thoughtful. Like himself, he knew David and Kyla were re-evaluating their lives, so drastically affected in twelve days. The royals were also subdued.
Assured no one looked his way, he hurried from the camp and into the woods. He arrived in front of the gigantic tree, meaning to say goodbye and feeling a little silly about doing so. “Good morning, big guy, I’ll probably never see you again and want to say our experience enriched my life and I appreciate it.”
Cool, new-born leaves showered him. He smiled and said, “Yeah, I love you too.”
Branches trembled as a rumbling voice spoke. The baptism of new leaves makes you a brother to all the wise ones. Look to my wooden sides.
The trunk looked the same, rough with deep ridges running its length.
Above your head, Mage.
He leaned back, his gaze traveling up the trunk until something odd appeared. Stepping closer, he imagined he saw a face carved in smooth wood. He squinted his eyes. It appeared to be a very old man with a long beard.
That, mage, is the last mage with whom we could communicate that lived fifty years ago. This is our tribute to him. Go around my body. On the opposite side, directly in front of Troy, a carven face, a perfect image of his own face returned his gaze.
Troy touched his forehead to his wooden one and swallowed back tears.
This image is on all wise trees, and you shall know them by this sign. You will know all there is to know about the forests throughout this land, and you are bound to us in brotherhood.
Shaken, he backed away and picked up a cane-size limb. Head bowed, he returned to camp.
Taking a deep breath, Troy looked around at all the people in camp working in concert. The rain had tamped down the smoke the day before, and now a clean mist settled over the camp. Everyone moved in languor as they prepared to clear the camp and head home. Even the livestock’s movements were sluggish.
He found Kyla inside the medic tent before the workers dismantled it. “Do you think you can get a sample of the salve that heals wounds? I would love to discover its components.”
“I’ve already thought of it.” She handed him a small jar. “Someone left a healing stone on that cot. I thought of taking it but somehow felt hesitant to pick it up.”
Troy didn’t hesitate. He reached for it and in the next instant found himself flat on his back half-way across the tent. Kyla ran to him and stared down, wide-eyed. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“I think so. That thing sent an electrical current through me—damn near stopped my heart.” He massaged his chest. “I suppose my curiosity about these mage stones will remain unsatisfied. I will not try that again.” With a grunt, he pushed himself up.
Walking outside the tent with Kyla, Troy watched chirping Taryn melt into the treetops. The Lakos were jolly and noisy as they went about packing up, but they soon disappeared into the forest. One young Lako woman stood at the edge of the trees and looked back at Troy.
“Look at that,” Kayla whispered. “She looks as if she’s lost her best friend.”
Fixated on Meadowlark, Troy didn’t hear her. Her tall willowy form beckoned him. He held his breath. Her oval face lit by glittering beams of sun filtering through delicate foliage twisted his heart. The ethereal forest nymph set fire to his soul. He struggled to breathe.
Then she faded into the forest.
“Troy, are you all right?”
He couldn’t answer, his throat was so tight. He felt he would never be all right again.
David tightened a cinch on his rhosynhorn as he prepared to leave. As a smoke-filled cough rattled up his throat, a commotion caught his attention.
Awel, holding the lead to her mount, grabbed his arm. “Look, isn’t that the little Taryn fellow you saved from the fire?”
At only a foot tall, the youngster outran a group of chirping, excited Taryn women and bolted in his direction. David winced when hit directly in the chest by a ball of fuzzy energy. His arms automatically wrapped around the child. Suddenly, twittering women surrounded him, reaching for his little passenger. Wild-eyed, David looked around for help while the little Taryn climbed higher out of reach until wrapped around his neck.
Awel stood staring, her jaw dropped.
Kyla joined them and placed her hand on David’s arm. She turned to the excited women, and softly twittered. The small women became quiet except for the elder of the group who began making the musical bird sounds. David watched as Kyla’s face turned sorrowful. “What are they saying, Kyla? What’s wrong?” He leaned over, holding his chest, and coughed up black phlegm from the fire.
“His mother died yesterday from the burns she suffered.” Tears were in her eyes and her voice trembled. “When he realized she wasn’t coming back, he ran to you.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do with him? Where’s his father?”
“The fathers will care only for their own children,” Awel said. “I’ve been told that usually, another female member of the family or clan will take him in.”
Kyla turned back to the old woman, and they started twittering back and forth. Not understanding a word, David became more and more anxious about what would happen to his little friend. Kyla’s expressions didn’t look too promising, and the howls coming from over his shoulder didn’t either. Awel walked over and put her arm around Kyla, which worried David even more.
He reached up and patted the crying child while saying, “For god’s sake, what is it?”
