Chasing the Prophecy (Beyonders) (124 page)

Brin showed her a pair of iron weights at the edge of the pool with loops of rope attached to them. “Just hold tight and you’ll sink like an anchor.”

Rachel smiled at everyone through her tears. “I’ll make sure your letter reaches your parents,” she promised Jason. “And those huge gems as well. I won’t mess up the photographs.”

“Good-bye, Rachel,” Jason replied.

Rachel checked the pair of nondescript satchels over her
shoulders. Brin had waterproofed them. She grabbed the ropes connected to the weights, then nodded at Brin. “Toss them in.”

Brin grabbed one weight; Jasher gripped the other. Both weights went into the pool, and Rachel went with them, letting their heaviness pull her forward and down. The water was shockingly cold, but she kept a tight grip on the ropes and sank rapidly. Rachel stared down into the darkness.

Farewell, Corinne,
she conveyed.

Farewell, Rachel.
The answer came faintly, as if from a mile away.

Rachel realized that if she let go of the weights, she could swim back up. Or had she already sunk too far? Would she drown in the attempt?

Can you still hear me?
Rachel conveyed with all her might.

She sensed no answer.

Rachel tried not to panic as she ran out of air. Jason had warned it would be like this. She kept hold of the ropes, but it began to feel as if she was rising instead of sinking. Or maybe moving sideways. It was hard to stay oriented in the total darkness. The water seemed to be getting thicker, and it bothered her eyes enough that she closed them. Her speed seemed to increase. She collided with a yielding barrier, and suddenly she was on her back in a moonlit cornfield, spitting soil from her mouth as she gasped warm air into her starved lungs.

The scene was just as Jason had described, except he had arrived during the day. How late was it?

All her belongings had made it through with her. Standing, she tried to brush mud from her soaked dress with little success. She spoke words to extract the moisture. The Edomic command felt dead in her mouth. The water did not respond. She tried several commands. They all tasted like gibberish.

She had known this would happen, but she had not been
prepared for the reality of Edomic feeling and performing like nonsense. It was as if the law of gravity had ceased to function. It was comparable to amputation or paralysis.

Slowing her breathing, Rachel fought the rising panic. What would she do without Edomic? She was stuck here. There was no sure way back! She thought of her parents, and her panic receded.

Turning in a circle, Rachel spotted a glow that suggested a farmhouse. Leaving the weights behind, she started walking.

Some of the lights were on in the house. Rachel opened the squeaky screen door and knocked. A middle-aged woman answered. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Rachel said. “I’m lost.”

Looking Rachel up and down, the woman placed a startled hand against her chest. “Another one? How can—never mind—you poor thing! You’re drenched! Come inside.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t tell me you lost your memory.”

Rachel realized that she had better play it up. “Actually . . . I’ve felt really confused lately. Everything has been . . . hazy . . . disconnected. What year is it?”

The woman told her. Rachel nodded vaguely. It had been more than three years since she had disappeared. Rachel felt relieved that it had been long enough to explain why she looked older. The oracle had not let her down. “Can I use your phone?” Rachel asked.

The woman led Rachel to a telephone. Rachel had not punched digits into a phone in roughly six years. The number had not faded from her memory. She called her home. Her mother answered. The sound of her voice left Rachel momentarily frozen. Then, with a fluttering stomach, Rachel explained who was calling. Her mom freaked out, but in a good way. Rachel held
the phone away from her ear during the worst of the shrieks and shouts. Soon her dad was on the line as well. Rachel could not resist her growing smile. Within the first thirty seconds their overflowing relief and joy made the decision worth it. Speaking with them made Lyrian recede. Within minutes she felt much more firmly home than she had upon her arrival in the cornfield.

While she talked, Rachel fingered her satchel. Inside was the note Jason had let her read. Once she had developed her photos and made sure the appropriate pictures and valuables were bundled with the message and delivered to his parents, her obligations to Lyrian would be officially concluded. She did not need to open the letter to recall the contents.

Dear Mom and Dad,

You probably think I was eaten by a hippopotamus. I did jump into the hippo tank at the zoo, as I’m sure witnesses have reported. But the hippo did not kill me. This sounds unbelievable, but the hippo was a magical gateway to a place called Lyrian. I realize that no evidence can prove something so seemingly ridiculous, but I have included some jewels and photos to help.

My problem is that there is no sure way for me to travel back and forth between our worlds. I could come home, but it would probably mean never returning to Lyrian. I have built a good life here. I’m one of the leaders of the most powerful kingdom in this world. I have many close friends and important responsibilities. Lots of people count on me. I have a future here. And so I am never coming home from Lyrian. Instead, I am sending this message as both explanation and apology.

This is probably the last you will ever hear from me. I don’t
expect another chance to send a message. Please don’t waste your energy looking for me. I am truly beyond your reach. I have risked my life many times to help save this land from a terrible threat. Several of my closest friends gave their lives. In the end we succeeded. As a result there is now so much potential here.

Please don’t worry about me. I miss you, but I am also very happy. The first time I went to Lyrian was by accident. It was what really happened when I vanished. The amnesia was a cover story. I was never content after returning. This second time I came to Lyrian on purpose, and I am staying voluntarily. This is where I belong now. I love you both. My only regret about being here is that I will never see you again. Everything else is better than I could have hoped for.

