The Shards (28 page)

Stephanie gasped audibly as Esta spoke, and she blushed a deep crimson while Preston beamed from ear to ear.

“…found me in my time of need and rescued me from the clutches of a very evil woman and her cohorts. Had it not been for them, I would likely be a prisoner of the Dark Lord in Sedahar by now, held hostage in order to coerce my daughter, Filaree, to forsake the path she has been called upon to follow,” the Queen continued, as a great cheer arose from the populace gathered above them. “As you have been told, my dearest friend Marne, died in service to the crown. She gave to me willingly the most precious of gifts, the gift of life, by virtue of her sacrifice,” she related sadly. “Her name shall be inscribed into the Book of Heroes and henceforth her day of birth shall be commemorated by celebration throughout Avalain!”

Esta closed her eyes and bowed her head. She was silent for a moment, while everyone else around her held their breath until she began to speak again.

“Sir Parsifal was as stalwart as ever; a beacon of virtue and loyalty in my hour of darkness and want,” she said, and she stared directly at him. “Together, and with the help of a Lalas fast and true, we have returned to Avalain! Welcome them as you do me!” she proclaimed, and she included both Parsifal and the others in her gesture.

Trumpets blew and cheers rang out everywhere, so deafening in their volume that they would have undoubtedly drowned out anything else Esta could have wanted to say.

“I can hardly hear myself think!” Stephanie yelled into Preston’s ear.

“Neither can I, Steph. What an amazing way to come to Avalain!” Preston said.

“Who would ever have imagined?” Stephanie replied.

Tomas and Elion stood beside one another, but their expressions were more pensive than the situation seemed to dictate. Esta noticed them, as did both Preston and Stephanie a moment later. The Queen did not wish to cast a shadow upon the happiness of her people, so she did not acknowledge their concern openly. Rather, she walked to Tomas, grasped his hand in her own and squeezed it knowingly. She glanced at Prince Elion briefly but meaningfully, and then she urged them to follow her. Dipping her head down momentarily and feigning an abundance of emotion at the crowd’s enthusiasm, she whispered to them both so that no one else could hear, “Need I be concerned too?”

“It is best that we enter the city as quickly as possible, your Highness,” Tomas said in a calm and steady voice.

“Ah, yes,” she replied at once. “I understand.”

Esta handed the reins of her horse to an attendant and then she beckoned to the others to do the same. She swept her cape behind her regally, maintaining her composure all the while, and raised her head high into the air. The crowds continued to cheer and cheer, and she refused to do anything to limit their delectation. Slowly and steadily, without a hint of concern marring her beautiful features, she led her friends through the broad gates of Avalain.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Will you come to his aid?

No
, he answered, no hint of emotion in his tone.

What will become of them?

The fabric weaves of its own will. We must wait and see.

We have intervened before. Why not now? The Dark One seeks the map, yet he strays.

Yes, he strays
, he replied, dismayed.
And I grow weary.

Your Chosen is vulnerable and yet you will not assist him?

I cannot. Some sacrifice is necessary if our goal is to be reached. It is greater than the parts,
he related coldly.
We must exert our influence where we are sure to have the most impact.

A difficult decision. Has the other the shards still?

Yes, though there will yet be more that must be gathered
, he said sadly.
He does not yet have the eleventh.

I cannot sense it. My reach has been limited. Who will retrieve that now?

That is uncertain
, he replied and then paused before continuing.
The sapling thrives outside of the circle.

Will it choose?

In time perhaps. In time.

Chapter Thirty

“What shall we do, my Lord? If the crowds continue to grow, it will be difficult to maintain an orderly viewing,” Grogan said, wringing his hands.

“It is not for us to limit access to the tree. Just the sight of it brings hope to all who visit. We are no more than its steward now,” Baladar replied soothingly. “Perhaps it will choose soon. Then its bond-mate will instruct us.”

The Lalas, the seed of which Tomas planted before he and his friends departed Pardatha, was thriving in the fertile soil beside the River of Tears. It was so beautiful that it humbled anyone and everyone who gazed upon it. No longer small, it towered over the bushes and shrubs that grew in its vicinity, and it dwarfed nature’s boldest attempts at competition. Lush, silver-green foliage dominated the branches. Beautiful, platter shaped leaves, intricately veined and paper thin, graceful beyond measure, bowed and fluttered in the wind, and responded to even the slightest of breezes. The gusts rippled through them creating waves of motion up and down the delicate offshoots. The bark of the trunk resembled finely tooled silver, darker at its thick base and lighter and more burnished as it reached out over the branches, until it was almost translucent by the time it terminated in a myriad of web-like tendrils that hung so exquisitely from the tips. It illuminated the entire area within which it grew whether the sun shone upon it or not, and it radiated an inner light that was both remarkably beautiful to gaze upon as well as profoundly comforting to bask in.

“They come from everywhere, my Lord,” Grogan said while staring out of the large, leaded windows at the throngs assembled on the plain below. They wore the colors and carried the banners of every village, town and city across the land.

