The Fenimeldiyaan: Vacation - Chapter 14

Rita stared at Morgan for a few minutes, utterly confused by his reaction.  She had tried to kill him but he had refused to fight back and even offered to help her.  It reminded her of when she had left the nasty messages on Andreas’s voicemail and he had forgiven her.  Also, when she had told him that she hated him, he had responded by vowing to love and protect her always.  None of it made sense to her but she felt far too exhausted to try to fathom it out.  She left the room, closing the door behind her, and made her way back to her quarters.

The irritating little mage known as the Trickster was sitting cross-legged on her bed.  He smiled at her.  “Not feeling angry anymore, eh, Chairkiller?”

“Ye tricked me!” she accused.  “He ain’t a student.  He be a Master Sorcerer of great power and there be demons lurking within him”.

Kvyrt chuckled.  “To an Ascended Master such as my good self, everyone else be a student.  You and Morgan have a great deal in common — insecurity, abandonment issues, anger issues, low self-esteem and fear of failure to name but a few.  It makes sense to have you study together and work through your issues”.  He stood up on the bed and danced around.  “Go on, throw a fireball at me if it makes you feel better.  Throw several.  Hundreds if you like”.

Rita shook her head.  “Nothing will make me feel better”.

“Not even killing Ursula Cadogan?” Kvyrt challenged.  “After all, your life wasn’t a bad one before you met her.  She be to blame for most of your troubles.  Surely you want to get revenge on her?”

“I don’t know” Rita confessed.  “I don’t know anything anymore.  Nothing makes sense.  The people who ought to despise me show me kindness.  The people I’ve tried to impress don’t seem to care.  I made me first kill.  As a Carpathian, I ought to be celebrating, but I just feel empty inside.  Like there be nothing of me left”.

Kvyrt leaped off the bed and hugged her.  Because she was so much taller than him, he had to hover in mid-air.  Catching a glimpse of herself and the little man in the mirror, she could not help giggling at how ridiculous they looked.

“Sleep now” he suggested, levitating her over to the bed and helping her to lay down.  “I’ll see you tomorrow for your next anger management lesson”.

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Andreas and Apollo hurried over to the tent where Gerald was sleeping.  They both merged minds with him.  Since Dorrie and the other version of Andreas had cancelled most of Ursula’s blood sorcery and dispersal spells, the pathways were easier to follow and the blocks and wards crumbled away without any resistance.

They could see the sleeping form of Elsa on an old sagging couch in a dark room filled with an assortment of discarded junk.  The stale air and the smell of dampness indicated that it was a basement in an old building.  Andreas’s geographical knowledge filled in the blanks for Gerald and Apollo.  “Tis the basement of an old shop which once belonged to Mureel Cadogan, Ursula’s great-aunt.  The shop be located in Buron, Northern Viria”. 

Andreas broke from the mind-merge.  “Twould seem that Ursula has lost much of her power since Gershon Metcalfe stopped helping her.  I could translocate over there and get Elsa straight away but I think Gerald would prefer to be the one to rescue her”.

Gerald stirred from his sleep and murmured something under his breath.

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Apollo tapped his fingers idly against his kneecap as he waited for Gerald to wake up. He was in a fever of impatience to get Elsa back, but he knew waking Gerald wouldn’t rush anything. The man was impossible to wake until he was good and ready. Although Apollo would rather have been with Morgan, Elsa was in a more tenuous position, more likely to be harmed than Morgan. Yet he couldn’t keep his thoughts from his cousin.

At long last, Gerald rolled over and his eyes opened. He looked at Apollo blearily. “What’re ye doing here?” he mumbled.

“Waiting for you to wake up. Come on, Andreas is meditating outside. He’s traced Elsa’s location,” Apollo explained.

It took Gerald only a few seconds to jump to his feet and throw a shirt on. He grabbed his sword before hurrying out of the tent with Apollo. Andreas stood from where he’d been sitting, cross-legged in the sand. “Is it true?” Gerald said before Andreas could say anything. “Ye’ve found her?”

“Ye did,” Andreas said. “I only traced her through yer link. Ye ready to rescue her?”

“Aye,” Gerald said.

Apollo smiled and nodded.

