Rain (The Quest Trilogy-Book Two) (3 page)

“Oh, yeah... I forgot about the ‘pool of knowledge.’” said Rain with a roll of his eyes, and then shot a quick look towards his Geeya to ensure that she hadn’t seen him do that. “So tell me more about this ‘pool of knowledge.’”

His Geeya shot him a sidewise glance but obliged nonetheless. And they continued on their way, stopping for lunch once the heat became unbearable.

Rain sat under the shade of a huge jackfruit tree and helped himself to some more items that he had stored away. He had with him about a week’s supply of food. After that, he would have to begin surviving on whatever the forest had to offer. But he was not overly worried about that. He knew how to hunt and it didn’t look like there was any dearth of things to eat in the forest.

Freed from the bonds placed on him at Mt. Chimpu, Rain would frequently practice the art of mastering control over his powers. He was rickety in the beginning, when it would straightaway start to pour heavily each time he wanted to make it rain. He started to put in lots of hours into practice until he could control the intensity of the rain. Soon, it rained gently when he wanted it to and at other times, poured so heavily that it was like standing under a waterfall. Afterwards, it neatly halted when he willed. Rain then moved on to practicing making it rain on specific spots but found it very difficult to stay focused long enough to get that right. He kept on at it though, certain it wouldn’t take him long to master this as well.

With each passing day, Rain found that he was getting more and more infatuated with his Geeya. He kept her around constantly, either engaged in conversation or just flitting about freely around trees. Wherever she was, he found he could not help staring at her and admiring the beauty that was on abundant display. One night, fifteen days into his arrival at Quniverse, the forest was shrouded in darkness due to the heavy cloud cover even though it was a full moon night. Rain was lying on his side, pretending to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the forest, but secretly admiring the form of his Geeya who was nearby, playing with a few fireflies. The night wore on and before long, the clouds cleared from the sky and the moonlight shone down through the gaps between trees. As it did, something strange seemed to come over his Geeya. She floated out from behind two trees, heading for the small patch of grass awash in pale white light. Her face was turned up to the moon and the minute she entered the light-filled patch, she began to glitter like a diamond under a spotlight. She closed her eyes as if in a trance and started to sway. Slowly at first, and then faster with each passing minute. She danced with abandon, moving to her own silent rhythm, unaware of anything or anyone else. Rain watched her in an almost trancelike state himself, as she flitted in and out of the moonlight, mesmerized by the fluidity of her motions and the grace with which she was dancing.  Any part of her that was touched by the moonlight would glitter like a diamond, adding to her fascinating appeal. That whole night, she danced. And Rain stayed awake, glued to her moving form, unable to drag his eyes away. Shortly before daybreak, her tempo increased into a heightened whirl until finally, she went down on her knees, fluttering her skirts about her and coming to a halt.

Rain rubbed his eyes and pinched himself lightly twice, not sure whether he had fallen asleep and dreamed the whole thing up.

“Wha … what was that?” he croaked through a throat that felt like it was coated with sand.

“That was the Geeya dance!” she explained, looking fresh and excited and not tired in the least. “Geeya love the full moon… and when a Geeya is happy, she sparkles. Dancing in the moonlight makes a Geeya very happy.”

Rain tried to sleep after that, but found it to be an impossible task. Eventually, he gave up. At breakfast, he decided that it was time to speak to her about the way he felt.

“Hey Geeya …,” he began, and she was instantly in front of him, waiting. “I was wondering … once a sequestor has successfully completed his Quest, what happens to his Geeya?”

“Our work here is done, and we leave.” she replied.

“Leave? Is that like a death?”

“It’s close.”

“Do you
have
to go? I mean, can’t you just stay with your sequestor?”

“No. It is the natural order of things. Death must come to all who live.”

“Where does a Geeya go after death?”

“Back to where we came from. We become a part of the clouds floating above earth. If you look carefully, you will see our faces as we float by.”

