The Fenimeldiyaan: Vacation - Chapter 6

The intense heat hit them as soon as they materialised in the desert.  Gerald sweated beneath his trademark leather outfit while Morgan puffed and panted as if he had been running a marathon.  Out of the three Vordellans, Elsa was the most sensibly attired, having borrowed a light tunic and leggings from Kendra, who was more or less the same size.

“Ye’ll be much more comfortable without yer clothes” Andreas advised, having already shed his vest and pyjama trousers.  “Heavy clothes only trap the heat in and make ye sweat more”.

The sparkling sand rippled beneath their feet, causing them to stagger and stumble.  It was noticeably more active around Elsa, but since she was the most nimble and co-ordinated out of the three, she seemed to have less difficulty in staying upright.

“Tis the sand’s way of welcoming ye and showing its love for ye” Andreas explained, leaning down and picking up a handful of sand.  He let it fall through his fingers but some of it clung to his hand and arm, giving a mesmerising glittering effect to his skin.

A moment later, they were joined by a small naked woman of similar height to Andreas.  Elsa recognised her as the waitress from Ezun’s diner who had escorted her to Grehelin Street, while Gerald and Morgan knew from Andreas’s descriptions that she was his wife, Anwyn.

She bowed low before the Vordellans, her dreadlocked hair trailing in the sand.  “The desert welcomes ye and on behalf of the Ohrivaal Matriarch, me Ma, I welcome ye”.

“Tis good to meet ye, Lady Anwyn”.  Gerald spoke a little stiffly, trying not to look at her naked, sand-smeared body which was decorated with many tattoos in colours so vivid that they seemed alive.

“Er … I’m thirsty” Morgan stated, flapping his robes in a vain attempt to generate some air-flow around his sticky rotund body.

“Let’s go to the oasis and I’ll get ye some fruit juice” Anwyn invited.  “Water be in short supply here and we often have to bring it in from elsewhere”.

She led them off towards a patch of greenery in the middle distance.  The sand still rippled but it had calmed down somewhat, except in the case of Elsa.

“I don’t think the sand likes me very much” she commented, looking down at the churning mass beneath her sandaled feet.

“Tis very much the opposite” Anwyn informed her.  “Ye be bringing a very special gift to the desert and the sand wants to celebrate with ye”.

Elsa felt a moment of panic.  The sand knew that she was pregnant?

“Aye” Anwyn transmitted telepathically.  “Sand always knows.  When I were expecting me first-born, I had no idea why the sand were so lively until Uncle Erroll explained it to me.  Anyways, I sense ye ain’t ready to tell anyone yet, so I’ll keep yer secret”.

“Special gift?” Gerald’s face registered confusion.

“The love betwixt ye and yer lady” Anwyn stated.  “Love be the force that holds everything together and ye’ve made the sand happy to feel such strong positive emotion”.

They were relieved to reach the oasis and sit down.  Anwyn brought fruit juice in mugs carved from tree bark and varnished with resin.  She used sorcery to chill the juice before handing out the mugs to the visitors.

“I’ll let ye get used to the place afore ye meet anyone else” Anwyn said, sitting next to Andreas and giving him a firm hug.  “Young Rita seems to think I be her personal food delivery service and Torvald still be feeling homesick”.

“Students” Andreas explained for the benefit of the Vordellans.  “They be a good bunch, but some of them have issues”.

They conversed happily for a while, until Andreas leaped up.  “I have to split meself.  Seems one of me students ain’t showed up for class and no-one’s seen her since her last class yesterday”.

“I’ll go if ye like” Anwyn offered.

“Ye don’t like splitting” Andreas reminded her.  “Knowing Rita, she’s probably gone off in a fit of temper.  I’ll track her down and calm her down, then I’ll be back”.

Gerald and Morgan had seen Andreas splitting into several versions of himself before, but it was all new to Elsa.  She watched in astonishment as the little man’s body shimmered and his outline became indistinct.

One Andreas rejoined Anwyn on the sand while the other translocated away.

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“Sorry about this, me dear” Andreas apologised to River, putting an arm around her shoulders.  “Ye were the last one to see Rita, so I need to know what the two of ye did last night.  Also, did she seem upset or annoyed in any way?”

