Portals (18 page)

Wings above signaled the arrival of Barterian and Sahrok. They each brought contributions, also from the elves, Sahrok said, as well as their chairs.

We settled and I tentatively sipped from the goblet. The flavor was unlike anything I’d tasted before. I thought it had a hint of mint, but I simply had no frame of reference for any other comparisons. It was cool and refreshing, and I sighed gratefully. Next to me, I heard a similar sigh from Thulu.

We should never have set out without water and I only realized how parched I was as the liquid slid down my throat. I made a mental note to not let it happen again. Feeling much better, I started with the obvious questions.

“So, you live in the trees?” I asked, after I turned on the recorder and my tablet, thankful that the three Light Ones I knew spoke English.

“Yes,” answered Barterian. “They provide all the shelter we need. Besides, we have been unable to live here for any length of time. We have had to be away increasingly more as the centuries have gone by. Our energy requirements have made it difficult to stay away from our sources for long.”

“You mention centuries. Is it rude to ask how old you are?” asked Thulu diplomatically.

Mirhen answered, “Not at all. I am over five thousand of what might be Earth years and Sahrok is the senior member of our small group at almost eight thousand years. I’m sure you have guessed from his frivolous attitude that Barterian is quite young, at only six hundred years.”

I was nonplussed for a moment. Not at the thousands of years ages. I’d gotten used to that with the Elder races. I just found their description of Barterian as “frivolous” to be - well, cute. If he was considered frivolous I didn’t dare ask what they thought of us.

Over the course of the next hour, we discovered how their society usually formed into small groups, called clusters. It was something like neighbors, since they lived in close proximity to each other, but Mihren said it was far stronger and closer. More like chosen family.

Their cluster was centered on Sahrok, since he was the senior member. They’d formed the cluster when their children were much smaller. Since each had belonged to a larger cluster, they had chosen to leave those and form a smaller one in which to raise their children. The new one had only been formed the last two hundred years, but had acquired much honor within their community.

Barterian added, “Of course, we have recently lost much of that.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

Barterian stopped. He looked at the others and finally shook his head in what I was sure was a gesture he’d picked up from humans.

“It is of no matter,” said Sahrok. “We shall recover what we have lost and gain even more. I apologize, but this is a private matter.”

Thulu and I nodded our understanding and moved on to ask how honor worked and what the rewards were. It had to do with status, as opposed to physical rewards and reminded me somewhat of things I’d read about the Japanese culture.

When we had gone through all the questions, Thulu and I graciously thanked all three of them for their time and willingness to speak to us. We asked for directions back to our camp and Mihren once more led the way, this time along game trails. The trip back took about half the time the one out had. I was thankful for that. It also involved less time tripping and falling for me.

By the time we got back, the afternoon was fading into evening. Stuart had kept some of the stew warm for us, and we gratefully sank onto camp chairs for another meal.

There was also bread that I was unfamiliar with. Stuart said it had been presented to us by the elves, who had a nice little kitchen going, along with some of the same drink that Mihren had served. The bread complemented the stew, making it even more delicious, and brought out flavors that were nothing short of incredible.

Five minutes before, I would have told you that it was impossible to improve on Raoul’s cooking. Maybe I needed to rethink my definition of “impossible.” Seemed lots of impossible things were happening lately.

Juliet came by and took my recorder to pull the info from it. She said she would just copy it down to add to their library.

“You mean by hand?” I asked impishly.

“Well, of course,” she replied, with a suspicious look at me.

I shook my head in mock despair. “You know, it’s a damned shame you guys are handicapped and all. I mean not having technology and having to do things by hand like that. I already have that right in my tablet and everything will be there all ready for me to retrieve when I want it.”

I grinned at Juliet, who simply stared at me for a long moment before bursting out with laughter. “La Fi, my friend, you really are quite entertaining.”

Beside me, Thulu chuckled.

Juliet hugged me, which only worked because I was sitting down. I smiled as she headed off, taking my recorder, in spite of my offer to give her the transcribed notes when we got back.

Jones wandered up and Thulu asked him what the status was with the spell the elves were crafting to cure the Light Ones.

“There is some delay. There is a part of the spell they do not feel is right and they are not in complete agreement on how to resolve it.”

“The elves are arguing?” Thulu asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“No, of course not. At least not in the sense you mean, but they are having lengthy discussions. And those discussions will continue until they reach a consensus.”

“Why do I not like the sound of that, Jones?”

He smiled, his very white teeth flashing in his dark skin, which with the fading sun, had a ruddy glow about it.

“They probably will arrive at an agreement soon. They have been discussing this particular topic for several days now. Do not let this concern you, La Fi.”

I exchanged a look with Thulu. I hoped that the elves were not going to be much longer, but we were still within our one week estimate.

That night we pulled our air mattress to the tent opening and lay curled up together watching the sky, much as we had watched the lights of San Francisco at home. We whispered quietly, sharing our thoughts about the day. Even on a different world we had our special time together, and I cherished it. That was my last thought as I drifted off to sleep in Thulu’s arms.