“Wow … how many clouds must be just Geeya.” he mused. “Would I be right if I guessed that to be the reason why many sequestors do not complete their Quests? On purpose, so that they can stay forever with their Geeya?”

She sat staring at her feet in silence for a while.

“Yes … and it would be very foolish of you to decide to do the same.” she said finally. Her eyes were unfocussed as though she was looking somewhere far away.

Rain froze. She knew! She knew where he was going with this.

“Why?” he hedged cautiously.

“Take this advice from me. Never make the mistake of falling in love with one who is not your kind. And I don’t mean this only as a Geeya. You will get nothing but sorrow from such a pursuit.”

“Don’t Geeya want to stay with their sequestor? Don’t they … get attached?” said Rain, unable to say the words ‘fall in love’. What he actually felt for her was obsession, but he could not disclose the depths of his feelings to her. Not when she obviously did not feel the same. But maybe, just maybe … she liked him a little bit in
that
way.

“Do you like me at all?”

“I like you very much, Rain.”

His face lit up. “Really? Does that mean that sometime in the future, maybe …”

“Geeya never get emotionally involved with their sequestor, Rain, if that is what you mean.” said his Geeya, killing the little spark of hope that was kindling in his chest.

“Never?”

“Never.” she repeated with finality in her tone.

He had been prepared for this, even expected this to be her response. Yet, he could not stop his heart from plummeting to his stomach when she explained about the way she felt for him- or rather- did not.

He sat there quietly, feeling awkward. Like a schoolboy whose romantic advances had just been thwarted. Slowly, he rose and hauled up his backpack.

“You’re right,” he nodded to her after traveling some distance, “love cannot be forced. If you feel it will be best for us to remain friendly companions, then I won’t spoil what I have by hankering after that which I cannot have.”

“That would be the wisest thing to do. For a Geeya never falls in love with her human companion.”

“Yeah, I got that the first time.” said Rain morosely and sighed.

He wanted to change the topic of conversation now, since there was nothing to be had here and he was not one to dwell on a lost cause.

“Where am I headed, anyway?” he asked her, effectively putting an end to their previous strain of conversation.

“In search of your destiny.” she replied.

There was a crack and Rain gave a disgusted groan. He had stepped on a snail again. He wiped his foot on a rock and proceeded more carefully, watching out for more of the slugs.

“What if I decide to stop right here and continue no further, then what?”

“Then, your destiny will find you. You cannot stop it. You can only accept it. It would be best though, to face it like a man rather than sit like a coward, waiting for it to surprise you.”

He gave a short laugh.

“No way is that going to happen. No destiny’s going to surprise Rain. Watch out destiny, I’m comin’ to getcha!” he warned the air around him.

He picked up his pace then and started to recite more wisdoms in the hope of hitting on the correct one by fluke.

*****

It was almost a month and a half into the forest for Rain and so far, nothing extra-ordinary had happened. Rain told himself to be patient but found himself rejecting his own pleas. By now he had accepted the way things were going to be between him and his Geeya. She was pleasant company and his source of sanity in this strange, lonely world and nothing more. But if he was honest with himself, this much was more than enough.

That same night, as he lay on the forest floor fingering his chain and wondering when something would happen, the chain began to glow. He sat up with a start.

“It’s glowing! Hey Geeya, its glowing!” he called. “What should I do now?” his asked, his pulse beginning to hammer.

“First, you calm down. And then, you wait.”

“I have to wait some more? Why!”

“Because you do. That’s why.” She said with a gentle shrug of her shoulders, making Rain’s excitement turn instantly into irritation. She sighed at the scowl on his face. “Soon, you will face the first of your mini-quests. Have patience.”

“How long do I have to wait?”

“There is no fixed amount of time.”

Rain’s face fell. What did she mean by no fixed amount of time? Would it start just suddenly? If it did, then how was he supposed to prepare for anything that way?

