Wielder's Fate (8 page)

“What does ‘screed’ mean?” she asked.  She had never heard of the word before.

“It allows me to see things that are far away,” Traven explained.  “I can create a reflection of an image that would normally be too far away to see.”  He must have recognized the confusion in her eyes.  “I can show you if you want?”

“Go ahead,” she said.

Traven stood up and looked around.  He glanced at a few flowers and some bushes but shook his head.  He then bent over and picked up a large rock.  He took the rock and knelt down in the shade of a nearby tree.  Kalista rose from the stone bench and walked over next to him to see what he was doing.  She watched as he used the rock to quickly dig a shallow hole in the dirt at the base of the tree.

“It would work better if it was darker,” he said.  “But I think the shadows here will allow us to make out the images.”

Kalista gasped with surprise as water began to pool in the hole.  Traven smiled as he looked up.  His eyes no longer were clouded with worry but shone with excitement.  They always seemed to sparkle when he was excited.

“You’ll need to get close in order to see,” he said.  “I’m sorry it’s on the ground.  I guess we can go back to the palace if you want and use a real dish.”

“I don’t mind,” she said as she gathered her dress and carefully knelt down next to Traven.  She still was not sure exactly what he was doing, but it was obvious that whatever it was, she needed to get close to the shallow hole of water in front of them.

“What would you like to see?” Traven asked.

“What do you mean?”

“We can look at anything you want on the surface of the water.  Do you want to see your home?”

“Sure,” she answered, still not fully understanding what the young wielder meant.  “Show me the Royal Palace.”

Traven turned from her and stared intently at the small pool of water.  Kalista followed his lead and looked down at the water as well.  She gasped in surprise.  Before, there had been nothing but the glassy surface of the water; now there was a perfectly sharp image of the Royal Palace.

She scooted up next to Traven and moved her head towards the small pool in order to take a closer look.  The image was slightly faded, but she had never seen such a perfect rendering of the palace from above.  Everything was there to the last detail.  The tops of the palace towers shown in the morning light, and the palace gardens were bursting with the colors of late spring flowers.   She started in surprise as a large seagull moved across the picture.

“This is an actual picture of the palace as it is right now?” she asked in amazement.

“Yes,” he replied.  “Screeing allows you to view anywhere in the land and magnify the image to see whatever you want to.  I’ll show you.”

The palace began to get smaller as the pool of water now showed the entire city of Calyn.  Soon she was seeing the surrounding countryside and then the entire land of Kalia.  She stared at it with wonder.  She had seen many maps of her beloved kingdom, but none of them came close to what she was currently looking at.  The image shifted again and suddenly she was looking at the city of Candus.  The image was magnified, and she saw the palace gardens.  As the gardens were magnified, she saw a tree with two people under it kneeling on the ground and staring at something.

Kalista gasped once again as she realized that she was seeing herself.  She smiled at how silly she looked in her yellow dress, kneeling on the ground staring at the pool of water.  She also realized how close her head was to Traven’s.  She noticed she could hear him breathing in her ear and if she turned her head ever so slightly they would be cheek to cheek.  The hand holding her up was also directly next to his.  Her heart quickened slightly at the realization.  She was actually alone with and very close to a handsome young man.  She shifted slightly away from Traven and looked at him with a smile.  He was still concentrating on the image but let it disappear when he noticed her gaze.  He turned to her with an awkward smile.

“That’s how I knew where to find you and that you were still okay,” he said sheepishly.  “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind what?” she asked.

“That I screed your image while traveling across Kalia.”

“You saved my life didn’t you?” she replied.  “I think that is all that matters.”

She smiled as she noticed the visible relief that came over Traven’s face.  Why should she care if he had screed her image?  If he hadn’t, he would not have known where to find her.  She had often watched people in the grand square below her tower window without them knowing they were being observed.  She supposed it was basically the same thing.  Unless . . .

“Can you scree images of people even if they are not out in the open?” she asked nervously.

“Yes,” Traven replied.