“As they should. As they should,” he replied, and he nodded his head in acknowledgment. “They will respect the tree.”

“But will they respect one another, my Lord? When it was just the citizens of Pardatha, I was more confident. But now, they arrive from all comers of the earth,” he replied. “I can no longer vouch for their behavior.”

“We cannot impose rules here, Grogan, providing no threat exists for the city itself. The tree will make its own in time. I understand your concern, but you must have faith. You need not fear for the Lalas,” he replied convincingly. “It is a great privilege for us to be able to see it each morning when we wake and each evening when we retire. Everyone else who so desires must have this opportunity as well.”

“I would be remiss in my duties, my Lord, if I did not assure those who come here a safe viewing,” Grogan said.

Baladar shrugged. “Very well then. You are correct of course. You may station guards around the tree, but make sure that they are inconspicuous, and that they do not impose upon the crowds,” he agreed, though reluctantly. “Until it chooses, all are free to congregate around it. I hope the presence of our militia will provide a sufficient incentive for them to remain civil.”

“It is so beautiful, my Lord,” Grogan said wide-eyed, staring out through the glass once again. “I cannot imagine it causing anything but happiness in any who are near it.”

“Indeed,” he agreed. “Would that the others could see it now. Surely their hearts would fill with joy at the sight,” he said with a faraway look in his eyes. “Now you must go,” Baladar said, as he regained his concentration. “Advise your men of our decision.”

“Yes, my Lord. At once,” he replied. He saluted crisply and left the chamber.

Baladar stood there for a moment and watched his trusted friend walk down the wide hallway. He listened as the clicking sound of his boot heels upon the stone floor faded into the distance. Soon, there was nothing but silence to be heard, and he walked back into the room, slowly pushed the heavy door closed, and then he carefully and fastidiously set the seals. He sat down at the large, wooden table that dominated the center of the room and leaned heavily into the cushions of the high-backed chair.

The sun streamed through the tall, leaded glass windows that formed the easternmost wall of the chamber and ran almost entirely from the ceiling to the floor. It illuminated the intricacies within the noban planks from which the massive table had been hewn so many tiels ago. Baladar ran his fingers over the natural designs in the wood, but his mind was elsewhere.

“Tis a new dawn
, he thought to himself.
Why is it that I feel so melancholy? The tree thrives, but still there is no news of the twins. Oh Briland! I miss you today
, he reflected on his beloved wife whose memory was never totally gone from his consciousness.
How you would have adored this tree.

He fidgeted with the heavy gold ring that he wore upon his index finger, twisting it around and around. It was totally silent within the room, and he was suddenly so tired that he practically dozed off to sleep for a moment.

What harm could it do if I rested briefly
, he thought to himself.
It seems these days that there is little more for me to do than greet visitors and maintain civil order. The difficult tasks have been assumed by others, and I do not even know where they are anymore.

He closed his eyes and slid the ring back upon his finger so that he would not drop it in the event that he did fall asleep.

Curious
, he mused.
My ring is warm. Far warmer than usual.

He pulled it off and laid it on the wood before him. There was no mistaking it; it glowed ever so slightly!

There is surely meaning to this! It has been dormant since the boy left
, he recalled Tomas’ departure along with the others.
And now it has come to life once again! Just what I have been hoping for
, he thought, shrugging off his former drowsiness as if it had never existed.

His excitement mounted as he reached for the small, suede pouch that hung from the inside waistband of his tunic. He untied the braided cord and loosened it as quickly as he could, and then he spilled the contents upon the table. A handful of gems of various and disparate colors glinted and glittered as they rolled in different directions until they each came to rest within a few inches of one another. He reached for the ruby one first and placed it to the right and toward the back of the large ring. He then picked up the sapphire stone and placed that one at the back left comer. Next, he slid the green one to the near right comer, and finally, he carefully picked up the black stone and completed the square by placing it on the left in the front.

Immediately, the ring began to glow more brightly and the rune engraved upon it began to expand off of its surface and take shape in the air above it. Thin tendrils of white light inched their way from the now suspended image to the stones, and as each ribbon of light touched a colored stone, the gem burst forth with its own vivid color, sending it back up the thread of light and to the ring in four rapid and intense explosions. The ring was now hovering high above the table, enmeshed in a web of multicolored rays that spun and wove themselves together around it in intricate and delicate geometric patterns. As the movements gained speed, the colors merged and blended, and they began to spin in harmony with one another, where at first they appeared independent and apart. They moved so quickly that Baladar had to fight so as not to become completely mesmerized by the motion.

So I am to be drawn back into the weave after all
, he thought with no small amount of excitement. Not since he had called the boy’s teachers to Pardatha and he had cast the spells of protection upon the unconscious heir had the gems reacted so.

Baladar watched closely as the images formed in the air before him. First, a tree appeared. It resembled the young one on the banks of the River of Tears below, but it was distinctly different. It was much larger and older. Its image was as sharp and defined as if he was standing right before it.

An ancestor perhaps, or a glimpse of the future
, he speculated as he looked for identifying signs.

