Chapter 4
2715 Words
4
"Horses. Always with the horses. . ." I grumbled to myself.
I sat atop a fine gray stallion that trotted down the road to the High Castle. It was several days after our meeting with Crates. We were close enough to the castle that I could see a hint of towers in the distance, so that in a few mile or two we would see if I was right about his hint. Beside me on another fine horse was Xander, and behind us came Darda and Spiros.
Another tinge of pain from my rear made me wince. "What I wouldn't do for some twenty-first century comfort. . ."
"How has travel progressed in my old world?" Darda asked me.
"To the point where you can travel for hours in a comfortable seat or fly anywhere with a good drink beside you," I told her.
"I would dearly wish to know the secret for how humans fly and drink without falling," Spiros spoke up.
"They fly around in huge metal machines piloted by humans who don't get to drink," I explained.
His face fell. "I see. How disappointing for these 'pilot' humans."
I laughed and glanced at my Dragon Lord. His lips were pursed as he stared straight ahead. I leaned toward him and leaned across the void between us to poke him in the arm. "You okay?"
"I was just thinking back to our interview with the librarian and his avoiding our most pertinent questions," he told me.
I shrugged. "Maybe he just didn't want to make this god-hunting thing too easy-or easy at all-for us. Or maybe he's testing us so we can fight some inter-dimensional beings next." Xander turned to me and arched an eyebrow. I smiled and shook my head. "Believe me, it's not something we're going to have to mess with. Anyway, I'm pretty sure my mom can tell us something about gods. She's almost one herself, at least according to Crates."
Spiros furrowed his brow. "Gods and fae are not the same?"
I glanced over my shoulder at him and shook my head. "Not according to the librarian. He said fae were immortal, but not gods."
Darda frowned. "What creature could have a greater power than that of the fae?"
"The librarian informed us the gods controlled the natural elements while the faes merely use them in a small way," Xander explained.
Spiros whistled. "That is a great deal of power, and this librarian expects you two to protect the world against them with a sword and that-" he nodded at the small wooden box behind Darda's saddle that held the bell.
Darda fidgeted in her saddle and frowned at the road ahead of us. "Such abominable manners not to inform you of what you needed to know."
"At least it gives me a good excuse to see my mom," I reminded our party as the High Castle came into view.
The majestic former residence of the Red Dragons was empty now but for a small staff of caretakers. They would be taking care of us for the evening, but we first had work to do. We continued fifty yards past the castle and stopped on the road where the ground sloped down into the woods.
Xander and I dismounted, as did our companions. I handed my reins to Darda and Spiros was given charge of his horse. Together we two followed the barely perceptible path that wound its way through the woods. In a few short minutes the way opened up and before us a small pool sparkled in the late afternoon sun.
A few gentle bubbles on the calm surface of the pool heralded my mother's arrival. She rose from the water in all her majestic beauty. Her sparkling eyes smiled at me as she stepped up to the edge and held out her hands to me. "My daughter. It is good to see you."
I hurried over and gave her a hug which she returned with equal effort. "Hi, Mom. Miss me?"
She drew me away from her and studied me with those beautiful shimmering blue eyes. "Always, but I gather from your eyes that you have not traveled such a distance merely to see me."
I winced. "That obvious?"
She chuckled. "Your face hides no secrets, and for that I love you the more."
"Well, to be honest there was something we needed to talk to you about. You don't happen to know anything about gods, do you?"
She arched an eyebrow. "You mean the fae?"
Xander stepped up to stand just behind me and shook his head. "No. The keeper of the Shadow Library has tasked us with overcoming gods."
Her eyes widened and looked from Xander to me. "Gods? Those of the natures?"
"You know about them?" I asked her.
Some of the light left her eyes as she pursed her lips and gave a nod. "Yes. They were those above us of whom we do not interfere. Only my father, Valtameri, would dare their fury. However, that was many thousands of years ago. I have had such little news of them from the waters that I thought they had gone from this world."
Xander stepped forward so he stood beside me and looked my mom in the eyes. "You know where they are?"
She nodded. "Yes. That is, under certain conditions."
"But how?" Xander persisted.