“Even if they are inside a building or a tent?”

“Sure,” he answered.  “It doesn’t matter what physical barriers are in the way.  I could scree into a dungeon if I wanted to.”

Kalista shifted away from Traven uncomfortably.  She wondered what he had seen when he had screed her image.  The thought of someone being able to see her no matter where she was left her feeling very uncomfortable.  She glanced intently at his face with a slight frown, and she could feel her cheeks warming.  He looked back at her with a look of confusion.  Suddenly, his eyes lit up with understanding as to why she had asked her last two questions.

“Don’t worry,” he said quickly as he turned a bright red.  “I would never invade someone’s privacy, least of all yours.  You have my word.”

As he earnestly stared back at her, she could not help but believe he was telling the truth.  The sincerity of his assurance and the honesty in his eyes calmed her worries.

“I believe you,” she said as her frown melted away.

Another wave of relief passed over the young wielder’s face as he nodded.  He then pushed himself up from the ground.  Kalista held up her hand so that he could assist her to her feet as well.  He hesitated for a split second before taking her hand in his.  As his strong hand wrapped around hers, a jolt of energy coursed through her body.  She stared up into his sparkling eyes as he effortlessly pulled her to her feet.

With their hands and eyes connected, something passed between them.  She should have let go of his hand the second she was on her feet, but she did not.  She loved how her hand felt in his.

“Traven!” someone shouted in the distance.

They both let their hands drop quickly to their sides as they turned towards the voice.

“Over here!” Traven shouted back.

Kalista stared up at him out of the corner of her eye as she waited for whoever it was to find them.  He continued looking forward at where the garden path came around the large tree and gave access to the secluded clearing they were in.  She began to see him differently than she had before.

“There you are,” Commander General Blaize said as he rounded the tree.  “Oh, excuse me, Princess.”

The large general looked between Traven and her and the corner of his mouth twitched.  Kalista realized that she and Traven were still standing right next to each other.  She took a prudent step away from the young wielder as Gavin and Traven’s cloaked servant also appeared from around the tree.  Gavin’s countenance darkened slightly as he glanced at the two of them together in the secluded clearing.  The look passed quickly as he replaced it with a smile and walked over to her.

“I did not realize I would find you here as well,” Gavin said as he reached her side.  She smiled in return and took his arm.

“Wielder Traven was showing me some of the things he can do with the ambience,” she explained.

“Good,” Gavin responded as he turned towards Traven.  “We are in need of your abilities at this moment.”

7

Traven followed as Blaize led the small group to the east city gate.  Gavin and Kalista walked arm in arm just in front of Traven, and Darian walked at his side.  Apparently, there were refugees on their way to the city and a horde of creatures wasn’t far behind them.  From the brief description of the beasts, it sounded to him like they were possibly galdaks, but he didn’t want to say anything until he had a chance to scree them.

As they made their way along the streets of the city, Traven noticed Kalista giving him strange, sidelong glances whenever she had the chance.  It was also difficult for him to keep his eyes off her.  He was sure it was she who had held onto his hand longer than was necessary when he had helped her to her feet.  She had looked into his eyes intently, and he could have sworn that something special passed between them.

Even though he had enjoyed it, he wished the moment hadn’t occurred.  It would make it that much harder for him to leave.  Then again, if there really was a horde of galdaks coming to attack the city, he would be forced to delay his departure.  As much as he wanted to be near Kalista, he would have to make a concerted effort to keep his distance from her.  She was engaged, and he didn’t want any misunderstandings or accusations to surface.

He knew Blaize had noticed how close they had been standing to each other.  His friend wouldn’t say anything to anyone else about it, but Traven was sure Blaize would have something to say to him.  From Darian’s mischievous smiles, half hidden by his hood, Traven knew the elf had some comments of his own to make as well.

They reached the gate and followed Blaize up the stairs to the top of the wall.  The refugees were easily visible from the view at the top.  Traven was surprised at how many there were.  It looked as though there were at least ten thousand.  Surprisingly, there were also a handful of Balthan soldiers amongst the villagers.  They were all being escorted by a small group of Kalian troops.

