Queen of Jastain (6 page)

She rolled her eyes at the philosophy crap. Jesus, he was just like her dad.

A cocky half-grin played across his face. Great. What was he thinking?

“Try again. Use your thoughts to meld with the rock and deposit your will into it.”

Abby focused her energy on the stone. It fluttered briefly above Avant's hand. She lost her concentration. The rock fell back into his palm.

“Excellent. This manifestation will, at first, drain your energy source. Just as with our bodies, the more it is used, the stronger and more focused it becomes. Try again. This time reach down into the source of your energy.”

That was easy for him to say. She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. A power source inside her awakened, a force that flowed from all living things into her and out again. She routed the source and forced her will into the rock. It lurched from Avant's hand and rose above his head. Power surged through her and a feeling a freedom overtook her. Trying to control the movement, she couldn't secure a good grasp on the stone with her mind.

Abby looked into his eyes. He spoke to her again.
“Call it to your hand.”

The blue eyes penetrated to her core and his energy joined with hers. A shock of intimacy reverberated. She lost concentration. The rock fell and bonked him on the head.

“Arrghh.” He quickly regained his composure but continued to rub the knot as he stared at her with a puzzled look.

Abby bit her lip and ducked her head.
“Sorry.”

A hint of a smile played across his lips.
“There is no need to apologize. It is my own fault for using a rock. You displayed remarkable control, and your ability to so readily access your Gift is…encouraging.”

Pride swelled in her chest. She wasn't sure why, but it was important she hadn't disappointed him or knocked him unconscious.

“I need to go behind that rock for a moment.”
He raised his eyebrows and pointed behind him. “
There is another small area up ahead. I will meet you there in a moment.”

About twenty yards away, a tall, narrow rock had fallen from higher up creating a walled-in area. A little shiver of disgust zipped up her spine. Would she ever become proficient in the skill of outdoor toiletry? God, she hoped not. When finished, she washed her hands in the stream. As she rounded the outlet, she startled, expecting Avant. But instead, she met the gaze of the strangest creature she'd ever seen. Panic raced through her. Her first instinct was to run, but the odd creature did something shocking.

It spoke. “Hello, Abby.”

Darkness in working will always be found

But only by choosing can it be bound

Some fruit as it grows is not always to eat

And denies life to the ones who find it not sweet

Heaven is the moment of purpose to send

On a quest for the answers the help of a friend

By heights and by depths and narrow the way

Gives dawn in the waiting a much needed day

Annum 1560 - Prophecy of the High Priest

Festival Sukkot (Festival of Harvest)

The creature spoke Abby's name in a whisper with the loveliest, melodic voice. A strange peace settled over her, and her feet froze in place. The serpent-like man was five feet tall and upright on two legs. An air of elegance, refinement even, emanated from the beautiful beast like nothing she'd ever seen or known. Its smooth skin shimmered in bold colors of rosy gold, silvery turquoise and copper orange, sparkling and giving the appearance of fine clothing.

“Do you trust your companion, Abby?”

A magical warmth wrapped around her mind, and its pleasantly timbered voice rang in her ears. She was about to answer when an intense shock shook her.

“Abigail, do not speak with that creature! Look at me!”
The sound of Avant's frantic voice blasted in her mind.

 
She spun around to find him sprinting toward her.

He was as white as the snowcapped peaks behind him.
“What did you say to it?”

“Nothing, yet—”
She was about to ask why, but the urgency of his tone and concern on his face interrupted her.

“
Do not answer it! Abigail, focus your mind, gather your energy, and say out loud, “Begone!
”

The intensity of his statement provided a strong energy pulse. She winced and crinkled her brow. Why would such a lovely creature raise this kind of response?

Yanking her behind him, Avant confronted the creature and said venomously,
“Ex tenibris denique Lux stondium tomanco vos, Seppitent! Veritum Lux nos liberabit.”

The beautiful creature smiled and cooed,
“Certa vos veritus Lux, Avant?”
Then it laughed a charming laugh that tinkled in her ears like wind chimes.

She giggled. “Make it laugh again.”

“Abigail.”
Avant turned to her and demanded,
“Focus your mind, and say out loud, ‘Begone!’ Do it now.”

The smile slid from her face. Startled by the command in his tone, she blinked then focused her mind. Looking directly at the creature, she yelled, “Begone!”

The beautiful thing vanished.

Stunned, she turned back to Avant. He breathed heavily, but the harshness of his face softened in relief. She could hear his thoughts though he stared up at the sky.

“I should not have left her. My Light, what was I thinking?”
He turned to her, his face lined with concern.
“Are you all right?”

The whole exchange had taken less than a couple of minutes, but time had crawled in slow motion. Her mind clouded in a haze as if filled with cotton, and she shook her head to clear it.
“I’m fine. How did it… just vanish? What was that thing?”

“It was Seppitent, the most dangerous creature in our lands. Its voice is a slow poison to the mind that will eventually drive you mad and destroy you from within. Tell me exactly, what did it say to you?”

She cowered at the tenor of his question.
“It greeted me by name in my own language, and then it asked me if I trusted you.”
As she spoke the words, she realized how odd that really sounded.

He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her face.
“Are you certain you did not answer?”

“No, I didn’t, but I was about to when you screamed my name.”

The storm in his eyes cleared, and the look on his face told her that he believed her. He put his hand on his forehead and let out a long sigh. This was the most emotion he'd shown since they met, even when being chased by the king's men.

“How did it know my name?”

He continued to rub his brow with his forefinger and thumb. “
I do not know, Abigail, but it is good that I got to you before you responded.”

