The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (27 page)

The Great One’s cavalcade rode hard toward
the Arbreton Bridge. Keir was above them, catching the thermals and
Tempo was in front of Erin on the saddle. They had one more founder
city, a town, and then a henge to find or build. Each of the stops
was necessary but it was the last that troubled the three sages the
most. If this henge was related to Ree’s and Auntie Jes’s henge,
the posts themselves were special.

It was cold traveling. The winds were blowing
across the plains and it felt like October was coming in early.
There was a sticky quality to the air and a gloomy color to the
clouds. Erin could see that Keir was getting buffeted. It was
mid-afternoon when they saw another wagon approaching them and they
eased their speed. As it got closer Erin could hear whoops from the
front of the ranks and everyone came to a stop. It was Olm and his
empty wagon was heading back home to Kunscap. A rest stop was
called so he could give his report.

“Basically it went well. I stayed away from
the communities and stopped to unload the groups of skunks where
you had directed. Occasionally there were people on horse back who
were curious about what I was doing. It was the curiosity of the
skunks themselves that nearly got me into trouble. Some horsemen
who were out working with their cattle stopped me. Some of the
skunks felt me stop and peered out of the tailgate to see if I were
going to put the gangplank down. Since the riders were near the
front of the wagon talking to me, they didn’t see the critters. It
was close. They could have killed all of the skunks if they had
taken a mind to. But I dropped off the last set safely.”

Gyan smiled. “Good job, Olm. We have been
beating back the witch and skunk story everywhere we have been.
Only Sherroton and Terresville are left. We’ll see you at home
later. Travel safely.”

The two parties separated and got underway on
their respective journeys. They reached the bridge by late
afternoon and the wind had really picked up. Bast took a look at
the sky and pushed ahead so everyone crossed the bridge. He had
heard of Kennet and the bridge the last time, and didn’t want to
take the chance of it happening again. They set up camp and pitched
their tents just inside the Arbreton province.

No sooner had they camped when the hail
started. The horses wanted to run in an attempt to get away from
being hit! The security men tried to hold onto the horses as they
were pelted. The animals were terrified, showing the whites of
their eyes and kicking with their hind hooves. There was part of
the bridge that overhung the steep embankment and some of the men
dragged a few of the horses into that narrow shelter. Kennet
extended the awning of his wagon and six huddled there, their tails
to the storm. The hail stones were the size of a baby’s fist and
the last few horses were pulled inside the taller tents. The sound
of the ice balls hitting the tent and wagon was deafening. Erin and
Tempo were in a tent with a few of the animals but she reached out
to try and reassure the others. She had a moment to check with
Keir. He had found shelter under the driver’s bench of Kennet’s
wagon. Though it seemed to last forever, the storm was over in half
an hour. It slowed at first, and the thump of each ice ball became
an individual sound instead of a roar. Then the sound stopped and
the people and humans came out of their shelters.

It seemed like the fury of the storm was
done. The air was still and Erin could hear the large ice balls
melting. The ground was white with the hail and the cooks were
scraping away the piles so they could start a fire to cook dinner.
Drune and several of Gyan’s men had shovels and were trying to move
the stuff away from the tents. Others were working with Erin,
soothing the restive animals. The light was still gloomy and had an
odd quality. She looked up as Bast came along side of her and her
glance caught a movement on the horizon. “Oh scrum! There’s a
funnel cloud over there!” Others stopped and watched the phenomenon
with horror, hoping that it wouldn’t get any nearer. The twister
touched down and whirled around like a child’s top, throwing up
debris around its base. Everybody had their eyes glued to that
destructive funnel. The only swale near them was the river and it
wasn’t safe to pile into that torrent. They couldn’t outrun it. It
wasn’t a winnable situation and was appearing down-right hopeless
when the funnel evaporated. There were cheers and slaps of the back
as everyone expressed relief.

Erin looked over at Gyan, whose face had been
forbidding in its seriousness. He winked at her and brushed his
hand across his brow. The cooks managed to get a fire going and the
feeling of those gathered around the flames and smoke was one of
profound relief. There was lighthearted joking while the company
got warm food inside them. No one lingered that night but retired
to their tents or duties.

Gyan called Erin and Drune into his tent. “I
need to contact Cheroan and tell him we are coming but I also have
to get in touch with Lor. Hopefully he has found some information
about our three wild henges. I would like you two to be a part of
the communication. They nodded and sat near him so they could be in
physical contact.

He took a deep breath and let it out.
‘Cheroan, do you have a moment to talk?’ ‘Gyan, good to hear from
you, my friend. I know that you and your party are moving quickly
but rumor is, somehow, faster. The witch talk, which was never
strong here to begin with, is disappearing like so much smoke.
People are settling down about the weather and quakes because they
know you are working on it. It is my guess that you’ll have an easy
crowd when you get here.’

Gyan smiled. ‘That would be nice. This last
one in Osily got a little testy. Wras was in the crowd.’

‘Wras! I thought he was killed in the rock
slide!’

Gyan shook his head. ‘We all thought that,
but he was alive, if a trifle unhinged. We took him into custody.
I’ll tell you about it tomorrow when we see you. Much to share with
you. See you then.’

Gyan sat back and opened his eyes. Drune
spoke. “It would be nice to get an easy crowd. You still need to
hit a few points but not much.

Gyan looked at Erin. “He was alone and looked
contented. Are you going to tell him about Roos?” “I’m not sure. It
might be better for him to hear it from his son. Let’s talk to
Lor.”