Beyond the refugees, he could see dark clouds on the horizon.  It looked as though a storm was coming.  Luckily, it wouldn’t take long for the villagers to reach the gate of the city.  They should be sheltered long before the storm arrived.

“The refugees will be housed in the barracks,” Blaize stated.  “I have already sent the order for twenty thousand soldiers to set up camp outside the city walls.  Traven, we would like you to scree the approaching horde to know if an attack truly is imminent and how large of a threat we are facing.  Can you scree from here?”

“Not very effectively,” Traven replied.  “It would work better if we could go inside a dark room.”  Blaize and Gavin gave him strange looks.  “Trust me.”

“The guardroom below will work,” Blaize said.  “Let’s hurry.  I can better organize the soldiers if I have an idea of what we’ll be facing.”

Traven nodded in understanding.  He followed as Blaize descended the stairs and walked over to the guardroom.  Kalista and Gavin stayed behind on the wall, discussing the needs of those who would soon be arriving in the city.  Traven glanced back over his shoulder at Kalista’s graceful silhouette and shook his head.  He needed to forget about what had just happened and focus on the task at hand.

They reached the base of the stairs and entered the guardhouse.  There was soon a large shield, full of water, sitting on a rickety wooden table.  The windows were quickly shuttered, and the guards were told to wait outside.  As the door shut, Traven, Darian, and Blaize were bathed in shadows.  There was plenty of light for Traven and Darian to see in the darkened room, but Traven was sure Blaize couldn’t see much of anything.  Blaize was the first to speak.

“Traven, what was going on back there in the garden?” the large warrior asked pointedly.

“Shouldn’t we be screeing the monsters?” Traven replied.

Darian began chuckling.

“Don’t change the subject,” Blaize said.  “Thank goodness the princess was wise enough to take a step away from you before her fiancé arrived.  Even so, I don’t think Gavin was very happy to find the two of you alone in a secluded part of the garden.”

“Nothing inappropriate happened,” Traven responded.  “She was asking me about my visions, and then I gave her a demonstration of screeing.  We were looking at the reflection in a small pool of water under the tree.  I had just helped her to her feet when you arrived.”

“That’s a good explanation, but it doesn’t account for the guilty look on your face when I rounded that tree,” Blaize continued.  “The princess was completely composed, but you looked like a kid whose hand had been caught in a candy dish.”

Traven paused before responding.  Blaize’s analogy was surprisingly accurate.  He had almost been caught with his hand holding a forbidden sweet.  He grinned in the darkness, certain that Blaize couldn’t see his expression.

“Blaize may not be able to see that incredibly large grin splitting your face,” Darian stated, “but I sure can.”

The smile disappeared immediately but then returned as he started laughing.  Darian joined in almost instantly.  It took Blaize a little longer, but he finally joined in as well.  Traven realized he had nothing to hide from them.  They were his two closest friends.  He might as well be completely honest with them and get their advice.

“Fine,” Traven said as he created a flame in the air in the center of the room.  “I’ll tell you two what happened.”

He quickly explained that what he had said was true but went into more detail about his discussion with the princess.  Everyone got another laugh out of Kalista’s delayed reaction to being screed.  He then explained that when he had pulled her to her feet, she had kept a hold of his hand instead of letting go.  It was at that moment Blaize had called for him and then found the two of them standing near one another.

“And that’s all that happened,” Traven said as he shrugged.

“I might not understand the ways of humans,” Darian said with a grin, “but I cannot help but wonder what might have transpired if we had not interrupted the two of you.”

“Oh, stop,” Blaize cut in with a chuckle.  “There’s no need to fill the young man’s head with any more ideas.”  The large warrior grew serious.  “You need to be very careful, Traven.  In my experience, no good comes when royals and commoners cross paths.”

Traven remembered all too well Blaize’s past experience and nodded his understanding.