The next morning, we all pitched in for breakfast. Pancakes and sausages and some strange fruit from the elves were prepped. As usual their food was awesome and enhanced what we were already eating.

I figured that’s where the stories came from that said not to eat elven food. Rather than bespell folks into staying with them, people probably just fell in love with the food so much they didn’t want to leave. I could totally get behind that and join them myself.

Juliet gave me a list of questions when she returned my recorder and said that Michael had arranged for me to interview one of the Light One healers. The healer would come to our camp, and I would interview him there.

Soon an angel showed up. Even paler than the others with light blue wings and hair, he introduced himself as Toreth. Unfortunately, he didn’t speak English, as the others had and Thulu could not understand him.

So, Romeo invited Thulu to go with him into the forest and he readily agreed, kissing me on the top of my head and then my lips before he left camp. Juliet interviewed another Light One across the camp. Toreth and I went through Juliet’s questions, which mostly dealt with diagnostics and methods. A few times, I added follow-up questions to clarify what he meant, but mostly I stuck to her list. And I dutifully recorded it for Juliet to transcribe later.

His process was interesting, but probably not very exciting to watch. He mostly used some instinct to understand the person’s body and when he found something that was not in harmony, he adjusted it or even removed it by teleporting it out of the one afflicted.

Times to cure someone varied between a few minutes to hours. Once I had asked all the questions, I thank Toreth for his time.

When Juliet was done, I asked her why the angel healers hadn’t healed their own people when they saw how much energy was needed.

She looked at me thoughtfully and said that was a good question for Michael. She’d be interviewing him later that day. We took a break and rummaged in the tent set up with our food. More of the elven fruit was there, and we both helped ourselves to that and some cool water. I wanted more of the drink that the elves had, but there wasn’t any. I shrugged thinking that was probably for the best. Their food was almost addicting.

That afternoon Michael showed up in our campsite. All of our group had managed to be available. Aurelia, Belus, Jones, Stuart, the flock of fairies, Reo and Sloane and, of course Thulu and I, plus the two goblins, all gathered in our campsite. Probably because the questions we’d ask Michael were the tougher or more sensitive ones and everyone was curious.

This was Juliet’s show, though, and she was center of the group. As her “assistant” I sat next to her, with Thulu to my other side. She was going to use English, which meant all of the others would understand, rather than just the two of us.

Mindful of Michael’s position as leader of the Light Ones, we treated him accordingly when he flew in. We offered him refreshment and a large comfortable backless seat that Jones had procured.

Michael furled his great, golden wings tightly to his back, but even still the ends draped along the ground behind him. Accepting a large cold goblet of water, he gazed impassively at all of us arranged around him.

Juliet asked permission to record him and he agreed. She started slow, with some of the easy questions, occasionally referring to a page of parchment in her lap.

“How are the Light Ones faring without others to draw energy from?”

“We made sure everyone was saturated before we were locked off from our sources. The elves are also able to control this to a limited degree for now. So far, there are no issues, but time is of the essence to complete the ritual and bring us back to our original levels.”

“That’s good to hear, Michael. We also hope for a fast and successful conclusion,” replied Juliet, with a smile on her tiny green face.

“We realize that the evolution to the high levels you currently need took thousands of years. When did your own healers become aware of the problem? And did they take any steps to try to reverse this long ago?”

Michael was nodding. “That is an excellent question. To admit that this snuck up on us sounds unbelievable, but something that happens over such a long period is indeed barely noticeable. We have no scientists who track such trends as do the humans. We had no need. At least that is what we thought. We recognized and accepted that we had greater needs, but we only addressed the problem as one of quantity. It did not occur to us that we needed to work on a solution to stop it from growing or attempt to reverse it. Not until this was brought up recently did we even consider that possibility.”

The reaction from most of us was one of surprise. I’d noticed placidness from the angels before. They seemed to let things happen to them rather than make things happen. This also was similar to what Jones said. They didn’t build or create much. It made me wonder how they were managing to survive as a species. I leaned over and quietly asked Juliet if we could ask him about the survival of their race. She nodded.

“Michael, I’m sure you are aware this news is surprising to us. La Fi asks a follow-up question to this. You have approximately three million, which is a small number compared to most of the other races. Did there used to be more of you?”

“As immortals, our numbers grow very slowly. The survival of our race is something we are aware of. We have tried to carefully balance our numbers, so that we grow very slowly. Children are produced with great care and much discussion and thought. Especially since energy sources have proved to be so difficult to sustain over long periods of time.”

Difficult to sustain was an understatement since their current source world was engaged in massive wars. Many of the people there had been burnt out from the excess of imposed emotions. They became irrational and a worldwide war was in progress. Jones had told us that the elves were trying to quietly restore peace, but the people had no idea that the creatures of magic existed.

 I held my tongue. It probably wasn’t very wise to accuse the angels of causing widespread death and destruction in their sources, even if it was true. But Michael was no dummy. He gave me an appraising look, and I wondered if my face had given me away.

“That probably sounds odd, as well. We have much to consider about our future, once we have been restored to good health,” he said mildly.

