Salene's Secrets (36 page)

“Jinjie do be not worried on that.”

“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“Not do be mind at all.”

“It’s important for Clan Jasani to shift, preferably once a day, though they can go weeks if necessary.  But when they do shift into their alter forms, they can’t remain in them for too long.  If they try, the shift will eventually take place automatically.”

“Jinjie do be wondering on that,” he said.  “Again Jotunn do be opposites.  When not on Jotunn,
tiklee
is hard to stay in long.  Too long, must change or die.”

“How long is too long?”

“Do be matter which world,” Jinjie replied.  “This world, short time.  Hour, maybe two.  Jasan do be better.  Two days, maybe three.  Me do be thinking if do be on Jasan long time, and magic do be get strong, could be longer.”

“Does it bother you that you can’t stay in your
tiklee
form?”

“No,” Jinjie replied with a smile.  “Me do be only twenty of your years when Doftles do be taking from den.  Do be not knowing other way.”

“Twenty?  That’s nearly my age.  Does the word
cub
have a different meaning for you?”

“No, Jotunn do be growing slow.  Still do be young child cub when do be took away.  Like Mali.”

“I’m sorry you were taken from your family so young, Jinjie,” Salene said.  “Do you have any way of knowing where other Jotunns might be?”

“No,” Jinjie said, shaking his head.  “High Prince Garen do be telling of one Jotunn centuries past, but he do be not knowing where now.  Clan Council do be searching.”  He looked at Salene, his round eyes serious.  “Clan Jasani do be best people Jinjie do be know.  Me do be liking Jasan.”

“I’m really happy about that, Jinjie,” Salene said.  “Maybe one day a world will be found that is enough like Jotunn for you to be in your natural form as long as you want.”

“Maybe,” Jinjie said, though he didn’t seem in the least bit worried about it.

“Would it be too selfish of me to say that I hope that time is in the distant future?”

“Yes, do be very selfish,” Jinjie said with mock seriousness.  “Jinjie do being selfish, too.” 

***

By noon everyone was exhausted from the effort of walking in deep snow, and more than ready for a break and some food.  Salene was surprised to find that the Gryphons had fresh sandwiches for everyone, and a large raw steak for Tonka.  Salene smiled to see Tonka’s surprised pleasure, which paled compared to the children’s reactions.  They’d never had a sandwich before, or cheese, or ham, and they enjoyed them a great deal.  Salene shared hers with Jinjie and kept her eyes on the sky just as Talus, Jon, Kar, Tonka, and Jinjie were doing.

After lunch Talus took up the rear position, so Salene dropped back to walk beside him.  “What’s troubling you,
Zerura
?” he asked after a few minutes.

“What makes you think anything is troubling me?”

“That little line between your eyebrows,” he said, reaching over to touch the spot lightly with one fingertip.  His eyes went to the red stone on her forehead, which reminded him that he wanted to ask her about it, but now wasn’t the time for that.

“I’m not a healer, Talus, you know that.”

“Yes, I know,” he agreed.  “What you did wasn’t healing.”

“You said I shared my life force, but I’ve never heard of such a thing before.”

“I assume you and your sisters studied the history of the
Klanaren
while growing up.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Did you ever hear the legend of a woman called Elka?”

Salene thought a moment, then shook her head.  “It isn’t familiar, but I’m bad with remembering things like names and dates.”

“It’s a fairly obscure story that took place long before the Dark Time,” Talus said.  “I’m not surprised you’ve never heard it, just thought I’d ask.”

“Who was she?”

“Elka was a woman born to Clan Dracon who remained unmated throughout her life when those meant to be her Rami perished at a young age.  One day, when she and her sisters were about sixteen, they went into the woods near their home for a picnic.  There was an accident and one of her sisters was seriously injured, but help was too far away to reach them in time to save her, and they all knew it.  In a desperate attempt to save her sister’s life, Elka somehow managed to share her life force with her.  The sister was completely healed of her injuries, and went on to live a long and happy life with her Rami.”

“How did sharing her life force heal her sister?”

“Good question,” Talus said.  “Unfortunately, no one knows the answer.  By all accounts Elka was no different from any other Clan Jasani female.  She could not wield magic, nor did she have a psychic ability, something which was extremely rare in that time as you probably know.”  Salene nodded.  “The Clan Council examined Elka and her sister very carefully, as did the most talented Healers of the time.  They weren’t surprised to find that neither girl had a talent for healing, though they tested each of them extensively for it.  They were stunned, however, to discover that Elka’s life force, and that of her sister, were identical.  It wasn’t a result of their being sisters, either, as the third sister’s life force was distinctly different.”

“And such a thing had never occurred before?” Salene asked, frowning.

“Not that anyone was aware of, though of course it’s possible that it was done and no one knew of it.” 

“Was it just a fluke?”

“
Fluke
?” Talus asked.

“A freak accident brought on by unknown reasons.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Talus replied.  “Elka saved the lives of about fifty other people before her untimely death when she was in her mid-thirties.  She never could explain what she did, or how she did it.  She said only that she placed her hands on a person and focused her energies on them, and it happened.”

“That’s what I did,” Salene said, nodding.  “Something inside of me just knew that I could help and what I needed to do.  But women do not wield magic, and my psychic ability is for sensing the location of people I care about which I don’t even have now with the power bond.”

“No?” Talus asked in surprise.

“No,” Salene replied.  “It’ll return when the power bond is broken, but it’s never been a very strong talent.  I don’t understand how it’s even possible to share one’s life force with another.”

“And yet you saved Mali and Tab.”

“Maybe I used Wolef’s magic through the power bond without realizing it,” she suggested.  “You were watching, right?”