With tears streaming down her face, Kyla turned to him and took a deep shuddering breath. “His whole village and his family were burned to ashes. He has no one. Poor baby.”
Upon seeing the group of Taryn women turning to go, David became frantic and reached up to pull the child from his shoulders. When he did, the little boy grabbed hands full of the long blond hair and held on. “Damn it, Kyla, tell them to come back and take this kid. I can’t keep him.” The child gripped tighter, almost tearing his hair from his scalp. “Turn loose, you little beast.”
The women ignored Kyla’s call and kept walking away.
It appeared Awel might also cry. “It’s all right, David. I’ll help you with him, and when we get home, maybe we can find a solution to his problem. I can’t bear to hear him cry anymore.”
David looked from one tearful woman to the other and grimaced. “Oh space crap, I’m a lost cause. I cannot abide crying females. Okay, let’s saddle up.” He coughed until his face became red. “Damn, how long will we have to fight the smoke and crap from our lungs.”
Cymry led the way from camp with Kyla by his side. They fell into an easy silence, and he considered their experiences. She had tended to his burns with such tenderness, they mind-merged so completely, Cymry couldn’t stop thinking about her. He must remember his position as heir to the throne. Thank Alpha and Omega they hadn’t mind-melded.
Memories of the night before forced their way into his conscious. After the rigors of the fire war, injuries, and lack of sleep, they had tumbled into a bed of fallen leaves in exhaustion, and immediately fell asleep. Cymry woke up curled around her body. It had been all he could do not to meld with her. His intense physical need propelled him to his feet.
His thoughts were interrupted by a bout of coughing.
Regaining his composure, he scanned his memories and couldn’t find a single romantic liaison that had stirred such a turmoil of emotions as he felt right now. Even the most momentous affairs with the finest ladies, or with the wildest women of the lower caste, had not put him in this predicament. It wouldn’t do. Popet disapproved of his wild ways with women, but said little to control it. Cymry knew his father expected him to get it out of his system and settle down to marriage with Patrice.
Eiddyl took a deep breath of the cool, clean air. It had
cleared as they entered the forest of huge trees that supported the Taryn villages. He noticed less coughing came from the travelers. From overhead, pungent aromas from food preparation and sounds of musical voices and instruments wafted down as the Taryn made ready for celebration. Young children swung from vines, twittering, and teasing the mounts on the ground. Their happiness was so pervasive, it was impossible for the travelers to be irritated.
Riding next to Troy, he wondered at the star man’s disquiet. He tried to pry into Troy’s mind, but met a wall of resistance. Somehow, the tree-merging work had developed his psi abilities. After hours of leisurely riding, Troy’s mental anguish so intruded upon Eiddyl’s peace of mind, he leaned over his saddle and gripped Troy’s wrist. Startled, his head came up, leaving his mind so wide open, Eiddyl felt scoured by the confusion and sadness.
“What’s wrong, my friend? Can I help you?” Troy didn’t respond for such a long time, Eiddyl felt the need to try again. “Are you so disenchanted with Argel—is it that important to get back to your ship?”
Troy shifted in his saddle and turned toward Eiddyl. “On this planet, do you have men that are lovers of men?” He didn’t expect Eiddyl to understand his meaning.
Eiddyl smiled and, in a compassionate voice, replied, “Yes, we do. There are not many, most are in the priesthood. I suppose that’s not surprising considering they are raised separated from women from their sixth year.”
“That’s how I grew up. The Union takes select youngsters from their mothers at the age of three. I grew up in a same-sex pod until sixteen, and then went for training on a ship. I have a close friend, Jason, with whom I’ve partnered since childhood. Right now, I have to admit to more than a little confusion.”
“Why is that?”
Troy hesitated for a moment, opened his mouth and then closed it. His jaw muscles contracted and he bit his lip. After taking a deep breath, he opened his mind to Eiddyl. I stayed with the Lako woman last night. Unaware of my nature, she became quite provocative and, I have to admit, I found her uncomfortably appealing. It made me question myself. Right now, all I want to do is ride back and see her, but I know it’s wrong.
He shrugged, looked off in the distance, twisted in the saddle, and then turned back to Eiddyl. I suppose you think me foolish. Maybe it’s because she is the first woman near my own coloring, tall enough to look me in the eyes, I have ever seen. Right now, I do not understand what happened.
Eiddyl leaned across Eres and gave Troy’s arm a gentle pat. I very much doubt the Lako’s instincts about you are wrong, and her interest in you was clear. They’re very attuned to nature and sensitive regarding other people. Rest easy, my friend. When we get home, the priests will insist upon investigating your gift with trees, anyway. I can assure you, when the examination is over, you’ll have complete understanding of yourself and why you feel this way.