River sniffed, trying to hold back her tears. It was always easier transmitting to Andreas, particularly when she hadn’t used any magic yet, since she’d been interrupted in her first class. She hugged her book to her chest like it was her lifeline. “She invited me to her room to watch a movie with her,” she projected to him. “I helped her a little with her studies for her healing exam by showing her a way to memorize the different areas of the body, by writing on her to show what was where. But when I got there, before that, she looked bad, like she’d been crying. And earlier, she had been swearing in the hall about her phone. She said it wasn’t working, but later she called Lady Anwyn to ask her for pizza and it worked just fine.” She mentally paused, regaining some of her mental energies before continuing. “We watched a few movies, then we ate, and she invited me to go flying with her. We stayed in the boundaries, I promise!” she added, not wanting to get Rita into any more trouble. “Then she said she was tired, and we went our separate ways. She seemed sad the whole night, Andreas.” Tears spilled down her cheeks, and Andreas enveloped her in a hug. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed for a few minutes. Why would Rita go?

“It’ll be fine,” Andreas told her after a while, pulling away gently. “We’ll find her and bring her home. I’ll be back.” He smoothed her hair gently before translocating from the empty room.

River watched him go, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Rita was gone. Rita had run off. Was it River’s fault? Had she said something wrong? Immediately, she came to a decision. It was her fault that Rita had gone. The girl had seemed happy until she’d met River. She decided to go and bring the girl home herself. Maybe River would get in trouble for leaving without permission, but it would be worse, far worse, if Rita got into worse trouble than with the school.

With the decision fixed in her mind, she fixed the image of Rishlaan in her head. It seemed a fair place to start. Had she known about the slavers and everything Andreas had warned Rita about, she wouldn’t have gone without permission. Instead, she effected the translocation and found herself in the midst of the city. Alone.

Bolstering her courage, River hugged her book to her chest and hurried through the crowd, desperately seeking Rita’s mental signature.

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Elsa sat on the sand, her legs twisted up multiple times into a painful-looking crossed position. Gerald was more casual, sprawled out with his long legs in front of him. He’d finally given in to the heat and taken off both his precious coat and his shirt. That was as far as he’d go. Morgan didn’t even do that, though he’d removed the outer layer of his robes, leaving him with just a tunic and breeches. Both were covered in sweat. “Blimey,” Gerald commented. “Morgan, if ye stayed here, ye might be half the size ye are now from sweating.”

Morgan frowned at him. “It’s not my fault I’m sweating,” he said. “It’s that blazing sun!”

“I don’t think it feels too bad,” Elsa put in, taking a sip from the fruit juice. “Mm. I’ve never had anything quite like this before.”

“Much better than leathery water,” Gerald agreed, thinking about when they put water in the leather jugs on journeys. Most of the time, the water ended up tasting more like the jug than anything else.

Morgan was evidently enjoying his as well. He leaned back in the sand, watching as it danced onto his arm. “I didn’t know sand could be alive,” he said, glancing at where it was still dancing around Elsa. It seemed to make the little thief uncomfortable.

Elsa took another sip of the fruit juice. Her mind seemed to be a million miles away. She seemed to come to a decision and stood up, laying her empty mug on the ground beside Gerald. “Anwyn, if I may,” she said, a little tentatively. “If I may, you know, have a word?”

“Aye, of course,” Anwyn said, rising and following the girl away from the others.

Gerald looked after his wife as she walked away with Anwyn. He heaved a sigh. “Blimey,” he said.

“What’s the problem now?” Morgan said.

Gerald ignored him and looked at Andreas. “I get this terrible feeling there be something she ain’t telling me,” he admitted. “Any idea what it be?”

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Once Elsa and Anwyn had moved away from the men, Elsa seemed reluctant to speak. Anwyn gently prodded her by saying, “There be something ye wanted to talk about?”