“Yes, we all watched.”

“Did you notice anything different about me while I was doing it?”

“Such as?”

“Just anything,” Salene said, dropping her eyes.  She knew she had to tell them about the stone, and soon, but she wanted to do it when they were all together. 

“No,” Talus replied.  “You were very intent, and very focused, but that’s all.”

Salene nodded.  She didn’t know why, but she was relieved that she hadn’t used Wolef’s power to save the children.  “What was it that made you think I’d shared my life force with the children the way Elka did?”

“Even though we’re not yet linked, we feel you, Salene.  Your life force, your energy, whatever it is that makes you distinctly
you
, we feel it as clearly as I see you right now.  The day the Controllers told you that we didn’t want to link with you and you severed our bond, we felt that.  We
felt
the severing, Salene.  It was painful in a way that cannot be described.”  Talus paused for a moment, his composure slipping at the memory.  After a moment he continued.

“This morning when the four of us touched each other again and our bond reformed it was,” Talus paused, searching for a way to explain.  “Imagine you’re swimming underwater, and you’re holding your breath but you know you can’t hold it much longer, so you start swimming frantically for the surface.  That moment when you break the surface and open your mouth to suck in air, that sense of profound relief you get as your lungs fill, that’s how we felt this morning when our bond reformed.”

“I’m so sorry, Talus.”

“No,
Zerura
,” he said.  “Do not be sorry.  We were grateful that you chose to sever our bond rather than permanently denounce us.  We understood the favor you did us, and we know you did it to protect us even though you didn’t know we had Controllers at the time.  We were grateful to you, and relieved to know that you wouldn’t be close enough to us, to the
Controllers
, for them to hurt you further.”

Salene didn’t want to think about that any more, so she returned to the main subject.  “What does your ability to feel me have to do with Mali and Tab?”

“We felt your life force enter them.  It was so clear to us that we could almost see it happen.  You’re a part of them now, Salene.  We feel it.  I suspect it’s much like what parents feel for their children, though perhaps stronger since it’s your life force we feel inside of them.”

“Will they always have only my life force or will they regain their own?”

“I suspect that, in time, it will become their own, but there’s no way to know for certain.  Does it matter?”

“No, as long as they are alive and well, it doesn’t matter to me at all,” she said.  “I never really understood Rayne’s deep need to have children before.  Maybe she always knew what it would be like, somehow.”

“You didn’t want children?” Talus asked, frowning.

“Oh, I wanted them, and I always knew I’d have them one day,” she said, and he relaxed.  “I just never imagined it could feel like this.  I loved them the moment I saw them, though it took me a little while to accept it.  One moment I’d never laid eyes on them, and the next moment they owned a place in my heart for all time.”

“Yes, I know what you mean,” he said, his eyes on Tab. 

“You do?”  He nodded.  “Did you feel that way when you first saw them, like I did?”

“No, it was different for us,” Talus admitted.  “To be honest, the first time we saw them we barely noticed them.  We were a little distracted by you and Tonka at the time.  When Wolef appeared so suddenly and we saw you holding Mali and Tab, we understood how strong your feelings were for them, and we paid more attention.  That’s why we made the oath to care for them always.”  He clenched his jaw tightly for a long moment before continuing. 

“It wasn’t until we saw that hybrid flying away with them that we realized our promise to care for them as our own came from a deeper place within us than we’d thought at the time.  Next to the Controllers breaking faith with you, it was the most terrifying moment of our lives.”

“They were meant to be our children, weren’t they?”

“You’ve known them for less than two days, we’ve known them less than one day, and yet we all feel so strongly about them already that yes, I believe that they were meant to be our children.  It’s the only explanation that fits.”  He laughed softly.  “A few short days ago we despaired of ever seeing you again.  First because of the Controllers taking us away, and then when we couldn’t find your life pod.  But here we are, the four of us together, with the bonus of two beautiful children.  We’re so damn lucky, Salene.”

“We certainly are,” she agreed.  “I do have one more question though.”

“Only one?” Talus asked, arching a brow at her.

“For the moment, yes,” she replied, smiling up at him.  “You said Elka’s story is obscure.  So why is it that you know it so well?”

“Because Elka’s sister, Junia, the one she saved from certain death that long ago day, is our ancestress,” Talus replied.  “We can trace our blood line directly back to her.  Of course, you have to go back a number of pages to find her name in our family tree, but it’s there.”  Salene laughed, a soft, warm sound that made all who heard it smile.  Except Tonka, who wagged his tail instead. 

“I know Gryphons like to keep exhaustive records of every single thing that happens to them, but I can’t even begin to imagine how long your family tree must be.”

“Let’s just say I doubt you could lift it,” Talus said, glancing back to the children with a grin.  “And, if Tab and Mali agree, it’ll soon be a bit longer.”

***

It was mid-afternoon when Salene noticed a storm gathering in the sky behind them.  “We’re going to need shelter before that storm hits,” she said to Tonka when she stopped him so she could put the childrens’ hoods up.  “If you don’t know of any caves nearby, we should stop soon so we can pitch tents under cover of these trees.”

“There’s a cave not far from here,”
Tonka replied. 
“It’s not as good as the other caves, but it’s big, has a turning after the entrance that blocks the wind, and it’s close enough for us to reach before the storm hits.”

“Sounds like paradise,” Salene said.  “Is there a stack of firewood in that cave, too?”

“There may be some, but if so it will all be dry,”
Tonka said. 
“It’s been many weeks since I was in it.”

“We shouldn’t have too much trouble gathering wood around here,” Salene said, glancing up at the trees that had towered over them all day.