Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora Series Book 1) (4 page)

“Are you not glad she has a red-centered stone? She’ll be strong once we train her. Or rather, once
you
train her.”

“Yes, if we locate her before Vindrake, we’ll be thankful for the strength of her jewel.” She chewed on a fingernail. “However, there is another problem. The more potent the stone, the harder it is to control. She’ll be prone to continue haphazard transports without even trying. It’s imperative I work with her in person; I couldn’t possibly explain to you how to teach her to manipulate such a powerful jewel.”

“But, what do I tell her if I see her again?”

Raelene grasped both his arms. “You must tell her it’s extremely important she remains calm—she mustn’t be overly excited.”

“If she gets upset, her wander-jewel will spark?” asked Kaevin.

“No, it’s not that simple. But accidents tend to happen as a young bearer’s emotions start to rise or as they fall off.”

“So my responsibility is to explain to her about her power in a calm and soothing way?” How would he accomplish such a task?

“I realize that sounds daunting. Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with her by yourself for very long.”

“You’re assuming Kaevin will be the one to find her.” Darielle interrupted. “She might not transport Kaevin to her again. When we send out scouting parties with her image, she’ll likely be found by someone else, so we need to warn everyone about the danger.”

“And we must find her before Vindrake discovers her existence. Otherwise, even our scouting parties will be in danger.”

“Then we should expedite our work on that drawing,” said Darielle.

Kaevin was prepared to give a description of the girl. He remembered her clearly in his mind. During the night, he’d even sensed her presence. He couldn’t see her, but he could almost hear her talking to him. He was definitely obsessed with the girl, a fact for which Jireo had teased him interminably. So now he kept his thoughts to himself.

Darielle had a parchment and sheepskin-wrapped graphite to draw the image. “If you will allow me, I can look in your mind and link to her. I can trace to her location and see her for myself. I won’t be able to communicate or ascertain her location, but I will have a clear view of her face.”

“What will it feel like if you do it? And what else will you be able to see in there?”

She laughed. “I promise to use great discretion. I can’t read your thoughts, anyway. I can only follow links to past events. And then I see the actual event, not your memory of it. It’s almost like a transport, and it only feels like a slight tickle—not painful at all.”

“Very well, then. We can attempt it. But if it’s unpleasant, you have to get out of there.”

With an assuring nod, Darielle placed her hands on Kaevin’s forehead. “Now, simply think about the occurrence when you were transported to the girl, and I will follow you.”

He relived the moment in his mind, as he’d done numerous times, focusing on the moment she’d opened her eyes. He felt only the lightest touch in his mind, and it wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

“Are you concentrating?” asked Darielle.

“Yes, I promise. I can see her in my mind perfectly; I paid close attention to the details.”

“It’s as if the link is blocked. I follow it straight into some kind of wall. I can’t find a way around it, and I can’t see anything.” She took her hands down. “Let’s try something else. Imagine you are standing with Jireo, before the event occurred.”

Kaevin pictured himself on the trail with Jireo and their discussion of breakfast right before he’d disappeared.

“Yes, I can follow that link perfectly. I can see Jireo. But now there’s nothing.” She pulled her hands back and huffed, running her fingers through her hair until several golden strands were pulled from her plait. “I can’t follow your link to her—she must be warded. We must simply do it the hard way.” She picked up the graphite. “Describe the shape of her face...”

*****

“He told me my mother was lying about him. And then he said some crazy stuff about me being powerful and him needing to train me. Are you sure you couldn’t hear him?”

“No, I couldn’t hear anything. Nothing at all. I couldn’t see anything either, but I felt something. And so did Boze—he was growling the whole time.”

“He told me my mother hid me from him, and he didn’t even know I was alive. I did notice one thing. He said Wendelle
was
my mother. So, I guess she really didn’t make it after you saw her disappear.”

“That’s what I thought. If she’d been alive, I know she would’ve come back and found you somehow.” Charles averted his eyes.

“He didn’t really look like a drug dealer to me, not that I’ve ever seen one in person. I guess he could be some kind of gang leader. He talked about bringing me to his kingdom, whatever that is. I would’ve asked more questions, but I was so freaked out. I wasn’t prepared to meet my father.”

“I didn’t see him or hear his voice, but something felt wrong to me. Did you feel it? You said the boy didn’t feel dangerous. What about your father? Did he feel dangerous?”

“I don’t know. I can’t decide. It’s like part of me recognized him and wanted to like him. I know you believe what my mother said about him, but I can’t help wanting to believe she was wrong. I hope he’s actually a good guy. Maybe he’s changed.”

“Just be careful, Alora. I love you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” His brow furrowed as he reached out to take her hand. “I’m afraid you’ll get your hopes up and then find out he’s into something dangerous or illegal. What if you found out he’s into human trafficking or something like that?”

“I’m just going to make sure I don’t get back in the water anytime soon. No hot tub. No bathtub. Just quick showers. I need some time to wrap my head around all this before I talk to him again. Hopefully, he won’t be able to figure out where I am. I don’t want him to show up uninvited on the front porch.”

He squeezed his arms around her. “You know I love you, right? I love you even more than if you’d actually been my niece. You’re my daughter as far as I’m concerned, and you always have been. And now that Lena is gone—” He turned his face away, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“Uncle Charles, I love you too, and I loved Aunt Lena. None of this changes anything. I’m only curious about my father. Even if he turned out to be a great guy, he’d never take your place in my heart.”

She returned the fierce hug, and his hand made sploshy sounds as he patted her back through her sopping wet clothes.

“I’m almost as wet as you are, now. We should both go change into dry things.”

“And afterward, I’ll go tend the horses. I could use the exercise.”