Elsa nodded, tugging at a curl of her hair that had escaped the hair she’d piled on top of her head. “Yes. You mentioned to me, earlier, in my mind … you said something about being pregnant with your first child.” Her face was a bright red; it simply wasn’t something she discussed with just anyone. “Were you … I mean, did you have — any doubts? Were you afraid?” Tears built in Elsa’s eyes as the truth came out, something she hadn’t told anyone. “I’m afraid, Anwyn. I’m afraid that … my child will live like I had to. That something will happen to Gerald, or — or to me, and the child won’t have any parents. Or that I’ll fail them, and something will happen to them. I can’t lose my child, Anwyn, but it happens to women in Vordelle far too much. I don’t know how to tell Gerald; he’s never even mentioned wanting to have a child. What will he say or think when I tell him? I’m just … I’m afraid, Anwyn.”

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Rita stomped along the beach, growing impatient.  The sorceress had stated that she would be met and escorted to the Cadogan Academy of Sorcery, but that had been over two hours ago.  Still there was no sign of anyone coming, neither physical nor mind signature.

She had learned of the existence of the sorcery academy on the Virian island of Nhemayah from overhearing a conversation between Andreas and some of the other teachers.  Once she realised that she had fallen out of favour with Andreas, there seemed no point in continuing her studies at the Donovan Institute.  Thus she had sought the contact pathways for the Cadogan Academy in the hope that she would be permitted to pursue her studies there instead.

She had made contact via her cellphone, not wishing to risk using the computer console in her quarters.  To her astonishment, she had received a reply immediately.  There had been a brief conversation over the phone, in which she had spoken to a sorceress by the name of Ursula.  Ursula had agreed that they should meet and had insisted on effecting the translocation herself instead of giving a location to Rita.  Thus she had arrived on the island and been kept waiting.

Several times, out of frustration at being forced to wait, she had attempted to translocate back to her quarters at the Donovan Institute, but found that she could not call upon her powers.  She had even considered swimming over to one of the neighbouring islands, but had dismissed that idea, for the ocean was freezing and she could not even see the nearest island, so she had no idea of how far it was.  She was trapped there, alone, without supplies and without access to what little sorcery skills she had.

“Rita Micario?”  The voice was soft and pleasant, stirring her from the depths of self-pity.  It belonged to a short, thin woman in shabby brown robes.  The woman’s face was covered by the hood of her grey cloak.

Rita felt insulted at not being addressed by her formal title of Lady, but she hardly had the social advantage, so she merely replied “Aye, tis me.  Ye be Ursula?”

“The very same.  Ursula Cadogan at yer service”.  The woman pushed back her hood, revealing a mass of long, tangled hair which had probably not seen a brush or comb in many years.  The hair obscured part of her face, but Rita got the impression of dark eyes, a narrow face, thin mouth and a pointed chin.  “Now what would a spoiled little Carpathian upstart possibly be wanting from me?”

Rita’s first instinct was to lash out at the woman for such a blatant show of disrespect, but she sensed great powers emanating from her and managed to rein in her temper.  “I were studying sorcery at the Donovan Institute, but I no longer wish to study there.  Instead, I’d like to apply for a place at yer academy”.

“Interesting”.  Ursula’s mouth quirked into a smile.  “Most sorcery academies and enclaves be snobby and elitist.  No doubt yer obscenely wealthy Carpathian family paid many thousands of livati to get ye enrolled.  Not to mention what they shelled out for the artificial implantation process”.

“Tis the usual way of things” Rita asserted, trying to sound more confident than she felt.  “How much would ye be wanting for me to transfer here?  I could pay ye in Virian fen if ye prefer.  Me credit card be multi-currency”.

Ursula chuckled.  “Like I have a credit card terminal here!  Ye Carpathians be all the same, thinking that throwing money around will get ye what ye be wanting.  Well, I prefer to work on a system of mutual exchange.  Ye do me some favours along the way in return for yer education.  What d’ye say, Carp?”

Another insult.  Clearly the woman had a real loathing for Carpathians.  Ignoring the derogatory name-calling, Rita asked “What sort of favours?”

“Stealing the odd item here and there.  Doing a few minor spy missions for me.  Mayhap even recruiting missions at some point in the future.  So, Carp, we got a deal or not?”

“What areas of sorcery d’ye cover in yer curriculum?” Rita enquired.

