The Tessellation Saga. Book Two. 'The One' (35 page)

‘D’yer remember
the time when we went off fishing on our own an’ left May at home?’
Jed asked his friend as they sat down on the soft grass, a smile
playing around the corners of his tired face; sleep had eluded him
for the last few nights, so much so that Lemba had spoken to Mayan
about it and dearly wished she had kept a few of her sisters
herbs.

‘Do
You
remember?’ Gideon replied, with a stern look, imitating Thaddrick
and the annoying way he had.

‘Ner ner ner
ner ner,’ Jed sang the schoolboy song and both boys burst into
unexpected laughter, easing the tension that had been building all
morning.

‘What am I
gonna do Jed?’ Gideon asked as they relaxed on the bank. He looked
up at the cloudless blue sky and squinted against the suns
glare.

‘Jus’ think,
it’s still winter at ‘ome,’ Jed replied, revelling in the warmth
and knowing his friend didn’t expect an answer.

‘Hey, come
swim,’ called Jonus their little friend from the previous evening
as he swam up past them splashing them from the silver water.

‘C’mon,’
grinned Jed, as he began to remove his clothing, before long, he
was nearly naked and had thrown himself into the icy cold water.
Gideon smiled as he watched the pair splashing about and at last
agreed to join them. In his haste to undress he tried to take his
leggings off over his shoes so there was no surprise when they got
stuck and he was left hopping semi-naked around on the bank as he
tried to extricate himself from his unruly clothing. Finally and
with much laughter coming from the water, he managed it and threw
himself headlong into the cold depths to join his friend and
Jonus.

A while later,
exhausted, the two young men and Jonus clambered out of the river
and fell onto the grass laughing. Jonus looked at them both
inquisitively.

‘Which of you
is the one’?’ He asked conversationally.

‘What is the
one, what’s ‘e s’posed ter do?’ Gideon replied, quietly watching
Jonus from beneath his lashes.

‘Thaddrick
says, when he comes, we can go home once more,’ Jonus answered, his
persona still that of a young boy but with a depth of character in
his eyes that had not been apparent before.

‘What d’yer
mean?’ Jed asked, puzzled.

‘We’re held
here, when the colony split, we came here for our safety, Thaddrick
is the only one who moves around in the outside world and we wait
for the one who will save us and both our worlds.’ Jonus answered,
grinning once more like the child he was.

‘It’s not so
bad, when Thaddrick is not here we kind of sleep,’ he added as
Gideon looked on open mouthed. ‘Actually we sleep a lot,’ he added
wryly.

‘What d’yer
mean, save the worlds?’ Jed asked, looking meaningfully at
Gideon.

‘Jonus…’ his
mother called from the roadway, Gideon looked over at the young
woman who did not look much older than he was himself.

‘The gateway
needs to be closed,’ said Jonus jumping to his feet to answer his
mother’s call, ‘but Thaddrick says it has to be closed from the
Arotian side as it was opened from there. There’s a hole, like a
leak, and life, the life from both our planets is seeping into the
void; it’s slowly killing both our worlds. Thaddrick believes there
must be an area like the Bleak on Arotia too. That’s why the Bleak
keeps expanding, because the life is being sucked out. Didn’t you
know?’ Said Jonas grinning, he turned toward his mother and ran to
her call across the grassland only stopping briefly to turn and
wave.

‘So that’s what
I’m supposed to do, what I was born for, ter save the world.’
Gideon began to grin insanely, ‘no,’ he corrected himself, ‘I’m
supposed ter save two worlds.’

Jed looked at
his friend, slightly cold and still damp from their impromptu swim.
Unnoticed by Gideon his speech had begun to change just the way
Jed’s own had when he had joined the army.
We’re both becoming
something different,
he thought and mentally shook himself. He
opened his hand and ran his finger along the old palm scar.
We’re still brothers,
he reminded himself fiercely.

‘Hey bro,’ he
said, smiling at Gideon, ‘we’ll save the worlds together jus’ like
we planned when we were kids, Jed the Dark and his trusty side
kick,’ he said standing up and flexing his muscles, pretending to
be the hero of their childhood. As he laughed at himself, Gideon
joined in and also stood, pushing Jed out of the way and racing for
the water once more, screaming as he went, still laughing, Jed ran
quickly after him.