“I wonder if I will ever see Meadowlark again.” Troy’s voice held such longing, Eiddyl turned away to hide his smile and strangled up black soot from his chest.
Birds sang, dried leaves crunched and crackled as forest animals searched for food. On occasion, a frydraco swooped over, stirring the foliage, and David would cringe. Overhead, the activity of the Taryn increased and periodically they would swing down with refreshments for the riders.
David jumped when Awel, who rode beside him, said, “You have been quiet a long time. What’re you thinking?”
“Think I’m crazy to have a hairy little critter around my neck. He’s making me sweat, and I can’t get him off.”
Awel’s musical laughter filled his ears. She leaned over, rummaged in a side pack on her rhosynhorn, and pulled out a sweet cracker. Holding the food under the Taryn’s nose, swinging it back and forth, woke him up. When he reached for it, she laid it on David’s saddle. Down he came and settled on the saddle in front of David.
“Now, why the hell didn’t I think of that?”
“Clearly, because you’ve been deep in thought about something else. Which you have yet to tell me about.”
He opened his eyes in pretended shock. “Surely you know? I’ve felt you trying to poke around in my mind.”
She playfully slapped at him with the ends of her reins causing her mount to jerk to the side. “That’s not true. Besides you picked up a lot of our language from the fire fighters, and it’s no longer necessary for me to meddle.”
“I’m afraid most of the words I learned would singe your pretty ears. For the sake of being better acquainted, I suppose you’ll have to meddle. I won’t mind, although, the practice does bring people uncomfortably close together.” He turned his head away from her and coughed for several seconds.
But, isn’t that what you want? Don’t you want to feel close?
Kyla, Troy, and I have lived in such tight quarters with so many people, it has become second nature to keep our thoughts and feelings to ourselves. It would cause bedlam on the ship, otherwise. David hesitated for a minute and twisted uncomfortably in the saddle. Not knowing the proper way to express his worry to Awel, he feared speaking his mind.
Awel looked around at the others and resumed with audible speech. “Don’t worry, David. Let it out and trust I have the good sense to take into consideration your limited knowledge of our ways. No matter what you say, I promise to not be offended.”
He sighed in relief. “I’m really unsettled by you, or rather the strong feelings I have for you. This is not like me. What have you done to me? I-I really do like you.”
“I know you do. And, as I proved last night, the feeling is mutual.”
David smiled as he thought of her abandon in their bed of leaves. “I thought perhaps it might have been curiosity or the result of too much wine and dancing. Whatever caused it, I don’t think I’ll ever forget you when we leave.”
“I hope you stay.” Her clear sky-blue eyes pleaded with him.
“Everything is so foreign to me here. Of what use could I be if I stayed? It’s easy to see Troy would be quite an asset with his abilities. So would Kyla.”
“What did you do in sky travel?”
How could he explain engineering and the physics of traveling faster than thought to someone like Awel? She interrupted his pondering, saying, “Why don’t you envision a day you would ordinarily work and let me see it.”
He could not help smiling at her simple solution to his communication problem. “I hope to become proficient in this mind-merging business. It’s handy.”
As they leisurely made their way down the mountains, he followed her advice by imagining a day on ship. When he could see her becoming overwhelmed, he would stop and wait for questions. David finally asked the question that burned inside. “Since you and your brothers are royalty, wouldn’t your family be upset with you and Cymry becoming involved with commoners, not to mention strange people from space?”
“That’s Cymry’s uppermost concern right now. He managed to control himself last night, but today he is having a hard time dealing with his feelings for Kyla. Men always seem to have a hard time when it comes to emotions.”
“Yes, it‘s a problem for males in any society.”
“Kyla has a good heart. I wonder if she wants children. She would make a fantastic mother.”
David frowned. “Maybe so, but it’s impossible.”
“Why? Is she barren?”
“Our child-bearing women remain on one of the planets we inhabit. Travel is not an option for them. Kyla’s schooling trained her, from childhood, to hold an important position in space travel. When it was decided she would be of value to the Union of Evolved Planets, having babies was no longer an option for her.”
Awel’s eyes flared. “How horrible.”
“No, expedient. Her education was extensive and costly. By the time her debt to the Union for that education is paid, she’ll be too old to give birth.” David shook his head. “Besides that, children cannot thrive in space travel.
”
“I couldn’t bear to give up the opportunity to have a child. Children are valued above all other things to Elfins.”
David thought back to what he’d seen at the castle. “If children are so valued, why aren't there more of them?” When he couldn’t call up the proper word in Elfin, he used UEP standard.