Andreas took ahold of the two young men’s hands and effected the translocation. Gerald’s vision blurred a little, and he found himself outside of an old healer’s shop. The other two stepped back. “She be in the basement,” Andreas told Gerald, pulling one of his herbal cigarettes from behind his ear and leaning against the building. “Go on, pilgrim.”

Gerald smiled wanly at Andreas before ducking into the shop. He nearly smacked his head on the top of the door, but managed to prevent himself from looking like an absolute fool. Going inside the cramped shop, he was nearly overwhelmed by the smells of old and decaying herbs. Holding his breath, he found the entrance to the basement and climbed down.

The air was even more oppressive in the cellar. It smelled damp and still held traces of the herbs in it. Grimacing, Gerald stumbled over a crate of things before having the wisdom to let his eyes adjust to the darkness.

Once he did, he saw Elsa, curled up in a ball on the couch, sleeping. It was, astonishingly enough, the same image he had seen in his dream, and relief spread through him. Moving carefully, he made his way over to her and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. “Elsa. Love,” he whispered. “It be me. Wake up, I be here to get ye out.”

Elsa’s beautiful silver eyes flicked open, and she looked confused for a moment. Then her gaze fell on Gerald, kneeling over her, and the confusion fled. “It worked,” she said. “You heard me?”

“’Course I heard ye,” Gerald answered, though his voice was choked. “Els, I was worried out of me mind. Has that witch hurt ye?”

Elsa shook her head. “She wanted … Gerald, she wanted my child,” she said. “Our child.” And she started to cry, sobbing. Gerald lifted her from the couch and she buried her face in his shoulder. “I couldn’t get out. I kept trying, and nothing was working. I couldn’t feel you. I walked into a trap. Gerald, I almost lost our child.”

“Don’t be silly,” Gerald murmured. “Even if she had succeeded in taking our child, I wouldn’t’ve stopped looking fer them until the day I died. I promised ye, remember? I wouldn’t let nothing happen to ye or the child.”

Elsa sniffed, her face still pressed against his shoulder. Gently, he rested her feet on the floor, but she didn’t take her arms from around his neck. “Thank you,” she said.

They went back up into the shop together. Gerald kissed Elsa once more before taking her from the shop into the street. Apollo took a step forward but hesitated, wondering if they wanted to be alone. Elsa, however, hugged him. “Thank you. You came for me,” she said.

“I couldn’t let Gerald mess this up,” Apollo answered, but he smiled at Gerald as he spoke. “But he deserves the credit for the rescue. He just kept trying to contact you, even with the wards around you.”

When Elsa pulled away from Apollo, she saw Andreas standing next to the wall, still puffing on his cigarette. She glanced at Gerald, a little confused. “He brought us here,” Gerald said. “And he kept looking for ye. Without him, the wards around the basement would’ve kept us from connecting.” He leaned towards her and whispered, “I think he blames himself for yer capture.”

She narrowed her eyes at Gerald. “That’s ridiculous,” she said.

Gerald shrugged, stepping back.

Elsa went to Andreas, chewing her lip. She raised her eyes to meet his and, to Andreas’s surprise, she smiled a little. “It seems I owe you more than I can say,” she told him. “I underestimated you, and I’m sorry. Without you, I … my child …” Her throat tightened briefly before she took a deep breath and calmed herself. “I owe you everything.” She inclined her head to him. “Thank you, Andreas Cesario.”

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Erroll had excitedly offered River the chance to meditate with the Hasta tree. He had assured her that it would help to ease her troubled mind and soothe her soul. Unable to resist, River had agreed and followed him to the tree. Like Morgan and Apollo before her, she was in awe of the tree’s strange appearance and its comforting aura.

She giggled silently when Erroll, for all his bulk, got himself into the crossed-leg position. It took her a little time, and she kept laughing, making it more difficult. When she finally got into the proper position, she closed her eyes and let the Hasta tree’s emanations flow over her while she waited for Andreas’s return.

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Gershon stared at his new surroundings.  The floor, walls and ceiling were all made from the same dark grey stone, as was the furniture, which consisted of a large conference table and around twenty high-backed chairs.  Only a few of the chairs were occupied.  There were four men and one woman, all wearing identical black silk robes.

