The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (2 page)

Drune looked over. “What’s bothering
Tempo?”

Erin gave a small smile. “He’s pushing me to
talk out some thoughts with you. I’m blaming myself for Raz’s
death. If I hadn’t set up the trap Raz would still be alive. Oh, I
know, it is much better that we have Bure contained. The rate that
he was murdering people... well, it had to stop. It”s just that I
didn’t want anyone to die!”

Drune nodded. “It was always a possible
outcome and you know it. You thought that you were the one who
might die but instead Raz did. I’ve heard it called survivors
remorse and it is totally understandable. But Erin, Raz knew the
danger too. We all did. When we were preparing the trap and
selecting people to be witnesses each and every person knew that
there was not a guaranteed outcome. Each one of us knew the job was
dangerous but we took it. We formed the jaws of the trap when we
revealed ourselves and Bure knew he was surrounded. He could have
gone for any of us. Bure did choose. He went for you and Ree
because he perceived you two as the weakest. Being a bully, and a
trapped animal, that was predictable. That’s what you thought and
expected, also. Raz saw the instant Bure had decided and moved to
prevent the poison from getting to you. It was unfortunate that it
splashed into his eyes because you could have treated it anywhere
else. But Raz acted knowing the danger. Don’t take that from him.
He was a terrific friend and a brave man. You‘ll always have him in
your heart and memories.”

Tears were rolling down Erin’s cheeks as she
nodded. Her throat was a little tight with emotion so it was a
minute before she was able to continue speaking. “It is easier to
place myself in danger than to have my friends pay the
consequences. I’ll truly respect his memory and the affection he
bore me. I just can’t help the regrets.”

They rode in silence for awhile when Erin
spoke up again. “Two things: is there any reason why I can’t be
Erin now, instead of the boy, Terran? The other question is how
much support did you and Ree provide me during the confrontation
with Bure?” Drune smiled. “Okay, first answer. The danger of being
Erin was when the three cousins were loose and looking to kill you.
That has been eliminated. Now as a young woman you can wear
trousers if you wish; and with what you do during this trip that is
infinitely more practical. You’ve been putting out your bedroll in
close proximity to men, but in this public camping situation
absolutely everyone is so that doesn’t effect the answer. Your hair
is decidedly unfeminine but it will grow out. Be Erin if you
wish!”

“I can’t completely speak for Ree, though we
did talk about it. I didn’t reinforce you at all as that is not my
skill. I did try to buffer Bure’s intensity but didn’t have much
effect. The mind distraction trick I taught you seemed to help
considerably. Ree was able to be in your mind and encourage you to
focus at the beginning. After that you did it on your own. You are
learning at an impressive rate!”

Though the sun indicated that it was nearly
noon the temperature was dropping. The cooler marine air that had
come in five days earlier had yet to dissipate. Erin decided to
walk beside the wagon for awhile. The exercise would keep her warm
and it would help get her mind out of its wool wrapping. Tempo
could either ride her shoulder or hunt. She swung off the moving
wagon with Tempo on one arm and broke into a long stride. ‘Put me
down and I’ll hunt and keep the caravan in sight.’

Erin stopped. ‘You’ve got it, little one.
I’ll keep my mind open for you.’ Tempo scampered off in the
direction of some nearby rocks.

Erin walked forward to catch Drune’s
attention. “I am going to fall back and check with all of the
wagons and their teams. Tempo is keeping the wagons in sight and
Keir is hunting in the area. I’ll see you in a little while.” Since
Drune was in one of the front wagons it wasn’t hard for her to
catch the wagons further back. All she had to do was slow her pace
a little bit. Erin worked her way through the back wagons. As she
came along side each team she mentally spoke to each horse,
stroking the necks and sides of the animals as she asked them how
they were. It was important to her, particularly because of the
frequency of the quakes, that the horses were checked and
reassured. She had found that they were less likely to panic if
they felt attended to and safe.

As she got to the last wagon Erin was
satisfied that the teams were in good shape. She had just stepped
away from the herbalist wagon when her mind was blasted by loud
emotional energy from Bure. Erin staggered under the impact. She
blindly reached into her pocket to find a piece of jerky to chew.
Drune had showed her the trick that something that would strongly
occupy her mouth, saliva glands and taste buds would distract the
mind from the sheer power that threatened to engulf her. Bure was
screaming his fear and panic. It hit her in waves. Erin knelt on
the ground and concentrated on what her mouth was doing. Her eyes
were closed as she worked another piece of jerky between her lips.
She felt Tempo jump on her legs and put his cool nose against her
face. She stroked the skunk as she mentally reached to see what had
set Bure off.

Bure was being bound snugly to an armature so
he could not wiggle. He was then securely attached to another man
in a paraglider harness. It appeared that they were going to be
gliding tandem with Bure as an unwilling passenger. Bure was
mentally screaming and wanting to break free of his bonds, but try
as he might he could not. Erin could see another man beside Bure.
He was a fairly tall man with a strong body. His hair was to his
shoulders and streaked with grey, tawny brown and blond strands.
The man looked at Bure with an implacable expression in his dark
eyes. For some reason this made Bure feel more alarm.