He fidgeted restlessly, knowing he would never be able to sleep as long his chain continued to glow. He looked at the calm figure of his Geeya floating about peacefully and gave a frustrated sigh. A second later, his chest began to compress with an invisible weight. The ground disappeared from underneath him and the air whooshed by his ears. The forest around him began to zoom away in a blur. Moments later, he landed somewhere with a soft thud, without any of his belongings.

Rain looked around for his Geeya, trying to adjust to the darkness surrounding him. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he saw that he had landed on top of a sloping mound which was more like a small hill, covered with grass. A street lamp some distance off was casting a dull glow, and he could see many trees surrounding the area.

Where was he? The compression in his chest had stopped but he was not able to breathe freely because of the stale smell pervading the air. There was something unnaturally eerie about this place. Was it the almost pitch-black darkness? The horrible stench? Or maybe the tomblike silence? He couldn’t put a finger on it.

“Geeya …” he called softly, “Geeya!”

No response.

He eyes searched the place. She should be easy to spot, glowing like a scarlet beacon as she was, but he could see her nowhere.

“Geeya …” he called again, starting to get panicky. He didn’t want to be alone. Not here. He remembered his Geeya mark then, and touched the spot on his right wrist.

She floated into existence and Rain almost sagged with relief.

“Where
were
you?! And where am I?” he demanded from her as soon as she made her appearance.

She looked at him with wide, almost fearful eyes. She was not wearing her usual serene smile. These two things combined made fear pound through Rain’s nerves.

“You are at the lair of Miti.” informed his Geeya.

He started to walk forward, his senses alert for any sign of life anywhere.

“Who’s that?” he asked, and was not surprised to find himself whispering.

His question was answered a second later, but not by his Geeya.

“Whooo goes there?” said a soft voice from somewhere in the darkness, but it was not a pleasant voice. It was grating on the skin, like being dragged over a rough, pebbled surface.

Rain peered into the empty void ahead of him, searching for the source of the voice. And then he saw it.

His hair stood on end as he watched a pale figure advancing madly towards him, crawling through the air like a spider would through its web.

“What is that?!” he asked his Geeya frantically.

“That is Miti, the spider girl. She is walking on her web. You disturbed it when you walked through it. That is how she knows you are here.”

“Walked through her web? Disturbed her?” Rain repeated, trying-and failing- to assimilate the information his Geeya was throwing at him while the hideous creature that his eyes were riveted to, advanced quickly upon him. “What the hell are you talking about?! And what am I supposed to do?” he cried, speaking fast.

“You are supposed to collect a wisdom from her.”

“How?”

“I am sorry, Rain. You will have to figure that out on your own. I cannot solve your Quest for you.”

No.effin.way. Rain swore softly under his breath.

Miti stopped a foot away from him, dangling in the air on invisible strings. He could see her quite clearly, even though the light was dim.

She had pale, almost translucent skin with a deathly pallor. Straggly black hair was pasted on her forehead and continued in long clumped strings up to her elbows. She was dressed in rags with thin, spindly hands and legs which were so impossibly long, Rain wondered how they were able to support the weight of her body without snapping into two.

“What is this? A human?” she cooed softly.

Rain said nothing. He was frozen to his spot, terrified.

“You have come at an opportune time. It is the mating season. First I will mate with you … and then … I will kill you.” she crowed delightedly, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. “Nothing against yooo, it’s just the way of things with … spiderssss.”

If she was trying to reassure him, she was failing miserably. It was only then, when he finally looked into her face that he noticed her pale face had no eyes; just skin pulled tightly over hollowed sockets. Rain recoiled mentally from every inch of her, but at the same time, his mind was also racing for possible solutions. Did this mean she couldn’t see him?

Rain finally found his quivering voice.

“You … you cannot mate with me …” he stammered.

“Why is that, human?”

“I … er … because I am a girl!” he said, improvising madly and raising the pitch of his voice to sound feminine. “Human girls have long hair. And so do I, see?” he said, snapping the thin band holding his pony in place.

In three lunges, she was behind him, running her bony fingers through his hair. He shivered with disgust at her touch, his hands and feet cold with fear. She came back to face him after finishing examining his hair.