“Ah, I don’t go in for curricula” Ursula answered.  “I prefer a more hands-on, less structured approach to learning.  None of that useless diplomatic, historical and theoretical drivel that they teach at the Don.  Practical skills only, like translocation, transformation, mind-control and blood sorcery”.

Rita smiled.  “That suits me perfectly.  I always thought diplomacy and history were over-rated.  Not to mention a waste of me time.  I already have good people skills and negotiation skills”.

“Then I’ll show ye to yer quarters” Ursula invited, holding out a bony hand.

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Andreas shrugged and blew out fragrant smoke from his herbal cigarette.  “Ye know her better than I do, me friend.  Like I said afore, tis most likely due to her missing Elaine.  From what ye told me, the two of them were real close.  If I be reading her right, she be wanting female company, ye know, using Anni as a substitute for Elaine”.

“There were plenty of Nentofore women” Gerald pointed out.  “Yet I don’t remember her going off for women’s talk with any of them”.

“Mayhap she felt a stronger connection with Anni” Andreas theorised.  “Besides, the Nentofore women be more directly involved with running the various family businesses.  Gal has to oversee everything and liaise with all branches of the family.  Yove has her gallery to run and Ken spends a lot of time on the road and on construction sites.  Although Anni be the Cesario Matriarch, she delegates far more and due to her powers of sorcery, she can get around much quicker than the Nentofore women.  That gives her greater freedom, so she has plenty of time to spend here with her Ma and the extended family”.

“So Gal and the others don’t have any powers?” Gerald enquired, thinking of the strange incident in the maze the previous day.

Andreas shook his head.  “None at all.  Luigi be an empath, which means he picks up on emotions, but tisn’t a true form of sorcery.  The Nentofores only have mundane skills, though they be excellent ones”.

“I don’t suppose the cooking facilities are anything like those in Armando’s kitchen” Morgan remarked mournfully, finishing his juice and rubbing his belly.

Andreas chuckled.  “Ye’d be surprised.  The cooking hut may look primitive but Anni’s Ma expects everyone to learn to cook soon as they can walk and talk.  Most Sartorians be experts at growing, harvesting and preparing herbs, vegetables and fruit.  Plus there be those who go off hunting.  For a desert tribe, the Ohrivaal do very well when it comes to food.  Watch out for the fire spices, though.  Sartorians have a habit of adding them to everything, a bit like the Varagans”.

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Anwyn patted Elsa on the arm in a friendly manner.  “Motherhood ain’t anything to be afeared of.  I were only sixteen when I fell pregnant with Loro.  At that time, I had no idea I were going to lose me husband”.

“What?” Elsa’s face registered shock.  “Was that when Andreas died and became an Ascended Master?”

Anwyn shook her head, making her long dreadlocks dance around.  “I were married to another man afore I met Andreas.  A sorcerer named Selonicus Linderies.  He were one of me teachers at the Donovan Institute.  When we got together, I were fifteen and he were in his sixties, yet we knew we belonged together.  Loro be his child, although Andreas adopted him later”.

“Must have been hard on you” Elsa commented.  “So how did your first husband die, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“By going on an unauthorised mission and taking on a bunch of sorcerers alone” Anwyn answered.  “No-one knew he’d gone til it were too late.  He weren’t killed in the usual way so that his spirit could go to the Beyond.  They dispersed his spirit so that it ceased to exist altogether.  That happened on the night when I gave birth to our son.  So I became a mother and a widow at the same time”.

None of this was making Elsa feel any better.  “How did you cope, bringing up a child on your own?”

“Family”.  Anwyn smiled.  “Though I were hurting bad and I thought I’d never be happy again, me family supported me and helped me through.  Then I got together with Andreas and me life has been filled with joy and love ever since”.

“I don’t have any family except for my sister” Elsa stated.  “And she has responsibilities of her own.  Like I said, if anything happened to me or Gerald, there would be no-one to take care of our child”.

“Not so”.  Anwyn took hold of Elsa’s hand.  “Ye be under the protection of the Inner Circle of the Carpathian Way.  If the worst happened, we would make sure that yer child were looked after properly.  We’d find a suitable childless couple and have them adopt yer child”.