Two of the men were tall and the other two were shorter.  One of the tall men had blue-black hair in a neatly bound tail and a small, well-groomed beard, while the other had long white hair and beard.  One of the shorter men had fuzzy greyish hair which hung to his shoulders and the other was totally bald, although he had a small beard.  The woman was of short stature and stocky build, with grey hair braided in an intricate pattern.

Hovering in the air above the centre of the table was the child-sized man who had taken him from Detmarah’s cottage and brought him to the artificial world known as the Vyrdsphere.  Gershon had been kept in a holding cell until the Elders had assembled.

The little man seemed to be in charge of the proceedings.  “Gershon Metcalfe, you stand before a Council of the Vyrdigaan Elders – Judaas Fendor, Drusyt Retnik, Wilfred Trahern and Reginald Levereton.  Lady Mazia Modjian-Cesario also be in attendance as a representative of the Sacred Order of Chronomages”.

At the mention of their name, each Elder stood.  Judaas was the neatly-groomed one, Reginald had the long white hair and beard, Drusyt had the fuzzy hair and Wilfred was the bald one.  Their faces were expressionless.  Even the woman, who had a cosy grandmotherly look about her, gave nothing away.

Kvyrt continued.  “You be charged with the heinous and blasphemous crime of false ascension.  When you learned from your former student, Ursula Cadogan, that you were nearing the end of your mortal life, you sought to become an Ascended Master.  Your research took you outside the Fenian Galaxy to Afterworld Vega, a decaying planet ravaged by nuclear wars.  There you met with a local deity known as Eskyrios, God of Darkness, and made a deal with him.  Ascension and all its benefits in return for perpetrating random acts of chaos and destruction”.

Gershon hung his head in shame.  “I only did it to please Ursula.  As ye know, she has the gift of prophecy.  I weren’t expecting her to predict me passing and with the benefit of hindsight, I expect twas deliberate on her part.  No-one wants to hear of their imminent death from a prophet, do they?  I were afeared.  I didn’t feel ready to take that journey into the Beyond.  Twas her suggestion that I found a way to ascend”.

“Must have been true love on your part”.  Kvyrt gave a harsh chuckle.  “The delightful Ursula knew exactly how to push your buttons.  What about the Chronomancy, necromancy and blood-sorcery?  Were they her suggestions too?”

“I had made private studies of such disciplines” Gershon admitted.  “However, they were never part of the official curriculum at the Holy Temple.  Ursula only found out later, once we had become lovers.  She had a habit of snooping around in me quarters and when she found some of me notes, she demanded that I teach her”.

“You really have a hard time saying no, don’t you?” Kvyrt mocked.  “Your relationship with Ursula seems to be all one way.  You do what she says or she threatens to reveal the secret of your false ascension.  Hardly seems fair, does it?”

“What will happen to me?” Gershon asked, ignoring the taunt.

“Tis what we be here to deliberate” Kvyrt replied.  “Although there be an added complication.  You’ve failed spectacularly to keep to the bargain which you made with Eskyrios.  So far your wanton acts of chaos and destruction consist of burning down a few small villages on Margis Delta, killing some Virian gypsies and creating Lhavazii.  Since the Lhavazii were created at the behest of your true love, they don’t really count as part of the deal.  Rather a pitiful effort.  Tis why Eskyrios be hunting you down.  In fact, when I apprehended you at the residence of Detmarah Cadogan, you were expecting him instead of me, weren’t you?”

Gershon gulped and nodded.

Kvyrt gave a sneering grin.  “So, tis a question of whether to strip you of your ascended powers ourselves, or allow Eskyrios to do it.  Should we toss a coin?  Should we let Morgan Shadowbinder choose your fate?  Or Elsa Silvereye-Hunt?  Or Queen River Meer?  Or Lady Rita Micario?”

As the Trickster spoke each name, he projected an image of that person in the air above the conference table.  The names and faces were familiar to Gershon and he recoiled at the sight of them.

Judaas Fendor stood.  “I believe we should allow all the victims to take a vote.  Well, those who still live.  As for the others, I will personally guarantee their safe passage to the Beyond.  Fellow Elders, we have a great deal of work to do.  Purging Lhavazii happens to be very time-consuming.  We shall meet here again once that unpleasant task has been accomplished.  In the meantime, Gershon Metcalfe will return to his cell”.