My mom sighed. "As a Mare fae I am capable of feeling vibrations through the water so that I can learn of distant happenings merely by touching the water."
"And these happenings encompass the doings of the gods?" he wondered.
She nodded. "Yes. That is, if they have used their great power, then the waters tell me."
My heartbeat quickened as I searched her eyes. "Can you teach me how to do that?"
She shook her head. "I cannot. Though you are my daughter you are still only half of my lineage, and thus you have not the power."
"Even with her increased abilities?" Xander asked her.
My mom glanced from me to him and back again. "Increased abilities? What does he mean?"
I shrugged. "I kind of got soaked in this gooey water on the Island of Red Fire and-"
She tensed and her hands squeezed mine. "The Ealand of Reod Fyr?"
I nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"The goo you speak of, was it the Sæ?" she persisted.
"Yes, but why?"
She drew me over to a large rock and sat us both down on its flat top. "Please tell me this story, and I will see if I cannot help you."
I told her the long tale of our adventures on the Island of Red Fire and the demise of the last of the Red Dragons. When I finished my tale my mother's beautiful face was a mixture of expressions. There was fear, and not a little bit of interest.
"Have you experienced any effects from the Sæ?" she asked me.
I shrugged. "Well, there are the voices."
She tilted her head to one side and a smile teased the corners of her lips. "Voices? What do they sound like?"
I nodded. "Like somebody whispering around a corner."
The smile slipped onto her mouth. "That is very interesting, and very wonderful, news."
I arched an eyebrow. "I don't see how me going nuts is good news."
My mom chuckled and shook her head. "You are not insane, Miriam, but have achieved a higher state of being than is natural for those who are only half fae."
"So what are they trying to tell me?" I asked her.
She gave a short step back and met my eyes. "Let me show you."
My mom took a longer step backward so that I was forced to step up onto the rocks that surrounded the pool. She continued her move backward, but I dug my heels into the stone. "I'd rather not go for a swim," I told her.
She shook her head. "You will not, so long as you have faith and let me guide you."
I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the water expecting to be resemble a drowned rat. My eyes widened as my foot stepped onto the surface of the water, but didn't sink down. Rather, I walked on the surface and the water tickled my arches. I gaped down at my feet as we walked over fish and reeds.
We stopped in the middle of the pool and my mother moved so we faced each other. She smiled as she stepped away and let go of my hand. I gasped as I felt my feet start to sink into the water.
"Calm your emotions and imagine the water ever beneath you, bending to your will," my mother instructed me.
I took a deep breath and took another step forward on my own. My foot remained above the water. I raised my head and grinned at her.
She knelt in front of me and held her hand out in front of her so her palm hovered over the surface. "Now let me show you how it is done."
My mom dipped her hand into the water and spread her fingers out. The water shifted around her fingers and looped around her hand like my tiny dragons. She held out her dry hand to me and smiled. "Give me your hand, Miriam."
I set my hand in hers. She drew me down so I knelt in front of her and dipped my hand down into the water so she clasped both her hands around mine. The little streams of water slipped around my hand. I clenched my teeth and tried not to laugh as they tingled my skin with their soft touch.
One of them touched me. I gasped as my vision changed. One moment I was staring at the pool of water, and the next I was looking out on a large waterfall. The falling water was surrounded on all sides by huge pine trees so thick I couldn't see more than a few yards into the forest. A small deer strode gracefully through the waters at the bottom as fish swam in the small pools that dotted the gentle slope.
I blinked and the vision disappeared so I was back at the pool. My mother studied me. "What did you see?"
I shook my head. "I. . .I think it was a waterfall."
Her smile widened. "With a deer beneath the falls?" I nodded. "You saw that place because the deer disturbed the surface of the water. The water then carries that disturbance across the land to my pool."
"And this waterfall is where?" I asked her.
"The falls are the gateway to your dragon lord's domain beneath the foot of the Heavy Mountains. What you glimpsed happened there only a moment ago."
Xander started back. "But those falls are a day away, even in flight."
She looked past me and nodded her head at him. "Yes. Though the water itself is slow, its messages travels faster than any creature."
"So if a god uses their powers near some water I can see it?" I wondered.