They were at some mountainous plateau used
for a paragliding launch. The wind filled the glide wing and they
were air born. At first Erin almost lost the vision because Bure
was so panic-stricken that he nearly passed out. The emotional
scream got weaker and Erin was able to open her eyes and stand up.
Tempo was standing at full alert beside her and Keir was perched on
a nearby rock. ‘I’m okay. Let’s get back to Drune before Bure’s
next shout hits.’ She put a new piece of jerky in her hand in
preparation and started to walk, then jog to catch up. Keir had
shot ahead to get Drune’s attention and Tempo was running full out
to keep pace with Erin. The young woman paused and scooped the
little animal up in her arms and broke into a run. She had caught
up with the caravan but had to push harder to beat the speed of the
horses at a trot and surge ahead to the Tinker’s wagon. She was
just a little winded when she pulled along side and handed Tempo to
Drune. He slowed his team and she was able to get a hand hold and
swing on board. She sat and rested for a while as she ‘listened’
with her mind.

Drune looked over then clicked the horses
back up to speed. “I caught part of that. What is terrifying
Bure?”

Erin spoke quickly because she was
anticipating another wave of emotion energy to occur at anytime.
“He was being bound tandem to a paraglider. They have taken wing
and I am anticipating another blast.” She stroked Tempo. ‘Did I
interrupt the hunt? I hope you got something to eat, little
one.’

Tempo was standing on the seat beside her and
his voice carried a smile. ‘I caught enough for now. I’ll hunt
later. Don’t worry I always seem to be hungry lately.’

A half an hour later Bure’s emotions were a
loud mix of terror, futility, hopelessness and rage. Erin had a
moments warning and slipped a piece of jerky in her mouth in
preparation. She closed her eyes and concentrated on him so she
could break under the agitated energy to see what was happening.
She focused hard and could see a mountainside coming up very
quickly. It looked like they were going to smash into the mountain
face! At the last second the master glider turned his wing onto a
large, gently sloped ledge and made landing.

He left Bure where he was and dragged his
equipment out of the way. Bure could now see that two other
paragliders were coming in. He stayed bound as he watched, which
increased his rage. ‘How dare they ignore him! Bure! What were they
going to do? Maybe he could overpower them. He was strong.’ His
rage took on a sly tone. Erin could still see under the emotional
intensity and detected movement around Bure. The three wing men
disengaged their prisoner from his harness but didn’t untie his
arms and hands which were secured in front of him. They hauled him
to his feet and walked-dragged Bure to the far lip of the ledge.
Erin could see as they stood on the edge that they were looking
down into a green valley inside a massive extinct volcano. The
sides were glass smooth gold obsidian. While Bure was looking down
a terror was building inside him and he momentarily stopped
struggling. The wing men, taking advantage of his fleeting
quiescence, quickly wrapped him in a padded blanket and hauled him
to a small, man-sized chute. He started to struggle in earnest now
as he finally realized that the slide would take him into the
valley where he would spend the rest of his life. He wasn’t going
to get the chance to escape. He really was going to be a prisoner
inside Obsidian crater! The walls were so slick that there would be
no climbing out! ‘NO!’ he was screaming in his head as they let go
of him and he was propelled by gravity down the slide and into his
new home.

The ‘shout’ stopped and Erin blinked back
into her own unencumbered mind. Drune looked over to her to
elaborate. She shook her head. “He has been delivered to Obsidian
to live in banishment. I don’t think he really believed that he
would have that fate. The valley inside the crater looks green and
habitable. Lovely in its own way. I think that that there were some
things in his wrappings to aid him to survive. It is up to him to
live. I wonder if his father is still there and what sort of
‘homecoming’ that meeting will be. Any way you look at it, it is a
more merciful sentence than the ones he bestowed on his
victims.”

They rode in silence for awhile and camped in
early evening on the plains near the border between Duluse and
Khanlund provinces. They set up campfires every second or third
wagon and the guild members ate in small groups. Lor, Alliz, Drune
and Erin shared a fire. It was not common knowledge, but the four
were all sages, three of which had been sent out on this particular
guild train to try to find the reason for the planetary disquiet
that the Great One had sensed. They had the answer now but not the
solution to setting things back to rights. The fact was that the
realm was now short seven or eight sages and the stabilizing bond
with the planet was dangerously weak. They had caught the killers
but those men had set in motion things that were causing ripples of
incredible magnitude throughout the realm.

Tempo was out hunting while the four prepared
their own meal. They had eaten a fine supper of camp bread, roasted
tubers and grilled sausages. They were ranged around the fire
talking quietly. When the conversation lulled Erin spoke. “Bure is
in Obsidian. They transported him today and he was shouting his
emotions. I could get beneath the agitated energy and see parts of
it. They moved him by paraglider. He was bound and traveled tandem.
There were two other wing men who assisted when they got there. Up
until the last moment he thought that he would have a chance to
escape because he was smart and strong. When he finally realized
that he wouldn’t be given the opportunity his anger and fear were
incredible. He fought being put in the chute though he was padded
humanely and given some things to assist his survival. He truly
didn’t believe he would end there. I really think he somehow
thought he would be the Great One.” She shook her head.

Alliz stood and started to collect the
plates. “Well that takes care of those three. It is too bad that
Bure wasn’t stopped before he planted all of those rumors in the
minds of the susceptible. We will just have to deal with it.”

Lor got up and brought the bucket of water
for washing the plates and eventually for putting out the fire.
“Kennet came by and mentioned that Ruke, the musician guild
assistant, wouldn’t mind driving Raz’s wagon back to Khanlund if
you needed to leave Drune.”

The young man nodded. “I haven’t heard where
Gyan wants me. I don’t mind driving until I do.” He stood, “Good
night everyone.” Luna was part way up in the sky and Cear was just
emerging above the horizon as everyone returned to their respective
wagons. Erin got her bed roll out of Lor’s wagon and stretched out
under the wagon, as was her habit, and drifted off to sleep. It
wasn’t much after that that Tempo came and curled up against her to
find his rest.