The other Elders stood and nodded their agreement.

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Morgan and Rita waited in the sealed classroom.  Apart from greeting each other, they had been waiting in silence for Kvyrt to appear.  It was well past the time scheduled for their anger management lesson to begin and there was still no sign of the Trickster. 

Morgan gave Rita a small smile.  “You make good fireballs”.

“Really?”  She gave a bitter laugh.  “Uncle Kvyrt don’t seem to think so.  He says I be pathetic”.

“I think he’s just teasing you” Morgan remarked.

Rita sighed and shook her head.  “I don’t know.  I can’t make sense of anything anymore.  I thought I were doing the right thing in training to become a sorceress.  Ye know, to serve me family as Spy Master and protector”.

It was Morgan’s turn to look confused.  “I don’t really understand all that Carpathian stuff.  Andreas has tried to explain it to me at times but it sounds very complicated”.

“Tis funny how everyone seems to know Andreas”.  Rita could not help giggling at the idea.  “Beggars on the street, students, teachers, Ascended Masters and now even off-world sorcerers”.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Kvyrt.  Instead of his usual crumpled nightwear, he was attired in formal black robes, although to Rita’s critical eye, they could do with a good steam press to remove the creases.

“Good news, dear students!” Kvyrt announced, hovering in the air in front of them.  “Today’s class has been postponed.  Morgan, your presence be required at the Vyrdsphere.  I shall escort you.  Rita, you will be permitted a supervised visit to your family in Inrith.  Nyraldin has agreed to accompany you”.

Rita gave a formal Carpathian bow of the sort reserved for high-ranking Inner Circle Lords or Ladies.  “Thank ye muchly, Uncle Kvyrt”.

“Before you go …” He waved his hand.  “I have a question which you should both consider.   I want you to take time to think about your answer”.  He went on to explain about the Elders’ decision, finishing by posing the question which had been agreed upon.  “When we next meet, we shall discuss the topic further”.

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Andreas bowed low in front of Elsa, his long tail of hair brushing the cobbles of the old street.  When he rose, he gave her a dazzling smile.  “Ye be under me protection, me Lady.  I failed ye but we’ve got ye back unharmed and we’ve all learned important lessons in the process.  I should be thanking ye for alerting me to a flaw in the desert’s defences.  None of us ever thought that we’d need to protect against translocations out of the desert.  That breach has now been rectified and no-one will be able to translocate in or out without the knowledge and approval of the Matriarch, the sand and the tree”.

He brushed away a tear and held out his hands.  “Let’s go home, eh?”  By “home”, they knew that he meant the desert.

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River sensed an outpouring of joy from the tree.  During her meditation, she had begun to understand some of what the tree was attempting to communicate.  “They’ve rescued Elsa!” she projected strongly.  “Andreas and the others are coming back!”

Erroll smiled at her.  “Tis wonderful news indeed.  And ye have a natural affinity with the tree.  I could get greedy for a second apprentice”.  He gave a wink and a deep booming laugh.

Nearby, Yadzah did her trademark spinning dance.  Vines writhed around her chubby naked body and she had an expression of pure bliss on her round face.  “I’d love ye to stay and study with me, River, but I know yer path lies at the Don.  The desert will always love ye and welcome ye though”.

The sand rippled in agreement with her.

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“I imagine the two of ye would like some alone time” Andreas suggested, when they arrived in the desert.  “Take as long as ye need”.

Gerald gave a grateful nod and led Elsa towards the tent.  He needed to see her laying in there again, since it would help to banish the dreadful memory of waking up to find her gone.

“I’d like to visit Morgan, if I may” Apollo requested.

Andreas nodded.  “Aye, of course.  The Vyrdigaan Elders be in process of extracting the Lhavazii from him.  Tis a lengthy and tedious procedure, so I expect he’d appreciate some company.  I need to have a word with River first, if ye don’t mind waiting”.

Apollo smiled.  “I’ll have another go at meditating with the sacred tree while you speak to her.  I found it very soothing”.

River leaped up and hugged Andreas.  “I’m so glad you managed to rescue Elsa.  I don’t really know her but I understand that she’s important to Vordelle”.

“Everyone be important in some way” he told her, stroking her braids and leaving traces of sparkling sand on them.  “Anyways, ye wanted to ask me something.  What be on yer mind?”

