Between Darkness and Light Trilogy (43 page)

Maybe I can get through it? I concentrate
harder still, but the effort starts to make me feel weak, I need
more energy; I try to draw upon the link I have with the Spire, try
to pull more on the energy that makes it nearly impossible for me
to sleep. Power floods into me as my glow increases, and I renew my
efforts to breach the barrier. I create my own shield, this one as
much like Cailli's as possible, and try to make the
harmonies
mesh, to become complementary songs. My fingers
touch the man's – it's working! He grasps both my hands and I
extend my new shield around him. It's hard to maintain the song
with the extra body, his
harmonies
are very strong and
difficult to mask within my shield. He must realize the source of
my problem, for he suddenly seems to diminish, becoming
quieter
. I stabilize my shield and slowly begin to draw him
toward me. I can feel he is anxious to leap out, but I simply have
to move slowly – if I don't it could all fall apart.

Finally we are through! The man pulls me
into his arms and holds on to me as though I am the first person he
has seen in a very, very long time. It feels so nice I forget to
drop my additional draw upon the Spire for a few moments. Almost
immediately after I remember, I realize my mistake – his embrace
becomes much stronger as I collapse in his arms.

~~~

Oranges… why do I smell oranges?

“Here, you should eat.”

Who does that amazing voice belong to? I
open my eyes and see the beautiful man, holding me in his arms as
he sits on the ground, waving an orange segment under my nose.
Embarrassing or not, I eat the orange slice, and everything else he
offers me; my improvised pack lies on the ground beside us, nearly
empty now. Finally, I think to ask, “Who are you?”

His expression becomes formal, and I find
myself shifting out of his arms. “I am Llywelyn, Eldest son of
Emperor Augustus, and his rightful heir.”

I pull away slightly more, but smile warmly.
“You're Gwenllian's father!”

He leans closer, his expression intent, “You
know my daughter? Is she in good standing in Lumina?”

An odd question, “Yes, I know her. She is
the younger generation's representative to the Emperor. She misses
you terribly, though she does not admit it in so many words.”

“That doesn't seem a very good position for
one of her obvious talents.”

Doesn't he care that she misses him? “The
Emperor… prefers those who were born to him later, if they don't
step out of bounds.”

His expression is quizzical, “You don't like
my father, do you?”

“I don't like his current heir, Vespasian.
Your return will be very good for Lumina, and all existence, for
that matter.”

“I thank you for your confidence, and for
rescuing me.” He reaches for my hand, “And you are?”

His amazing eyes capture mine and I can’t
seem to look away, “Shi'ahn.” My voice is all wrong – airy and
filled with awe, I must sound like a fool. He lightly kisses my
hand, his lips are soft and his mustache and beard tickle
pleasantly.

He smiles a little as he lets go my hand, “I
truly thank you, Shi'ahn, for releasing me from my ageless prison.
Would you please bring me up to date on what is occurring in
Lumina?”

Oh dear, why do I have to be the one to tell
him? “Ah… well, an individual that we believed to be the heir of
Vespasian stabbed and killed the Magni Dominar. We are now at war
with all of Chaos. We have been directed to gather as many armies
as we can to help protect Lumina. The situation is urgent.”

“Wars with them haven't been particularly
serious in the past.”

“This time their efforts are well
coordinated - their entire realm seems to be attacking us.”

“Interesting. Well then, we must return as
soon as possible. Do you know how far away the nearest body of
water is?”

His questions always surprise me. “There is
an ocean several days travel from here. I may be able to take us
there faster, but it is a lurching ride.”

“After all I have been through, I think I
can handle a brief, rough ride.” His smile is reassuring.

I close my eyes and concentrate on the
harmonies
of the place I have lived in these last days - I
had studied it quite thoroughly, it doesn't take long to complete
the profile. Once again I project the
harmonies
onto a facet
of my jewel. I reach out to place my arm around Llywelyn's waist,
but he's too large for me to grasp firmly – he places his arm
around my shoulders, then I will us through. It isn't nearly as
rough a ride this time, and when I open my eyes, they are greeted
by the wide-open sea.

He releases me, walks forward and takes a
long, almost decadently deep breath. “Ah, to sail the salt seas
once again.”

“I don't have a ship, Llywelyn. I have been
imprisoned here by Cailli.”

“If we had a ship, do you think you could
get us through the final barrier?”

I think back on Cailli's words, and suspect