He again closed his eyes and spoke in his
mind. ‘Lor have you found anything about those other henges?’

‘Hello, Gyan. Thank you for giving me a few
days. Tell Erin that I am in awe that she found the trail to
pursue. Even knowing how she did it, it wasn’t until this afternoon
that I found the path. It was an interesting circular motif. The
book said it was a Shou and represented long life.’

There was a slight pause as Lor seemed to be
looking at notes. ‘Anyway, there are three henges that are
different. One is at Ree’s home. One is at Auntie Jes’s home and
the third is the wild one. These three were placed by the ancients
and form a straight line across the realm. The wild henge is in the
center of all intersecting lines. Apparently where the founder
henges are energy points the other three are specific bonding
points. The posts have awareness of the presence of the sage seed
and will protect them. That got me thinking on how Auntie Jes died.
I have never been to her home. Is her work area attached to her
home or is it set away from the home and henge?’

Erin ad Drune looked at each other blankly.
They had walked through her home and garden but they hadn’t seen
her workshop. Erin turned to Gyan. “We didn’t see her work area so
it had to be separate.”

Gyan relayed the message. ‘Separate.’

‘Well, that was a mistake that needs to be
changed, because had it been attached Wras could not have gotten to
her. The posts would have confused him and he would have left.’

Gyan caught something Lor had said. ‘What do
you mean that it will need to be changed?’

Lor responded immediately. ‘These henges are
different, like I said. They are bonding points between our race
and the planet. A sage needs to live there, in all three areas. Ree
is the only one holding down the point. We must find sages to make
a home at the other two locations.’

Gyan sighed. ‘How did we lose so many
pieces?’

‘Well it seems that as long as our count was
up the bond was strong enough to let our slip-ups get by. Now is
major correction time. By the way, I am sending you a present. By
all speed he should reach you in three to four days time somewhere
on the plains, directly east of Terresville. It’s young Mikl,
Char’s son. He is riding across country with a special device from
the ancients. It will tell Erin where the wild henge is supposed to
be and where the posts are.’

Lor paused again before continuing. ‘Gyan, I
don’t know if a sage needs to be in residence at the time of the
eclipse. That piece I haven’t been able to answer.’

Gyan smiled. ‘You’ve given us a lot to go on.
We will deal as best as we can. I am sending you a gift also. We
found a surprise in the crowd at Osily. As soon as we have dropped
off the last box at Sherroton, Kennet will be returning home with
three of my security men and Wras. Please hold him securely for
us.’

Lor’s voice held a smile when he answered. ‘I
might just send out a welcoming party. We could probably intercept
them somewhere near Wellyn. Wouldn’t want the slippery fella to get
lost again.’

‘Lor, keep looking for the information about
residency. If you don’t find it we will do the best we can. I don’t
know if there is any livable structure at the site of the wild
henge. Tomorrow we will be at Sherroton. Kennet will leave then.
Without a wagon we will be able to travel across the country and
ignore roads. That will increase our time. If we are lucky we will
be able to make Terresville in under a day and a half. The weather
is getting treacherous and we will be totally exposed out on the
prairie. It has been a race against time and ignorance.’

‘Give Alliz my love. She is all healed by
now?’

Lor’s voice was rippling with laughter. ‘She
has little patience with being a patient. I have tried to keep her
busy in the library. It’s either that or Sterling will be taking a
vacation until you get back. I’ll give her your message.’

Gyan pulled back. “Well, that was
interesting! He specifically said that he was sending something for
Erin.”

“Well, the only skill that I have that you
two don’t is the telepathy with animals. So it has to be related to
that.” Erin mused.

Gyan looked thoughtful. “I am grateful that
there is something to help us find the spot. I was envisioning
stomping around that whole area looking for something under the
prairie grass. Something I want you two to think about. Neither of
you have a home of your own. Think about living in one of those two
places.”

Drune and Erin looked at each other. They had
never talked about it. Erin could always go back to her childhood
home and rebuild, but she felt about that the same way that Glori
felt about Auntie Jes’s home. Though Drune looked like he was less
than a decade older than her, he was chronologically two
generations older. She blinked at the thought. Even if you take out
the years before he came into his sage skills from his current age,
it begged the question: Where has he been living for sixty years?
Erin mentally shook her head. That was a conversation for a later
time. It was time to get some sleep. Erin got up without speaking
and sent the men a smile and a wave. She was tired. As she was
entering her tent she heard Drune saying his goodnight to Gyan. She
took off her boots and outer layers and crawled into her blankets.
Before her coat had lost her body heat she was sound asleep.

An hour later Gyan had completed his plans
and discussions with Bast. The men were talking quietly around the
embers. Bast had been chuckling on how she had straightened out
Peyr with his effort to diminish her. Gyan said softly, “Her skills
are phenomenally strong for being active less than two months. Her
courage and indomitable spirit gives one to believe that she is
inexhaustible. Then she looks up with those big blue eyes and I can
see that she is all done-in.” He shook his head. “She is so strong
and composed that I sometimes forget that she lost her parents six
weeks ago. You should have seen her face when I offered her a
choice of homes.” The two men had been friends for many years. They
stood in companionable silence, thinking about the remarkable young
woman deeply asleep in a tent across the way. They watched as Tempo
came out of the dark and crossed to Erin’s tent, slipping under the
flap. Both were smiling as they turned to go to their respective
tents. They noticed that Nuit had landed atop of Kennet’s wagon and
was guarding the camp and specifically watching over her friend.
The two men’s eyes met for just a moment. It was clear that Erin
had more than earned whatever home she chose.