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River looked up and met Andreas’s gaze. “There was something I wanted to talk to you about,” she admitted. “A few things, actually.” He gave her a reassuring nod, waiting. She sat in the sand, and he sat down beside her. “Am I … am I a coward? I feel like, my whole life, I’ve spent running away. From the Witchfinders in Corttann, my own destiny as Queen … but now I want to do things. To help people. But I just don’t know how.”

Digging her bare toes into the sand, River went on, “And I’d like to see Rita, if I may. I know she killed Serkan,” she added suddenly, her eyes dropping to the sand. “And I should feel angry. But I don’t. I’m sad that he’s gone, but I don’t feel angry towards her. She’s done me and Serkan a great wrong, the worst kind, and I should hate her for it. But I don’t. I just feel pity for her. Is that wrong?”

Before Andreas could respond, she went on, “And lastly … when I’m ready … will you take me back to Corttann, to meet the knights and nobles? Lady Anwyn said I would need people I can trust, and … I don’t trust anyone more than I trust you.”

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Andreas smiled and patted River on the arm.  “Me half-brothers used to say I were a coward when I refused to fight back.  They could never work out why I let them beat me, especially given that they knew I were capable of defending meself.  Tis a riddle I’ve often set for friends and students alike.  Why d’ye think I endured so many beatings?”  He gestured to the many scars and cigar burns on his chest and arms.

River considered for a few minutes before replying.  “Because you could do more damage to them than they could to you?”

“Mayhap”.  Andreas grinned.  “But I never had any powers of sorcery back then.  I might have overcome them, who knows?  Anyways, that weren’t the reason.  Ye know how Carpathians groom their children from an early age?  I always knew that I were going to be Spy Master and protector for me family.  Twould have been wrong to fight the very people I were sworn to protect.  Would ye call that cowardice?”

River shook her head. 

“As for running away, there be no shame in that either.  Some may call it cowardice, but that says more about them than it does about ye.  Given the same situation, being young, frightened and inexperienced, would those who criticise ye really have done any different?  The art of battle be a complex concept.  A wise warrior knows which battles to fight and which ones to walk away from.  Many books have been written on the subject.  When ye resume yer lessons at the Don, I’ll give ye a list”.

He paused and lit one of his herbal cigarettes.  “As for Rita, she thought she were protecting ye by killing Serkan.  She acted in ignorance, making assumptions based on centuries of ingrained prejudice against Varagans.  She had the mistaken idea that Serkan intended to take ye back to Byzarth and keep ye as one of his bed-slaves.  There also be another factor at work here — the mind control spell placed on her by Ursula Cadogan.  Twas part of Ursula’s plan that Rita should return to the Don as a distraction for me and the Elders.  Twill take a while for the effects of the spell to wear off, but Rita will make a full recovery.  And of course, ye may see her.  She be in need of a good friend.  And it ain’t wrong to pity her.  Twould be easy to judge her unfavourably for taking a life, but ye’ve demonstrated one of the best qualities for a ruler — mercy”.

He smiled at her and trailed his hand in the sand.  “Ye may not know this, but I also be a ruler of sorts.  Twas a position which I never wanted and for many years I sought to avoid it.  Ye might say I were being cowardly there, by refusing to take up the mantle of Guardian and becoming responsible for the protection and well-being of a large number of people.  Ye at least have the excuse that most of yer subjects be strangers to ye.  I knew the people who I were supposed to protect.  I’d grown up amongst them.  Some of them had been me mentors and teachers.  I were a lot older than ye when I inherited the mantle, and I’d had plenty of experience in dealing with all manner of people.  Yet I never felt ready to take on the responsibility”.  He sighed.  “And given what happened to ye, Rita, Morgan and Elsa, I don’t even feel worthy of being Guardian.  I feel that I let ye all down.  But I have to carry on and learn from me mistakes, as ye do.  Aye, ye should get to know the knights and nobles, find out who to trust and who to banish.  But spend a little time just being a teenager first, eh?”

She nodded.  “Yadzah wants to teach me some Sartorian dances.  Queens need to learn how to dance for formal Court gatherings, don’t they?”

He grinned and laughed.  “Go on then, enjoy yerself”.