Awel’s eyes swam with tears as she turned to him. “The Elfinistas are diminishing because of inbreeding, and babies often die before aborning. In trying to strengthen psi powers, our reproductive abilities have weakened. In the past fifty years, the practice has been abandoned, but the damage was already done.”
“The villagers seemed quite prolific.”
“Yes. They aren’t Elfinistas. They are citizens of the Elfin Kingdom, not of the Elfinista bloodline.”
She grinned at him, nodding towards his saddle. “Your baby has gone to sleep.”
“Hrrump. Baby. Good God of Creation.”
They rode on side-by-side in quiet contemplation.
Soon they came down into a valley filled with slender trees hosting silvery green leaves that trembled in the breeze. The sun made its way through the delicate trees onto the undergrowth of wild flowers and bushes of succulent berries. David watched a bear-like animal strip fruit from stems and hand it to her fat babies. Birds swooped down trying to steal a portion. A white hawk disturbed the peace by diving to a clearing and snatching up a small animal.
After riding for hours, Cymry brought the group to a halt near a spring. Everyone dismounted and led their mounts to water. He was so morose, when the group remounted, Kyla rode with David and Awel.
David smiled at her. “Why did you leave Cymry’s side, Kyla?”
Instead of answering David, Kyla turned to Awel. “What’s wrong with your brother?”
“My noble brother rarely denies himself of something he wants and is finding the experience most unpleasant, even though it’s his own decision.”
“What decision is that?”
Awel lifted her brows and grinned. “Surely you must know.”
David laughed at Kyla’s obtuseness. “Come on, Kyla. The guy has a major longing for you, and I expect there’re some taboos keeping him from mixing it up with an alien, or a less than royal woman.”
“Oh, for Creation’s sake, David! What a thing to say.” She turned to Awel, who only nodded her confirmation. “Does he think I’m inferior?” Before waiting for an answer, she snarled, “Who does he think he is?”
Awel calmed her with a touch. “I’m sure if he felt that, he would not be in such a torment. The problem is the betrothal between him and the daughter of Lord Ercwlff. When they were small children, our families dedicated them to marriage at their majority. Also, we aren’t even sure if any of you are human.”
David jerked upright and glared at her. Awel reached for his hand, but he wrenched away. She simply smiled at him. “David, be calm. I’m not like my brother. At any rate, we may find that your Creation dust is the same as ours.”
Kyla sneered. “That I don’t understand, but what difference does it make? After our rescue, you’ll never see us again. The sooner the better.”
After riding all night, with sounds of sporadic coughing, they left the mountains and were back in the gentle rolling hills. They stopped early in the afternoon to camp. Tired of Kyla’s attitude and needing to get away from Awel to spend time thinking about the situation, David moved a distance away from the others. He pulled cheese and bread from his saddlebag and settled on a stump. Why, after such a brief time, did he feel bound to her? It felt good, but then it felt confining.
From where he spread his bedroll, he could look down a cliff for several hundred feet and see a mother bear flip fish from a gurgling stream to two small cubs. He smiled when a cub caught a fish mid-air and his sister grappled with him for the prize. Other animals, small and large, cautiously kept their distance as they drank from the opposite bank.
The little Taryn sat close to him and watched the animals. He very neatly broke his food into small portions and quietly ate. David handed him a cup of water, but helped him hold it because his small hands couldn’t span it. He crawled in his bed and wondered about fleas as the child followed and curled up by his side. He patted the boy and grinned in the darkening sky. “I think I’ll call you Twitter. Twit for short.”
The next morning they broke camp. As David saddled his mount, a rider pounded toward them on a greyhound-lean, deer-like animal.
Kyla gasped, “What is that animal?”
Awel replied, “It is a hydd. They’re very fast. Notice its heavy rump muscles and the lightness of its body. They cannot be used as beasts of burden; consequently, only women or the smallest men are allowed as riders.”
David glanced over. “Oh, they’re like the ones we saw on the eve of that terrible storm.”
As the uniformed Elfin soldier hauled back on the reins and stopped near Cymry, the lather-covered animal appeared near death from exhaustion. The rider leapt to the ground and made a hasty bow. After catching his breath, he said, “Prince Cymry, you and your brother and sister are needed. Also, the strange visitors. I have orders from the king that you are to make all possible haste back to Crisiant.”
”Stay here to rest and water your mount. We’ll ride on.” Cymry looked over at David and Troy, but avoided Kyla’s eyes. “Sorry to do this to you, since you’re unaccustomed to riding, but we must go with utmost speed.”
Chapter Eleven
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