“You’d do that for me?”  A mixture of relief and astonishment surged through Elsa.  “You’ve only just met me and you’re offering all that?”

Anwyn enfolded her in a warm hug, transferring some of the sparkling sand on to Elsa’s clothing.  “I know what be in yer heart and soul.  Ye want a brighter future for yer child.  Ye don’t want them to grow up on the streets in poverty, being forced to steal to survive.  No child deserves such a miserable life and ye have me word as Matriarch of the Cesario that twill never happen.  I promise”.  She held up her right index finger and drew a circle in the air, then bowed her head.  “Carpathian honour”.

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Andreas materialised in Rita’s quarters.  First he made a physical inspection of the place using mundane observation skills only.  He noted that the bed had not been slept in, although the blankets were slightly disturbed from where Rita and River had sat to watch their movies and eat their pizza.  The empty pizza box was laying on the floor next to the waste-paper basket, since it was too large to fit in there.

He logged into her computer console, using his hacking skills to access all her files and trace any sites which she might have visited.  There was nothing out of the ordinary; the files only contained the expected course work, notes and essays, while the browsing history was typical of Rita — mostly celebrity gossip sites, entertainment sites and online fashion houses.  He did not detect anything untoward amongst the deleted items either.

Having found no mundane clues as to where she might have gone, he used his enhanced senses to scan for her energy trail.  Trails like that only lasted a few hours so it was vital that he traced it before it dissipated.  It led to all the predictable places — classrooms, dining hall, library, gardens and gym.  If she had translocated to Rishlaan or even off-world to her hometown of Inrith, the trail would lead there as well.  However, he could find no evidence of a translocation trail leading away from the Donovan Institute.  Thus he could only conclude that she had been abducted.

He sighed and muttered to himself.  “Security around here be useless.  A child could get in and out undetected.  I wish they’d listen to me about upgrading their security systems.  Oh, Rita, me dear, where have ye gone?”

He pulled out his cellphone, which had been turned off for the past two days, due to him being on vacation.  There were thirty two missed calls and eighteen voicemail messages from Rita; each one sounding more desperate than the last.  The final voicemail was spoken in an angry tone and contained many swear words.  “Damn ye to perdition, Andreas Cesario!  I thought ye cared about me!  I thought ye were me friend!”  A tirade of vehement abuse followed, then it ended with the words “I’ll get me own back on ye for abandoning me in me time of need!”

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River had found no trace of Rita’s mind signature, so she wandered around the marketplace, trying to remember all the shops and stalls where Rita had taken her.  She even mustered up the courage and asked a few of the shop proprietors and stallholders if they had seen Rita.  Most of them shrugged or shook their heads, but one woman remembered them from their shopping trip together, although she had not seen Rita since that time.

Feeling disheartened, she decided to search the cafés and restaurants, hoping that Rita had gone for some comfort food or perhaps her favourite fancy coffee.  She enquired in several cafés, the burger place and an ice-cream parlour, but again none of the staff admitted to having seen anyone fitting Rita’s description.  Carpathians were rare on Malvania, so a beautiful, exotic, young off-worlder would not have gone unnoticed.

After leaving the ice-cream parlour, River headed back to where she thought the marketplace was.  However, she must have taken a wrong turn, for she found herself in a narrow, unfamiliar side-street.  She was feeling tired and hungry by that time but dared not stop, for she was determined to find her friend and bring her back to the Donovan Institute.

“Ye be lost, me dear?” a man enquired, speaking Malvanian with a strange accent.  He was of medium height, with tanned skin and dark hair bound in tight braids.  His moustache was waxed and turned up at the corners.  He wore a multi-coloured waistcoat and black baggy trousers.

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River swung around to face the man who addressed her. She hugged her book to her chest and attempted to prod into his mind. Seeing as how it was a skill she’d never perfected or even been good at, she found nothing. Her magical reserves felt burnt out from her translocation, and exhaustion was threatening to set in. She didn’t think she could even summon a flame to light a candle, much less trace Rita. Slowly, she nodded in answer to the man’s question and scribbled on her book. “I’m lost, yes, but I’m also looking for my friend. Her name is Rita Micario.” She proceeded to write a full description of Rita before approaching the man. He was about two heads taller than she was, and she handed the book up to him. Then she thought of something and took a piece off the bottom, scribbling, “My name is River Meer. I’m a student from the Donovan Institute.”