that I have done all that I must do now. “Yes, I believe I
could.”

He lifts his head toward the sky, and
projects his voice tremendously. “Cailliach! You swore that on the
day I reached the ocean shore you would return my ship! I am here
now, and I would have you fulfill your oath!” I
hear
a swell
of shimmering music in the distance, but apparently Llywelyn does
not. He continues, “Cailliach! I know you can hear me!”

I gently take hold of his arm, “Llywelyn, I
hear
something out at sea, something approaches.” He looks
down at me curiously, then returns his gaze to the waters.

In the last rays of daylight I see something
in the distance swiftly approaching.

“Hiraeth!”

“You know her?”

“Yes – it's Gwenllian's ship. She rescued me
from imprisonment in Chaos with her.”

He looks proud. “I am glad that she has been
of service – may she always be there to rescue you when you are in
need.”

“She is aptly named.” Before I can continue
his eyes lock on mine, I have his full attention. I continue
somewhat hesitantly, hoping I'm not being presumptuous. “Among my
people there is a region where the people love their land so deeply
that they experience tremendous sadness if they are long away. Some
even sicken and die if they cannot make their way back home. The
emotion is called hiraeth. Twice now this ship has delivered me
from imprisonment, and I can only imagine how you have felt.” For a
moment I do indeed see hiraeth within his eyes, it runs deep and
strong, but he quickly shutters it away.

“Your homeworld sounds like a very
interesting place, perhaps it is a strong echo of one of my
favorite worlds. You are correct, that is exactly the meaning of my
ship's name. I had noticed long ago that no matter how much I
enjoyed traveling, Lumina would always be my true home, and I
always grew to miss her deeply. I created Hiraeth so that I could
make my journeys with all due speed, so that I could return home as
soon as possible.”

Again I see the longing in his eyes and I
almost reach out to touch his arm in comfort, but Hiraeth has
reached the shore. Once again proving her supernatural abilities,
she sails right up to the sand, and casts down her boarding
ladder.

“Llywelyn smiles, “After you, my rescuer.” I
know he can hardly wait to board her, he offers me quite the honor
in allowing me to go first. Once he reaches the deck the ship moves
quickly away from the shore, and he sighs. “Finally, I am at sea
again. Tell me, Shi'ahn, do you like the sea?”

I suddenly feel myself becoming… comfortable
in his presence, as if we are old friends. “Seas, lakes,
waterfalls… I love water, no matter the form.”

“What is it that you like so much?”

“I love the way it sounds – the crash of
waves upon the shore, the undulating patter of rain on the lake
during a storm, the deep, powerful thunder of a waterfall.” Without
intending to, I project the sound of each as I describe it,
combining it with the music that already plays around me in perfect
accompaniment.

Llywelyn’s voice sounds thoughtful, “I like
the way the night sky reflects off the surface, warped by each wave
and ripple… it reminds me of Lumina and the echoes she casts;
infinite in variation. And the lap of waves against the hull of a
ship sounds like freedom. Tell me, do you spend much time on the
water?”

“On, no… my home is an island. I know of no
better way to fall asleep than while listening to a storm on the
lake. The crashing waves, the hiss of rain on the water and the
leaves of the trees as they’re whipped ‘round by the wind; it's
hypnotic. And you just know that in the morning you’ll see that
special green that is only ever seen after rain, the intense
vibrancy of life in the forest and gardens.”

He is silent for a moment. “I have missed
those sights and sounds for a very long time.”

I try to catch his eyes, “Your time of
isolation should be over now, Llywelyn. We need you - Lumina needs
you.” Again he takes my hand and raises it to his lips as his eyes
captivate me. I could so happily stay here forever, but my
attention is drawn away by an approaching
harmony
. “We near
the barrier, Llywelyn.”

His voice becomes concerned. “What should we
do, Shi'ahn – stop the ship until you have disabled the
barrier?”

“No, continue sailing toward it. This
barrier cannot be disabled, nor should it – but it can be
penetrated. I will get us through this, Llywelyn, I swear it.” He
lets go my hand and I begin the mind-centering dance. I am song, I
am dance, I am Universe Dust… I reach out to the barrier, much as I
did before, and try to join with it. I make its
harmony
envelop me, and then expand it out to envelop the entire ship. We
are not intruders, not escapees, we belong – we must be free to
cross the barrier. I reach out to that which is beyond, and
metaphysically grabbing it, I pull us through.