There is no need to let others know about my true fate. It would just make us all look crazy. But I wanted you to know. Use your best judgment on whether to tell any other family members. If you talk to them, tell them I love and miss them, too. Please take good care of Shadow.

You are wonderful parents. I appreciate all you have given me and all you have done for me. I’m sorry if my disappearance seems ungrateful. Please know that after everyone I have met here, and everything I have gone through, I never could have been satisfied in our world.

Sorry if I come across like a lunatic. Sorry if this note somehow makes my disappearance worse. I sent this with good intentions. I had to try.

All my love forever,

Jason

EPILOGUE

R
achel sat alone in an airy, striped tent. More than five years ago, the oracle of Mianamon had informed her of a certain day when she could return to her proper time. As was inevitable with such deadlines, that day had finally arrived.

She wore a nondescript dress of coarse gray fabric. It was not identifiable as coming from another world. Even soaked and dirty, it should hold up well.

A word spoken mentally brought a hand mirror across the room to her. Rachel tried to remember what she had looked like at age thirteen. Her eyes were the same, but her cheeks and chin were more sculpted. She was a couple of inches taller. Her parents would recognize her, but she was no longer their little girl. She would be nineteen soon.

A muttered word brought an empty glass to her hand. A casual phrase filled it with water from the air. As she drank, she wondered how she would feel to speak Edomic and get no response. It was hard to imagine. Edomic had become as natural as breathing.

During the past four months, Rachel had studied at the Celestine Library. She had made three other prolonged visits to
the library since the fall of Felrook. In that time she had mastered hundreds of new commands and read about thousands more. With tutoring from Farfalee, Rachel had learned to decipher the two most popular forms of Edomic shorthand that scribes had employed over the years.

Farfalee had been reborn with her left leg paralyzed. She was optimistic that her next rebirth from her new, undamaged seed would fully restore her. Farfalee had insisted that there was currently too much to learn and do for her to lose another three months in the ground. But Rachel felt certain that part of Farfalee’s reluctance came from worry about learning for sure whether the paralyzed leg would be part of life for the rest of her existence.

The charm woman and a handful of other adepts had joined them on the island jointly guarded by seedfolk, drinlings, and soldiers from Trensicourt. Rachel’s extended periods of study had scarcely provided time to scratch the surface of the knowledge stockpiled there.

When it came to Edomic, none of the others could begin to compete with Rachel. Elaine could help tutor her regarding charms, but most of the rest Rachel had learned through reading and experimentation. Her abilities had grown exponentially.

But would she need to verbally summon fire in a world where the twist of a knob would heat a stovetop? Would she require telepathic communication when she could dial up a friend on a cell phone? For personal defense she could always carry pepper spray. She would probably not need it in the pleasant community where her parents lived.

Jason stepped into the tent, dressed like a prince on an adventure. “You look very generic.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“Mind if I come in?”

“Of course not.”

“Aram just arrived. He brought his wife.”

“I haven’t seen her since the wedding!” Rachel said.

“We’ve missed you at Trensicourt.”

“I was there most of the time,” Rachel said. “It’s only been a few months. I couldn’t totally neglect the library. Farfalee would never have forgiven me. Besides, with my departure approaching, I wanted to make sure I learned all there was to know about getting in and out of Lyrian.”

“Aram is the last,” Jason said. “We’re all here.”

She nodded, setting down the mirror.

He was wrong. They were not all here. That was one of the big problems with Lyrian. It was full of ghosts. They had won the war, but at what cost? Chandra, Dorsio, Nia, Io, Nedwin. Tark. Drake. Ferrin. What good was saving the world if it meant losing your closest friends?

Rachel was grateful they had won. She was grateful for those who had survived. Nobody close to her had died since the day Felrook had been blasted into the stratosphere. Lyrian was free. Galloran had declined offers to become emperor, settling for restoring Trensicourt instead. But he could not prevent his legend from growing. Many kingdoms were rebuilding, and they all looked to him for advice and guidance.

The atmosphere in Lyrian had changed. For the first time in decades the future held real promise. The wizardborn were interacting with humans as never before. But Rachel suspected that for her, Lyrian would always feel haunted.

“You’re still okay with going?” Jason checked.

Rachel tried to smile. “What other choice is there? One of us has to stay; one has to go. After all the things Darian got right, we can’t really argue with him.”

“He’s much too dead for arguments,” Jason agreed. “You kind of want to go anyhow, right?”

Rachel knew that Jason needed that to be true. He was too nice of a person, and they were too close. If he felt like he had forced her to leave Lyrian so that he could stay, he might feel guilty for the rest of his life.

“I feel the same way I’ve felt for a long time,” Rachel said honestly. “I want my parents to know that I’m alive. I want to see them again. But I’ll miss a lot of things. I’ll miss all my friends here. I’ve grown used to Lyrian. It’s hard to picture living elsewhere.” She was worried about what her voice might sound like if she expressed her deepest concern. “I’ll miss Edomic.”