She nodded. "Yes, though my pool is a poor source of information. It gathers water only from the center of the continent, and even then only from particular points. I have sensed no god activity for quite some time, so you will have to find larger rivers in which to test the waters."
"And how am I going to know where they are? I didn't even know where that deer was," I pointed out.
She cupped my cheek in her hand and smiled. "That is something you must learn on your own, but perhaps some of the maps in the castle of Alexandria will help you on your journey."
Xander nodded. "That is true. There are no finer maps in the world than those stored in the library."
I wrapped my arms around my mom and gave her another hug. "Thanks, Mom. I owe you one."
She drew us apart and studied me with a soft smile. "You owe me nothing, my dearest daughter. I will always be at your service whenever you need me." She paused and pursed her lips. "There is a limit to this power, however."
My face fell. "What kind of limit?"
"My small streams are rarely traversed so that you saw only one deer. However, the streams and rivers that travel through the realms of the dragons are very busy. Should you try to read the waters you may experience a great deal more visions than you can handle," she warned me.
"What would that do to me?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "I cannot tell, having never gone beyond my pool. I can only advise you, should you find yourself overwhelmed, to focus on yourself. That will ground you to one location and bring you out of the reading. Also-" she grasped my hands and looked into my eyes, "-under no circumstances must you read the ocean. I have no doubt the strain would kill you."
The color drained from my face. "That. . .that's bad."
A smile slipped back onto her lips. "Yes, but I am sure the waters of the continent will give you the information you seek. Now-" her eyes traveled down my attire, "-perhaps something can be done for your clothes."
I followed her gaze and winced. I wore my old jeans and t-shirt, but their age was starting to show. Darda had patched and sewn to the best of her ability, but their cloth was so thin that they were nearly transparent.
I raised my eyes to my mother's smiling face and sheepishly grinned. "Well, they haven't fall off."
"Yet," Xander spoke up.
My mother chuckled. "You are like your father in regards to clothes, but your mate is right. Fortunately, your increased powers may help in this regards. Do as I do," my mom told me as she spread her arms out. I mimicked her gesture. "Now focus on the water at your feet and imagine it rising up and replacing your weary clothes with new ones."
I closed my eyes and furrowed my brow. A mental picture of my attire came to my mind even as I felt the water beneath my feet stir. Soft, cool threads slipped up my legs. I opened my eyes and looked down.
Small tendrils of water like my dragons slithered up my body. They cut my clothes into pieces and parted the fabric as they climbed, but at each cut they flattened and transformed into a perfect replica of my ruined clothes. In a few seconds I was dressed in a perfect, watery copy of my clothes as I bought them new. The water bundled my torn clothes into a tight bundle that floated beside my feet.
"Wow. . ." I whispered as I touched my clothes. They moved and felt like fabric, and on the inside it felt like I was wearing silk. I looked up at my smiling mom. "So can I change them into other clothes?"
She nodded. "Yes. They will bend to your will and create any clothing you desire."
"I hope this will encourage you to wear a dress," Xander teased.
I stuck my tongue out at him before I returned my attention to my mom. "So do I have to worry about the sun drying my clothes off my body?"
She shook her head. "No, nor the wind blowing the water away or the cold freezing you. Your body itself is the pool, and so long as your body remains as it is the water will not fail you."
I smiled and gave her another hug. "Thanks, Mom," I whispered.
She drew us apart and I detected a few tears in her eyes, or perhaps they were just the water. "Now off with you."
We parted, Xander and I were on our way. Spiros and Darda eagerly awaited us at the road.
"Well?" the captain wondered.
"My mom gave me a neat trick to find a god near water, so now we can track them down," I told him.
Darda arched an eyebrow as she studied my attire. "Is this 'trick' able to change your attire, as well?"
I grinned and shrugged. "Well, that's another new trick. Anyway, all I need to do is put my finger in every puddle and stream we find and hope the gods are upstream."
"That could take some time to find them," Spiros mused.
Xander mounted his horse and turned to face our small group. "But we must find them nonetheless. We will return to Alexandria tomorrow and stop at every stream. If nothing is found we will continue the search across the continent until we are successful."
I took the reins of my horse from Darda and looked up at my steed with a sigh. "More riding. . ."
- Writer