~~~

Strong arms envelop me. “Shi'ahn, are you
all right?”

Strength rushes back into me, though my mind
still feels tired. “Yes, I'm fine. I just haven't been doing this
kind of thing for very long – it takes a lot of effort.” He smiles
and releases his hold on me, then looks around and seems shocked. I
listen to our surroundings – we are in the oceans of Lumina!

His voice sounds strange, as though he is
assailed by many emotions, but is unwilling to freely express them.
“I'm home. I'm finally home.” He captures my eyes with his yet
again. “Thank you, Shi'ahn, I truly appreciate your help.” The
expression in his eyes is captivating, though I can't decipher it's
meaning. All I know is it is the most enthralling gaze to ever hold
mine, I want nothing more than to bask in it as long as possible.
“And yet, I must ask of you one final thing. You have something of
mine, a ring. I would ask you to return it to me before we reach
the Citadel.”

His ring? His amazing eyes shift momentarily
down to my power siphon, shattering the effect of his gaze. Rats!
It’s so useful… He continues looking at me with a far different
expression, holding out his hand expectantly. I almost stammer, “I
hadn’t known. It isn’t particularly easy to remove.”

“That will no longer be a problem.”

With a sigh of regret, (and a moment of
relief remembering that Cailli had severed my links to Shiral) I
slip it off and hand it to him. The instant he places it on his
right index finger I sense hundreds of links being re-established –
it apparently has far more capabilities than I had been aware of!
It’s strange, the power connections he creates aren’t nearly as…
easy to sense as mine had been; if I hadn’t worn it myself I may
not be able to discern their existence at all, and I can’t track
them – I have no idea what he is linking to. I suddenly feel like
I’ve been using the most immense, intricate pipe organ in all
existence to play chopsticks… The impressive feel of power Llywelyn
emanates increases dramatically. I can see why Gwenllian spoke of
him with such awe in her voice; he is truly extraordinary, even for
a prince of Lumina.

He smiles, “Would you care to choose
something a bit more appropriate to return home in?” He glances
down at my tree-created pantsuit.

“Yes, I would appreciate that a great deal.”
He leads me into the ship, to the captain’s quarters, and opens a
closet.

“Feel free to chose whatever you like from
here.”

“These aren't Gwenllian's clothes, are
they?”

“No, this wardrobe provides whatever is
necessary or requested. If you do not care for any of these
dresses, just close the door, then open it yourself, and clothing
to your preference will appear. I will await you on deck. Oh yes,
and feel free to take advantage of the bathing facilities.” He
smiles and leaves.

Unlike my first visit here, there is a bath!
I enjoy a quick, but decadently luxurious bath, finally washing
away the last of that nasty giant fish adventure from my body. All
the dresses in Llywelyn's wardrobe feature bodices that lace up
either the front or the back; he must like that style. Finding
myself eager to please him, I choose a beautiful gown of deep
violet that laces up the front. I dress quickly and join him on
deck.

He looks at me and smiles. “Excellent
choice. Come, let us make a magnificent entrance into the City of
Light.”

Chapter
24

Return to Lumina

When his ship reaches the docks of Lumina, a
wide boarding plank extends to the dock. Llywelyn holds out his
hand for me to take, looking at me as though I am the sole reason
he is now returned. I feel almost like a child on his arm, he makes
me feel… safe. I truly enjoy being at his side.

Very few of the city people have ever seen
me before, but many recognize Llywelyn's image – not from first
hand experience, I gather from their words, but from legend. I
hear, “And he will return at the hand of an Avatar.” “The long
missing is returned to deliver us from the darkness.” “Llywelyn the
Just – Llywelyn the Merciful.” “The very air will sing at his
return.” Each phrase muttered over and over again.