The young men
swam and played like children pulling and pushing, ducking each
other under the clear water and swimming for the bottom, they
played hard trying to forget who they were and that they were no
longer children.

Eventually,
tired of the games Jed swam lazily for the shoreline leaving Gideon
floating on his back his ears covered by the cold water, floating
in his own silent world with the crystal clear depths below him and
the warm sun above. There he began to think more deeply on how his
life had changed, from a woodsman’s son, which was all he had ever
wanted to be, to a King’s son, with a line of magicians behind him
as far as he could imagine. Magic
blood, all it’s done so far is
kill,
he thought, thinking of the deaths of the soldiers he’d
killed when Toby had raped Mayan
. If I’m supposed ter be this
saviour of worlds aren’t I supposed ter think like one, shouldn’t I
know what to do?
He asked himself.

‘You ok Gid?’
Jed called from the riverbank as he pulled his discarded clothes
toward him.

‘Yer, I’ve ‘ad
enough now.’ Gideon replied as he swam slowly over to join his
friend. From the water he watched as Jed dressed, his stomach
rippled with muscle and his arms bulged, he looked toned and strong
all over. Reaching the shore himself, he climbed onto the grassy
bank and sat drying in the sunlight subconsciously comparing
himself to Jed. He was as fair as Jed was dark and his arms were
almost, if not as full as his friends were, years of working in the
forest had given him his father’s strong, manly physique and he had
slight blonde hairs on his chest and full thick thighs just as Jed
did.

‘Jed, when did
we grow up…?’ He asked, as he realised he had up until now played
at being a man. His father had always told him that being a man
held responsibilities; he had thought that meant taking care of
Mayan and the forest, settling down and having a family. Pulling
his trews up over his legs and under his rear and with his shirt
loose he sat looking toward the water his elbows on his knees and
his toes entwined in the lush green grass.

‘Jed, from a
tactical point o’ view, as a soldier I mean, what should we do…,
what should I do?’ He said quietly as a silver fish jumped up out
of the water to catch a long legged fly hovering just above the
surface film and looking for a good place to lay its eggs. The sun
caught the fish reflecting the silver scales and lighting it up for
a brief moment before it fell back into the cold water with a
gentle splash.

‘The question
was right first time bro, what are
we
gonna do?’ Jed replied
as he sat down beside his friend.

Once more
Gideon lay back on the grass and stared at the sky; soft willowy
white clouds were forming as he closed his eyes and drifted off to
sleep. Jed lay back beside him; he could feel the worry emanating
from his friend and he knew he had added to that worry, he had
caused his best friend, his brother, pain, with his heart heavy
with guilt and sorrow he also closed his eyes.

As Gideon slept
his head swirled with emotion and his heart felt heavy,
no, it
isn’t me ‘eart it’s me chest an’ the amulet,
he thought as his
dreams continued. He saw himself struggling in the water; the
weight of the pendant dragging him under, the world began to turn
black as he struggled to breath, deeper and deeper he dropped into
the murky depths. Strange creatures swam toward him with evil in
their eyes and soft cold tentacles brushed against his skin. He
could not feel the fleshy arms as they stroked and caressed his
body but the stinging pain they left behind made him open his mouth
to the viscous fluid he was sinking into. The thick, sticky water
flowed into his lungs and the creatures backed off just watching as
he struggled, they seemed to be waiting for death to claim him, no,
they waited for his soul. Struggling against the weight of the
amulet, he knew he was indeed dying.

Suddenly the
weight lessened, and the world began to turn bright once more. He
could no longer feel the pain from the stings and the pain in his
chest also began to fade, he felt the water turn from sticky, thick
claws pulling him down ever deeper, to light silky caressing
fingers easing his hurts and soothing his mind. In his dream, he
thought he was dead.
Me Journey is beginning…,
he mused as
the silky water left his body and the amulet around his neck
stopped pulling him under.

A tinkling
laugh interrupted his thoughts.

‘
My
Journey…not me Journey,’
Gideon opened his eyes and realised he
had slipped into the ether, he looked on the girl he had seen once
before as she took his hand lovingly. She was wearing the same
clothes she had worn previously, white and blue robes that seemed
to float as she moved, her golden hair long and thick, the colour
of Gideon’s own and eyes, also as blue as his own smiled back at
him.