Juliet nodded. “Perhaps my next question will seem rude to you, but you mention that having children is a topic for discussion among your people. With only one sex, how do you procreate these children?”

Michael was quiet for a few moments. “Your question is not rude, simply something not discussed among outsiders, usually. Children are very sacred to us and permission to create a child is ritualistic. It is personal, as well as communal. We each can only create one child in our lives. There is a small section attached to our hearts. It has no function other than to be used as the basis for a child. Once one has been approved to produce a child, a great many clusters will come together. Their combined energy is used to separate the tissue, remove it from the parent through teleportation and imbue it with its own life. Upon removal, it must quickly be infused with massive amounts of energy and it is transformed into a baby, much like a baby in any other species.”

We were suitably impressed. I saw my own smile reflected around the circle. Their method gave whole new meaning to the term “child of my heart,” which I felt described my relationship with Carter. While it made the Light Ones seem even more different from the rest of us, more exotic and ethereal, it also made me feel closer to them in some strange way. Ironically, it gave me a feeling of kinship, completely at odds with my previous feelings toward them.

“Thank you for sharing that information with us. It sounds like a fascinating and beautiful process,” said Juliet.

Michael inclined his head.

“What plans do you have once the elves have cured you?” Juliet continued, looking at her parchment.

“At this time, we can only plan to make plans. Since we have no way of knowing the actual outcome. We will present the different paths our society will be able to take to all of our people. After that I will consider the options and choose the one I feel will be most beneficial for our people.” He paused. “I shall also endeavor to cause no harm to other beings. This is the payment required by the elves and it is built into the spell. If any of us deliberately causes harm to another being, there will be consequences.”

I sat up straighter. That was different. I turned to look at Belus and Aurelia.

Belus nodded and said, “We cannot have any of the Elder races causing harm to others. That part of the spell has been very carefully crafted. The Light One must know exactly what he is doing, but should he impose on another person and they suffer for it, he will be immediately transported back to Neva, where Michael will determine his fate.”

Michael nodded again, but he didn’t seem very happy about it. After thousands of years of doing as they pleased, I bet there were going to be casualties until the Light Ones learned control.

I judiciously kept my opinion to myself and made sure my face remained blank, but inside I was excited. I wondered if they could do that to the human race.  The thought of peaceful humans was enticing. Having very real consequences for harmful actions sounded like a good idea to me, although with our teeming billions, I wasn’t sure how that would work. And that tiny thing called free will nagged at me, too. Although, I guess they still had free will, but the consequences of disobeying the rules were dramatic.

“Will you remain on Neva more, since you will no longer need to relocate to stay alive?” asked Juliet, interrupting my train of thought.

“I should imagine that would be one result of our cure. We have been such a transitory race for so many eons. It will be interesting to see what we can become, once we are not tethered to another race so tightly. In many ways, we shall be free for the first time in eons. Many of our younger people have not experienced what that freedom is like. For those of us who do remember, it is an exciting prospect. We have been little more than parasites for far too long.”

He motioned toward the human contingent. “In watching your people, I see a joy for life that we do not have. You are dead and gone so quickly, yet feel so very much in your short lives. I feel it is disrespectful to your race for us to get so little from our own long lives. Humans have taught me to see there is more to life than simple existence.”

A sobering thought. Not that I loved being reminded how short our lives were in comparison to the rest of the races. Still, I was struck by Michael’s care for his people. He was making a good leader. I smiled at him. I was proud that our race had an impact on a race so ancient. I think his lip quirked for a second, and I was willing to take that for a smile.

“I have not come to these ideas easily. For far too long, we obeyed my brother and questioned nothing. Hopefully, I can use that same acquiescence to forge a new future for us. Not that I welcome dissension, but perhaps some discussion with more than one view is in order. However, we must move forward. I see this now.”

The term benevolent dictatorship crossed my mind, but it was better than the previous regime, that was for sure.

Michael also tried to explain how honor worked, but it was extremely complicated. It had to do with the ages of those in the cluster, if they had children, the ages of the children. Special abilities and actions also factored into the equation. Certain things could be accomplished that could add honor to a cluster. Actually it sounded like a ton of other things went into the system, but Michael was a bit vague on specifics.

Other things could decrease honor. I thought of what Barterian had said and wondered what sort of things about the time Juliet asked the same question.

“Oh, it could be anything. We do not encourage interaction with other races and those who do so can lose honor, depending on the circumstances. That is why so few wish to speak with you.”

“Do you lose honor by speaking to us now, Michael?” Juliet asked.

Michael nodded, “Oh yes, of course, I do, but I have so much accumulated that it is of no consequence. I also gain some by having the elves present. The only outside race that is considered beneficial.” His matter-of-fact tone said it was nothing personal.

I spoke up, “What about Mihren and those we brought back here? Did they lose honor?”

“Yes, they did, but they also gained honor because they had been strong enough to resist the portal’s banishment. Most of their gains would outweigh their losses. Except for Mihren, of course. He lost much honor by losing his child and going to humans and a daemon for help. His continued contact with you has cost his cluster even more. But that cluster is becoming defiant of the honor system. It is a curious situation.”