Forest & Kingdom Balance (23 page)

Now she would use what she had learned. She allowed
her mind to drift centered, peaceful, and undirected. She was aware
of him at the chalet and she became an observer. No contact, no
action, she accepted without response. The verbal level of his mind
was open as Catherine gave him an update on Yamikura, below was a
solid barrier. She relaxed and allowed herself to drift past the
barrier like morning fog across the lake. Everything he is, or ever
was, lain before her.

The wonder of what she saw fed her excitement, she
used her mental discipline to relax and maintain a peaceful center.
“Observe, learn, and understand.”
She
reminded herself.
“Where to first?”
She
remembered how cute young John was at the gate, she also remember
what day that was.
“Can I keep my center well
enough not to be detected while I view those memories? That would
be a true test.”

She held the vision of young John lightly in her
mind as the years, people, and places of Froggy’s memories flowed
by.
“There.”
Froggy walked toward the
gate, his thoughts were about Diana.

“Please! Please Caretaker! I’m old enough, honest!”
She heard young John say. A pleasant little tickle ran through her
as she watched. It occurred to her that Froggy’s memory was as
sharp as a razor.
“Are everyone’s memories this
sharp?”
She wondered.

As the conversation continued Dionara felt dread
rise from the pit of her stomach.
“Please, no. Oh
Froggy, please say no.”
Her awareness moved off with Froggy.
She felt his change and the freedom of flight as he soared, but it
did not exhilarate her as it might have on another day.

She allowed herself to drift forward in time. She
stopped when she felt her parent’s powerful death scream. She
watched as Froggy flew through the falls, one murderer dead, the
other unconscious, and her younger self in shock. Froggy sent a
thought across the gate to Catherine who was with John. She was
trying to calm him but to no avail, he kept screaming, “I killed
them! I killed them, it was all my fault. I didn’t protect them!”
Dionara could feel the unbearable raw pain and guilt radiate from
John like a flood. Catherine tried to hold him but he ran off
toward the trees. Froggy and Catherine joined for a brief moment;
no words were needed as they shared their pain, loss, and
grief.

He felt Catherine as she went after John, but his
sole focus quickly returned to Diana’s daughter. She watched her
own eyes stare into nothing as he helped her mind do exactly what
it wanted to do, go away. He laid her down gently on a blanket as
his presence went to the castle. The Kingdom’s councilors all
received the thought at once and the councilor’s wing exploded in
activity. His presence returned to Angel Falls and his attention
went to the second murderer, with his full power unleashed, he
entered the murder’s mind.

“John,”
Dionara thought,
“what about John?”

Time flowed forward, then another wave of tremendous
sadness. Froggy watched through Catherine’s eyes as the healer
worked feverishly to stem John’s bleeding. Catherine sent him a
memory of being in flight above John as he ran through the Forest.
He had reached as far as the hills, but his speed did not diminish
as he ran up the steep grade. From her height, she could see the
sheer drop off that he could not. She dove with all her speed as he
fell, his guilt and pain so powerful it felt like a solid wall. She
changed into a great condor and reached him just before impact but
their momentum was too great, she could only reduce his injuries,
not prevent them.

“John, oh John.”
Dionara
shared in Froggy and Catherine’s sadness and concern.

Dionara focused on John, and Froggy’s memories
flowed. John wouldn’t see or speak to anyone for months. He even
tried to block out the Caretaker.
“Yes,”
she finally understood,
“he is the
Caretaker.”
Slowly Froggy made progress. John’s memories of
that day could not be buried in the same way that hers had been,
his guilt would not allow it. So Froggy took another path. He told
John everything he knew of the Red Knight’s decision to investigate
the mountains himself. He made John his second in the war that was
to come.

Together they planned their defense. First, John
needed to be both a warrior and a Sentinel. Young Dionara however
was the Caretaker’s first priority, so John knew that his time with
him would be limited. What time they did have together, Froggy
trained him mercilessly. Which was a kindness compared to the
intensity that John inflicted upon himself when he trained
alone.

John’s body would never fully heal correctly from
his injuries, so he could not start his physical training until he
could accomplish the change. It took him three months, he
accomplish a change years younger than anyone ever had. Once he was
able, he built himself a cottage, miles from farm or village. It
was a single room with the barest thought given to food or bed, its
only purpose was training.

Dionara watched as John grew. He had dedicated
himself to one goal, to stop any more damage from his mistake. As
Froggy’s memories flowed forward she felt John’s wall of pain and
guilt again, as fresh as the day it happened. Froggy and Catherine
had been awakened in the night as her parent’s death knell once
more flooded their minds. Froggy entered John’s mind, he found him
asleep at his cottage in the grasp of terror as he relived it all
again.

Froggy stayed joined with John as the events
unfolded. Just as the deathblow missed young Dionara, John’s eyes
snapped open and his heart stopped. Froggy leapt from his bed,
though before he could get out the door he sensed John’s heart beat
once more. He chose a falcon for speed as he raced to the cottage,
relieved that he could sense John’s heartbeat return to normal.
Perched on a branch above John’s cottage, Froggy tried to remember
if he had ever sensed someone’s heart pause that long.

Dionara considered her childhood in light of all she
had learned. Yes, there was pain, but she also lived a life of
comfort and happiness too. Thanks to Froggy, she had enjoyed the
love and laughter that John had denied himself. She relaxed and
cleared her mind. Once more at peace, she revealed her presence in
Froggy’s mind,
“We need to talk, I’ll be right
there.”
She said, and then withdrew.

“You amaze me more every day.” He greeted her with a
beaming smile as she entered the chalet, then he saw her tears.
“What is it my Lady, what has happened?”

She motioned for him to sit, then knelt beside him
with her head in his lap. Her tears flowed freely as she shared her
thoughts with him. “Please ask John to join us would you? I need to
speak to him, I need to make things right.”