The area around it did not look at all familiar to him. He could not see any water in the vicinity, and the trees surrounding the Lalas looked like miniatures in comparison. Then he realized that they were not small at all, but that the other was just so incredibly large! It dwarfed everything nearby. Before he could focus more closely upon it, the image grew blurred and changed.

A city came into focus with towers and spires that rose high into the air, piercing the clouds as they ascended. The stone of the buildings was dark, yet it was quite beautiful to look upon. It too was unfamiliar to him in appearance, but there were flags flying from the tops and he tried desperately to bring them into focus. He saw a black gryphon on an emerald green background on one banner, and then he saw a bolt of white lightening splayed across a dark blue field on another. Others were flying as well beside these two, but each of the images upon them was as unknown to him as the next. His gaze was drawn to the walls and beyond, where he saw thousands upon thousands of people surrounding them in all directions. He was elated by the vision and he felt light and carefree.

He lurched forward in the chair, suddenly staring at dark swirls of smoke rising in thick spirals from a burning ruin as the figures changed once again. All that remained was a charred mass of rubble and thousands of dead and dying bodies strewn everywhere. Weapons lay broken upon the ground and he could hear the sounds of people crying though he could not find them in the devastation. He opened his mouth to scream someone’s name, but no sound ushered forth because he could not recall the name he wished to shout. He watched in sadness as he visually scanned the battlefield, hoping desperately to find the person he sought, though frightfully worried that he had come to some terrible harm and that he would never see him again. Still all the while, he did not know whom he searched for. A cloud of dust rose from the ground, obscuring everything completely, and he fanned the air with his hands in an effort to clear it so that he could continue his hunt.

Once he regained his focus he was looking at a completely different picture than the one he had been viewing only moments before. A piece of paper or parchment was fluttering back and forth in the still air as it slowly descended toward the darkness below. Hulking buildings framed the area, but they were lifeless and in disrepair. Baladar felt great trepidation once again and he wanted to reach out and grab the object before it was lost forever. He could see the glow of many eyes looking on from above and they were motionless and seemed unaffected by the loss. He wanted to warn them, to tell them to save the thing that they calmly watched fall, but he could not. His heart stopped beating as the paper floated silently down, and he had a compelling and unremitting urge to cry.

Mist obscured everything as the images shifted once again. He watched intently trying to peer through it and straining his eyes in the process, hoping for it to lift so that he could see what lay hidden within its billowing thickness. A chill ran over his body and then a feeling of foreboding engulfed him, taking the place of the sadness and sorrow that had previously consumed him. He stared intently despite feeling a strong impulse to avert his eyes. Like a child looking through spread fingers at a grisly scene, he watched as a figure formed in the fog.

A man shrouded in black from head to foot was standing with his back toward him, and Baladar immediately felt a wave of nausea wash over him. Fighting the compulsion to wretch, he kept watching. He could not see the person’s face, but he stared as he raised his arm and reached out for something in front of him. The figure grabbed for what Baladar feared was the parchment, but instead he now clutched in his gloved hand what looked like a branch of a tree. He drew it toward him as he bent down upon one knee.

Suddenly, another figure came into focus beside this other, horribly ominous one. The second one was smaller in stature than the first, and Baladar smiled involuntarily at its appearance. It too was clothed from head to toe in a garment that obscured any identifying features from him, but just seeing it before him generated a feeling of buoyancy and well-being. It too reached out and took hold of a branch from what he could now clearly see was a tree looming in front of him, and this figure too bent down upon one knee before it. He heard chanting and humming everywhere as if some kind of ceremony was taking place. Each of the figures lifted his free hand to his forehead and was about to pull the hood back and reveal himself, when the tree’s branches spread out over them, and partially concealed them from Baladar’s view. Just before the second figure disappeared completely behind the veil of leaves, his fingers clenched the fabric that covered him and he slipped it from his head.

“Davmiran!” he gasped aloud as he saw the boy’s blonde hair fall out from the folds of his cape.

The boy turned to face him an instant before the darkness of the foliage overtook him, and the last thing that Baladar saw was Tomas’ green eyes, swollen with tears, as they stared back at him. His young face was anguished and stricken with sorrow. A loud cracking noise immediately ensued, and the branches upon which the thick foliage hung crumbled to powder all over the kneeling boy, blanketing him and concealing him from Baladar’s view.

He had no time to think or to react. A brilliant white light blinded him from somewhere behind the massive trunk of the tree, and he was forced to cover his own eyes in response. The crackling sound grew louder and louder, assaulting his ears as well. It sounded as if the whole world was coming down around him. A pounding noise like the beating of a very loud drum distinguished itself amidst the cacophony of sounds, and then he heard voices shouting desperately. They were familiar and he cocked his head sideways to listen more closely. He could see nothing now as his eyes were completely besotted by the intensity of the light, but he craned his head in an effort to understand.

The hammering grew louder and more defined, and the noises gradually became more intelligible. He rubbed his eyes and his vision began to slowly clear. The room started to take shape before him once again, and he could see his ring lying beside the gems which were glinting in the sunlight that streamed in from the windows.