“I realize it was a strange creature, but it didn’t seem dangerous. Don’t you think it’s odd that it could speak my language?”

He responded with a condescending air of authority,
“Yes. Abigail, it is a mystery it knew your name and could talk with you. However, what you think about the creature is irrelevant. It is a monster, and you must never speak to it or listen to what it has to say.”

A revelation of how little she knew about this land and the things that lived here swept over her. But mostly, she realized how little she knew about the man in front of her. What had Avant said to make the creature laugh?
“What did you say to it?”

His face became unreadable.
“I told it to begone, just as you did.”

She frowned and pursed her lips. Sure he had.
“And what did he say back?”

“Abigail, we need to go now.”

He was just going to walk away and ignore her question like she hadn’t said a word? Oh, hell no. Who was he to command
her
to do anything? She'd trusted Avant, but should she? For all she knew, he could be taking her to some hellhole slave camp to do God-knows-what.

Avant bent over to pick up the pack he dropped. She scowled at him. Blue eyes and a nice ass were only going to get him so far.

He spun around and pinned her with a glare.
“Are you aware that when you think a direct thought about me, I can hear it?”

“No.”
Shit!

“We need to move on or we will not make our destination by nightfall. Don’t forget your pack.”
He pivoted and stalked away.

She grabbed her bag, following at a distance. Damn, she couldn’t even think he was a horse’s ass without him knowing it.
Ughh!

They continued their trek in silence. Abby attempted to keep her mind focused on other things.

What the hell was a Seppitent? It spoke English and knew her name, and its singsong voice still rang in her ears and clouded her mind. Avant had said more to that creature than he was willing to tell her. Why had it asked if she trusted him?
Should
she trust him was the question. She certainly didn’t know anything about him. Their last exchange was evidence enough of that. Abby bared her teeth and hissed at his back.

Just how much of her thoughts had he been able to hear or see? Her face flushed with heat, and she wanted to crawl under the mountain and hide. Oh God, she thought he'd wanted to kiss her—and he knew it. Had he even seen the vision she'd had of him…She was thinking about him again.
Damn it.
Up ahead he gave no indication he heard her, although she knew he had.

Avant maintained the pace as they crossed the valley to the stony banks of the river. It narrowed and flowed steadily over a rocky bed about two feet deep and fifty yards wide.

Crossing it shouldn’t be too much trouble, except she hated the thought of her feet slipping in soggy sandals for the rest of the day. She'd have to cross barefooted and take it slow.

Apparently still miffed about earlier, Avant plunged in ahead of her and started across without looking back. She sat down and took her shoes off, sticking them in her little bag. Stepping into the current, she sucked in a breath. The rocks weren't as jagged as she anticipated, but the icy water numbed her feet. Precariously planted, some of the stones wobbled as she stepped on them.

Moving along carefully maintaining her balance, she could see Avant was almost halfway across. She went slowly. He could just wait.

Probably hearing her thought, he turned around. Seeing she was some way back and apparently not traveling at his preferred speed, he started back toward her. She kept her deliberate pace as he quickly closed the distance between them. He didn’t say a word but grabbed her waist and scooped her up out of the water. Throwing her over his shoulder, he started across again.

She gasped. Her head dangled down his back and her rear-end was at his ear. Not the ideal position.
“What are you doing?”

“Attempting to make it to shelter before nightfall. I could put you down and leave you, if you prefer.”

“You're a real piece of work, aren’t you?” she said out loud.

“You still have to think it before you say it.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. This whole telepathy thing was not turning out so great with him being able to hear her every thought.

“I cannot hear everything, only the things that are directly related to me, and that is only because you have not learned to guard your heart. I'll teach you so no one may take advantage of your ability. Make no mistake, Abigail, what you have is a gift of great value, and if used wisely, it can be a blessing to many.”

That explained why she hadn’t heard any of his thoughts, but why hadn’t he told her before now he could hear her?

“I wanted to make certain I could trust you, and I didn’t want to frighten you. There are things I have yet to reveal, but rest assured, very soon you will know all there is to know. For now it is sufficient for you to know it was not by chance I've found you. There is a purpose to your being here. We have a saying: there is only chance in the fulfillment of destiny.”

“Yeah, I know. The Chosen One, right? Well, we have a saying where I come from too…and you’re full of it.”

From deep in his chest, a laugh rumbled and burst from his lips, shaking his body as he walked. The happy sound quenched a need in her like Gatorade after a workout, and she grinned.

After stepping up on the opposite bank, he set her to the ground. She hadn’t even realized how quickly he’d been moving.

His eyes gazed into hers, but his face remained unreadable. She stared back and tried not to think about how beautifully blue they were.
“Abigail, the Light has brought you here, and I must help you prepare for your purpose.”

Could it be true that she'd been zapped here for a predetermined purpose in some grand plan? Or was she just the lottery winner of some colossal cosmic blunder? She'd never considered there might be a plan for her life other than graduating college and getting a job. The concept was as foreign as the world in which she now found herself. Fear shivered through her. Nothing would ever be the same again.

Avant waited for her to put her shoes back on and didn't appear winded after carrying her all the way across the river. Her heart fluttered at the thought of how easily he'd picked her up. He started walking again when she stood.

Lifting his eyes to the sky, he furrowed his brow and watched the clouds as they rolled in.
“It is another three hours to the camp, and it looks as if a storm is coming from the east.”

Rain. Yet another thing for which she could be thankful.

Based on the sun's position, it seemed to be mid-afternoon, but soon the storm clouds would overtake them. Hopefully, they could make it to shelter before that happened. Apparently Avant hoped the same, because he hit the trail with a heavy pace.