By the time Alora mucked out the stalls and put out hay for the horses, she’d worked out a lot of her anxiety. Nothing like hard work and fresh, cold, country air to clear her head. She wandered out to check on the chickens and then on impulse she decided to climb her favorite tree. It was a pine tree that had fallen over against another tree, but maintained enough root system to stay alive. So she could scale the huge slanted pole at an angle into the second tree and then scramble up to about thirty feet before the limbs became too flimsy. From this vantage, she could see for miles. She used to sit on the limb and pretend she was a queen, surveying her kingdom, while imagining all sorts of great adventures that would take place if she traveled farther than she could see.

After descending from her throne, she decided to relive another childhood game. The fresh snow had left a beautiful undisturbed white blanket, a perfect palette for making a snow angel. She jumped out and fell on her back, swishing her arms to the sides and her legs below her. Then she climbed up carefully and jumped back to her starting point to survey the results, but her bulky coat had mussed the form so that the impression in the snow was anything but angelic. Pulling off her gloves to quickly unbutton and slip off her coat, she leapt out again onto a fresh patch of snow. Focusing on the warmth of the sun on her face rather than the chill of the snow, she swept her arms and legs in the snow to make the classic angel form. She laughed as the fluffy dry snow around her head collapsed on her face.

She flinched when a shadow passed over her. She squinted up, and a cry of surprise slipped from her lips. Her eyes latched onto the boy, standing in the snow, watching her with obvious curiosity.

“Hello.” He spoke in a low tentative voice. “I’m Kaevin.”

“I’m Alora,” she replied, realizing too late she’d given her real name. But somehow, it seemed okay to share it with him. She stared, drinking in his image, storing it in her mind to retrieve after his inevitable departure. She felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach and resisted a sudden urge to giggle.

“Where are we?” asked Kaevin.

“We’re on my uncle’s ranch.” A shiver rippled through her as the snow began to melt and soak through her sweater.

“You must be cold. Would you like a hand up?” He reached down, offering his hand.

Moving slowly to ensure he didn’t somehow vanish, she stretched to take the proffered hand. When their fingers touched, a spark flew out between them, sending a shock down her arm. She pulled back reflexively. And he was gone.

*****

“Everyone step back,” shouted Graely, stepping into the fray. “He can’t answer all your questions at once. Give him an opportunity to tell the story.”

Kaevin was still a bit dazed from the shock of touching her. Someone handed him some water, and he drank it gratefully. Squeezing his eyes shut, he attempted to clarify the details in his mind.

“We were outside on the edge of a huge field. There were tall trees behind us.”

“What kind of trees?” asked Nordamen.

“I saw some kind of cone trees. And before you ask what was growing in the field... it was covered in snow, so I don’t know.”

“Snow? How cold was the air?” This question came from the weapons master.

“I don’t know. Well below freezing. The snow was dry and came halfway to my knees. And there was no sign of melting even though the sun was out.” He tried to suppress a smile. “She was lying in the snow—simply playing, I think.”

“With that much snow so early in the season,” remarked Morvaen, “she must be quite far to the north. Were there mountains nearby?”

“Possibly, but I didn’t notice. I was watching the girl.”

“Did she speak to you?” asked Raelene.

“She seemed really surprised to see me. I told her my name, and she told me hers.” He glanced about; everyone in the room appeared to be holding their breaths. “Alora.”

A rowdy discussion arose between the council members, but no one recognized the name.

“Go on. What else did she say?” asked Graely.

“I asked her where we were, and she said, ‘We’re on my uncle’s
ranch
.’ I don’t know what that word means. And then I offered her my hand to help her up. And when she touched my hand, it sparked. And it hurt a little, but then I was back here again.”

“Quick,” said Darielle, her eyes wide and bright with excitement. “Let me see if I can follow your link this time.” She placed her trembling hands on his forehead while everyone watched with wide eyes. The room was so quiet Kaevin could hear his heart beating in his ears. But her hands fell away as she sagged in defeat. “Nothing—still a wall. She must have a very powerful ward. Perhaps this uncle of hers has some strong powers.”

“Could it be because she’s so far away?” asked Graely. “She could be beyond the mountains with that much snow.”

“No,” Darielle replied. “Distance alone couldn’t cause a complete block like that. It must be some kind of ward, so I can’t see her. But we’d almost completed the drawing when Kaevin transported.” She handed it to Kaevin. “Do we have it now? Does this look like her?”

He stared at the picture, his heart warming at the sight. “Yes. This is her. This is Alora.” He liked the way her name sounded on his lips. When his father reached for the drawing, Kaevin found himself reluctant to let it go.

Taking it from Kaevin’s hands, Graely studied the graphite sketch. “Glare!” he exclaimed with wide eyes, handing the parchment to Raelene.

She gaped at the paper, which trembled in her hands. “It’s... it’s
Wendelle
.”

Graely retrieved the parchment, holding it high so the rest of the council could view it. All who were old enough to remember Wendelle agreed the girl looked much the same as Raelene’s daughter.

“Is it possible that she’s come back to life somehow?” asked Graely.

“But what about her eyes?” asked Kaevin. “Her eyes aren’t green. And she’s young—perhaps sixteen or seventeen.”

“Or fifteen,” croaked Raelene, dropping to a chair. “She must be fifteen. That’s the only explanation. Wendelle had a baby.”

Uproar arose between the council members. Graely’s hands were on his hips as his voice rose above the clamor.

“We have to find her. It’s even more important now. We must bring her home... to her grandmother.”

*****

Alora dreamed of Kaevin again. But Monday morning dawned, and the weekend was over. School and responsibilities intruded on her dreams and daydreams. Life as usual. Her uncle drove her to the bus stop. She hadn’t told him about seeing Kaevin outside in the snow, and it seemed too late to tell him now. Would she see a different man every time she got her hair wet? She chuckled.