Hopefully, he could help her.

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Elsa, though normally not the touchy-feely type, returned Anwyn’s embrace from sheer relief. She hastily brushed a tear from her cheek. “Thank you, Anwyn,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for me.” Now all she had to do was tell Gerald. She planned to do it now, with her happiness at Anwyn’s words. Otherwise, she might never tell him until it became painfully obvious.

They returned to where the three men sat. Morgan had downed another two glasses of fruit juice and looked like he was in heaven. Gerald was tracing in the sand with his finger idly, looking up when Elsa and Anwyn approached. Elsa beckoned to him, and he stood up, sand spraying everywhere. “Aye?” he said.

“A word, in private,” she said. He limped after her as they stepped away from the others. “Gerald, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Gerald laid his hands on her shoulders. “Ye be missing Elaine, ain’t ye? Ye want to go home.”

Elsa shook her head. “No, Gerald. The times of me and my sister running to each other for comfort are over,” she admitted. “We … we have to grow apart, just a little, to truly live.” Her hand came up and touched Gerald’s cheek. “I miss the times we had, yes. Would I go back? No. She’s happy now. And so am I. Which leads me back to what I’m going to tell you.” She took a deep breath. “Gerald … I’m —”

Perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be that Elsa would tell Gerald she was having a child. Whatever the case, she felt the translocation a few feet away from them and someone dropped into the sand. A white staff went flying in the other direction. “What the devil?” Gerald exclaimed, scratching his head.

“It’s Apollo,” Elsa realised, even with the healer’s upper torso and head buried in the sand. Together, they each grabbed one of his ankles and pulled him free. Apollo coughed up sand, brushing his hand through his blond hair. “Apollo, you have horrid timing,” she told him.

The healer blushed. “I hate translocating,” he grumbled.

“Guess we’d better introduce ye to Andreas and Anwyn,” Gerald said, slipping his arm under Apollo’s to support the obviously-exhausted healer. He shot Elsa a concerned look over Apollo’s head. They both knew he was a powerful empath and had also gained slight powers of foresight from Cora’s half of the Lightshield powers. If he was in the Fenian Galaxy, that could mean nothing good.

Morgan was stunned to see them come back with his cousin. He jumped up as if to greet him but stopped. The two never touched anymore, considering their differing magics caused them great pain when they came into contact with each other. “What are you doing here?” he exclaimed.

Apollo pushed Gerald away gently. “Would you get my staff, please?” he requested. As the mercenary moved off, Apollo bowed to Anwyn and Andreas. “I assume you are Lord and Lady Cesario. It is a distinct honour and pleasure to meet you. I am Apollo of Vordelle, and cousin to Morgan.”

“Apollo,” Elsa said anxiously. “Is my sister alright?”

“She’s fine, Elsa. So are Daren and Joseph,” Apollo answered. “I haven’t come about them.”

“Then what have ye come for?” Gerald asked, handing him his wayward staff.

The healer leaned against it, its bottom planted firmly in the sand. The sand danced around him almost as enthusiastically as it moved around Elsa, feeling the pure light magic inside of him. “You know I have powers of foresight occasionally,” Apollo said. The other three nodded. “I saw great danger. To one of you in particular.”

“Who?” Morgan burst out.

Apollo shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. I don’t know who, why, or how. But I thought I’d come and offer my services in stopping it.” The Vordellans read between the lines: he’d come to make sure it wasn’t Morgan who was in great danger. He considered it his personal duty to keep Morgan from falling to the darkness.

“I’m sure Andreas wouldn’t mind you tagging along,” Morgan said. Despite the danger his cousin was professing, he harboured a small sense of happiness that his cousin had finally come. Morgan had nagged him to come in the first place. A sudden doubt spurted up inside of him and he turned to Andreas. “It is alright for Apollo to be here, isn’t it?”