Froggy understood instantly. He placed a hand on her
head. He knew that sometimes tears were the best healer. “I did
what I could for him. He is a man of honor and responsibility; men
of his nobility can find forgiveness for anyone, except themselves.
Perhaps you can provide him the solace I never could.”

IX

Yamikura woke long before the sun entered the
valley. Cold water from the well washed away any lingering thoughts
of sleep. He split a few logs to replace what he had used and went
back to the bunkhouse. A quick breakfast and he prepared to
leave.

“You’ll never catch up with
them.”
Catherine’s soft voice filled his mind.

“I thought so, and I also suspect that if I try, I
would find my horse somewhat uncooperative. Correct?” He hadn’t
looked up and kept packing.

“Well, that is true.”
She
let her voice trail off.
“Horses do tend to like
me and do as I ask.”
Her tone turned curious.
“Why are you packing? I thought we had tales to tell each
other?”

“Alas, if we had met at any other time I would truly
have cherished such a unique experience. However, once I realized
that I could not bring my employer the prisoner he requested, it
became my duty to report what I’ve found.” She could feel his
sadness as honor overrode regret. “Send your wolves and get the
rock slides ready, I’m making a run for it.” He hefted his
pack.

“Wait, please. A few moments will
not endanger your plans.”
He could feel her honest
disappointment at his decision.
“Please.”

He had to admit, her voice was not something he
would give up lightly. “A few moments.” He agreed, dropped his pack
and sat down. “Shall we bargain?”

“Oh, much better than
that!”

Her playfulness was back, a bad sign if he wished to
keep his wits about him.

“Yamikura, honor and duty are as
precious to me as they are to you.”
Catherine opened her
emotions to him so that he could feel the truth of her words.
“I would never ask you to betray your honor. All
I ask of you is to allow me to show you that our individual goals,
those which honor requires, are not that different.”

For the first time in his life, he felt as well as
heard another’s words and knew to a certainty that they were true.
“I’m listening.”

“The Red Knight is planning to set
out in about a week, I know that you’ve left him markers to follow
and I have left them undisturbed. But if you agree to wait here for
him, I will give you my word that he will be shown a more direct
route that would be easier for a large group on horseback to
follow. It’s one of our trade routes chosen specifically for horses
with heavy burdens.”
Her desire for him to stay came from
her heart.

“Everything in my soul tells me that I can trust
you. While all of my training and experience would suggest
otherwise.” He thought for a moment. “I see no way to reconcile the
two.”

Catherine thought for a moment.
“How good are you at numbers?”

“I only rarely need to take off my boots to add up a
tavern bill.” He smirked.

“Agreed! I too believe you are up
to the task.”
She smiled.
“Let’s start
with the original plan. You track down Tre, that’s the guardsman.
His name is Tressan. That’s a week to catch them, and a week back.
Although more likely two to get back. I have no doubt you could
kill Tre, but to capture him alive, odds are that you would be
injured and he certainly would be.”

“If the Red Knight’s party tries
to follow your route, it will take them at least five weeks to
reach where you are now. If you backtrack to meet him with Tre as
your prisoner, the quickest you would join up is four weeks. But as
you said, the chances of success for that plan are very
low.”

“If you leave as you planned this
morning, and I will not hinder you, it will take at least six weeks
before you sit in that chair again. However you would be able to
tell your employer that the mountains are warded. Not exactly a
revelation. If I may ask, what will you tell him, that you heard
voices?"

Yamikura sat and considered all the options for far
longer than the agreed few moments. He could feel Catherine as she
waited patiently. “I concede, point to you. Is there any assurance
you can offer me that may help assuage my professional
skepticism?”

“Yes.”
The natural joy
returned to her voice.
“Although it will not be
for a week or so until his expedition sets out. At that time I will
let you listen in when I give the instructions. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” He lifted his pack, returned the
foodstuffs to the shelf, and dropped the pack in the corner. “How
long a wait do I have?”

“The trade route will take a party
their size about two weeks, so about three weeks total.”

He sat back down in the chair. “I don’t suppose
there’s a Risk & Reward set around here, is there?”

“There is, but we won’t have time
to play. We’ll be far too busy.”
She let him feel the warmth
she felt for him.
“Why don’t you start your
regular routine while you’re here. You usually have a workout in
the morning followed by meditation, correct?”

“Almost.” He grinned. “Since our ship arrived in
this land, my training partner has been Kalibra so I’ve had to
adapt. It was usually training, a trip to the healer, and then
meditation.” He could feel her with him as he went outside to find
a flat area with some room to move.

Once he finished his meditation, which he had to
admit was more serene and insightful than it has been since he left
the Healer’s Sanctuary, he took a good look around the compound
while the sun was overhead. He didn’t think it possible, but he was
even more impressed than the day before. His last stop was the
bunkhouse’s pantry.
“The storehouse may be empty,
but the pantry was stocked to the rafters.”
He mused.

“It’s all dry goods, no reason to
clear it out,”
He felt Catherine’s presence return.
“I believe it was your turn to ask a
question.”

He went back to his chair and gave it some thought.
“Are you human?” He asked. It seemed to be a good place to start.
He could tell that the question took her by surprise.

She paused, and then answered emphatically,
“Yes! What did you think I was?”

“I don’t know, an owl?” He shrugged.

“Well, now that you mention
it,”
she stopped.
“No, that’s for another
day.”
She dismissed her thought and started again.
“All right, I’ll give you that one for free.
What’s your real question?”

He considered it a moment and decided that she
should answer the same question she asked him. “How did a woman
with your depth of spirit and ability to bring a joy that
transcends all experience, end up with an assignment to frighten
half wit farmers and toss Deminar’s men off cliffs?”