‘
Even bein’
dead don’t stop folk from correctin’, sorry, correcting me,’ he
grinned at her.

‘
Gideon, you
are not dead, you are just sleeping, look,’
she smiled as
Gideon continued to stare at her.
‘Look,’
she said again,
turning his face with her pale cool hand.

‘
Should I
know yer, er… you?’
Gideon asked with a grin as he corrected
himself again.

Again, the girl
smiled and pointed, Gideon sighed and turned his head in the
direction she indicated. He could see his body and that of Jed’s,
both fast asleep on the green grass with the silver river rushing
by.

‘
Jed looks
uncomfortable,’
Gideon said as he watched his friend tossing
and turning his brow creased in worry.

‘
Jed does
not sleep well anymore,’
the girl replied, adding,
‘would
you like to see his dreams…?’
Gideon looked up at the girl as
she smiled at him; he had never seen such love and depth of feeling
in another person’s eyes before.

‘
Who are
you?’
He asked.

‘
Look
Gideon,’
she said again. Gideon tore his eyes away from the
deep blue pools and looked around. The scene before him had
changed, he could still see his own body and Jed’s, but now Jed was
holding him on the ground against the bole of a large tree, blood
was pouring from a wound in his neck and running like a river,
flowing away fast and deep for as far as Gideon could see. In the
river were people, people from his village, they were all staring
at Jed begging him to save them, they were drowning in the blood
under the weight of golden chains.

‘
So much
blood,’
Gideon whispered.

‘
Watch,
listen…
’ the girl replied as Jed wielded the knife, his face
full of conflict.

‘
I love yer
Gideon,’
he was saying as he pushed the knife to bite deeper
into Gideon’s neck. A second figure of Jed appeared and knelt in
the blood before the first, it seemed to be pleading with the one
holding the knife. Gideon could see the mouth open and close but no
sound came forth, tears of rage and pain mingled with sorrow and
regret poured from the face of the pleading figure, the tears
coursed down his cheeks, silver rivers running fast and furiously
as they joined and mingled with the river of blood. The people
began to disappear into the blood red water.

‘
Jed loves
you, and hates himself deeply; he wants to help his family too but
does not know how. Help him Gideon, as only you can.’

‘
How?’
Gideon asked, his heart reaching out to the clearly distraught
figure below him.
‘You do not need me to tell you my son,’
the girl said as she released his hand. Without hesitation, Gideon
stepped into his friend’s dream and kneeling in the blood that
pooled around him, Gideon took his friend into his arms.

‘
Speak to me
Jed’,
he said as the figure continued to plead silently as if
it could not see Gideon beside him, could not hear his words
.
‘Lady...,’
Gideon called feeling helpless.

‘
You do know
the way Gideon, look into your heart,’
he heard her say,
into me heart... my heart, I carry me ma’s pendant against my
heart,
Gideon thought. Suddenly a vision of the bloodstone, the
deep red bloodstone he had given Jed on the night of his eighteenth
birthday so long ago sprung into his mind. He pulled open the
sobbing figures shirt.

‘
This was
for love and protection Jed,’
he said, as he held the
bloodstone in his hand, tears formed behind his eyes and his voice
choked with emotion as his friend sobbed silently, his body shaking
with the pain and depth of the emotion
. ‘I gave this ter yer
because I love yer, you could not, would not ‘urt me as I would not
‘urt you. We are brothers, an’ we’ll help the villagers too Jed,
we’ll find a way, I promise,’
he vowed, as the tears fell
unashamedly from his eyes.

The silently
pleading figure of Jed seemed not to have heard, he continued to
beg the form of himself holding the knife against Gideon’s neck.
Gideon felt as ineffective with the weeping, pleading Jed as he
imagined the figure felt, as he pleaded with himself.

‘
Please
Jed,’ Gideon wept. ‘You are more than a brother to me, you are part
of my soul and together we can do anything, I love you...’
he
said, not noticing his speech had altered once again. The weeping
figure suddenly turned slightly in Gideon’s arms and he spoke
slowly.