The Ways of Mages: Starfire (4 page)

“
What did you do with the yelping spider
?”
Mira inquired.

“
I threw it out the window
.
”

“
Who where you talking to
?”
Jeremy asked as everyone else settle down to eating again. Why did he keep things going when it could have been forgotten?

“
I was telling the spider to go back to its home
.”
Terana said putting a bite of steak into her mouth. It was somewhat true after all.

“
YOU TALKED TO A
SPIDER
?”
Mira asked dumbfounded.

“
Do
n’
t you talk to your dolls
?
”

“
Enough
.”
Their mother said and they went back to eating. During the meal, Terana saw Jeremy glancing at her every once and a while. A sinking feeling tugged at her consciousness as she concentrated on acting normal.

After dinner she helped Mother clean up. Terana took scraps of food left from everyon
e’
s plates and put them into a napkin.  She told herself that she should just let Zeeve starve. Even as she sat there justifying her decision to not feed the little nuisance she slipped more food into the napkin. She was just too kind hearted some days. After she had wished everyone, but Jeremy, good night she went upstairs to wash up. It was there that Jeremy intercepted her.

***

Jeremy had watched her carefully since she came back from taking care of th
e‘
spide
r’
.  Terana had avoided his gaze the entire time. He knew that she was up to something. He wished he knew what, though. Jeremy missed not being in on Teran
a’
s secrets, but since he had reached the age of sixteen he had been kept busy learning his fathe
r’
s trade of carpentry.

He sat on his bed and waited for Terana to come up. A few moments went by before she made her appearance on the landing. Without seeing him in the shadows of his room she made her way to the washroom. As he waited for her to finish cleaning up he went to stand beside her door.

When she saw him, she smiled
.“
Good night, Jeremy
.”
She said, her voice betraying not a single trace of the nervousness he saw flicker briefly in her eyes. If he had been Mira or anyone else, he would have thought nothing was amiss. But he
was
n’
t
anyone else and he could tell she knew it.

“
What are you hiding
?”
He asked flatly.

             
“The trouble with secrets is that they always come out. Their timing is often inopportune…” – Journal of Scholar Brisbin

“
Hiding
?”
Terana asked innocentl
y“
What makes you think that
?
”

“
I know what I saw, Terana
.”
Jeremy said leaning his back against the door frame, his arms folded
.“
That was no spider that fell into the gravy. Do
n’
t forget that we have
both
spent some of our childhood exploring the caves. And
I’
ll tell you something else, there were n
o‘
yelping spider
s’
. Tell me what yo
u’
re hiding or else..
.”
He let the threat hang, because he did
n’
t know what to threaten her with at that moment.

Before Terana could answer they heard singing from Teran
a’
s room. Mind, it was not good.

“
Tummy, tummy, tummy;

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

Zeeve be hungry!

That be no burble
!
”

“
What the
?”
Jeremy gave his sister a searching look then opened the door.  A tiny figure was prancing about on Teran
a’
s bed.  It looked more than anything else to be a lvessa out of fairy tales. It wore the green of a lvessa; even its shoes were pointed at the toes like the pictures depict. As Jeremy watched, the figure capered about the bed singing its ridiculous song. This time, backwards.

“
Burble, no be that!

Hungry, be Zeeve!

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle;

Tummy, tummy, tummy
.
”

Jerem
y’
s hand shifted on the door, causing it to squeak. The lvessa-thing faced the door with a joyous shout o
f‘
FOOD
!”
. Then its brain registered that it was not Terana who stood in the doorway, but someone else. Its little brown eyes widened and it dashed under the bed. Jeremy eyed Terana with a look that pretty much sai
d‘
and that was
?
’

Terana gave him an apologetic look, and scurried over to the bed. Getting to her hands and knees she sai
d“
Zeeve, i
t’
s me. I should
n’
t give you this, bu
t…
here
.”
From where Jeremy stood he could see her slide what looked like a napkin under the bed.

“
YUM
!”
Came a squeak of delight from under the bed
.“
Zeeve likes, Zeeve really likes
.”
Happy munching soon followed the words. 

“
What was that horrible singing
?”
Mira grumbled, appearing next to Jeremy in the doorway and rubbing her eyes.

Terana looked into his face worriedly. He sighed
.“
I
t’
s  nothing, Mira
.”
Jeremy said patting her shoulders
.“
You probably dreamt you heard something.  Go back to bed
.”
Mira nodded and left. Jeremy closed the door
.“
Well
?”
he asked, leaning against the door.

“
Well what
?”
Terana said standing.

“
Terana, do
n’
t bother trying to do what I did with Mira;
I’
m not even tired
.”
Terana looked at her feet. A wry smile pulling at her lips
.“
I have seen it
twice
so far tonight. So, you might as well tell me what it is
.
”

“
H
e’
s not a
n‘
i
t’.”
She corrected him quietly.

Jeremy shrugged. Outside, he looked indifferent. Inside, he cried out against the wall that had come between them. It was small; thin, but there had never been a wall between them before.  It hurt that she did not want to share this secret of hers with him
.“
Who is it then
?
”

“
Zeeve
?”
She inquired in a soft voice
.“
He is just my little friend that I met in the woods. Come on out, Zeeve. He knows now, no thanks to you
.”
Zeeve poked his head out from under the bed. He eyed Jeremy for a second. Then he walked out. Somehow he managed not to trip over the strip of steak that he clutched to his breast; an amazing feat, Jeremy thought, considering Zeev
e’
s size and the size of the steak. Jeremy narrowed his eyes at Zeeve. He had the distinct feeling of being sized up. 

“
Zeeve knows you to be a good man, but not her brother
.”
Zeeve remarked after a tense moment or so.

Jeremy had to admit it was true. Sort of. He knew that she had been adopted at birth, but she was his sister in everything else. To cover what he knew he stated the obvious
.“
She just shows different traits
.
”

Zeeve nodded thoughtfully
.“
Really? Zeeve find that hard to believe in a small out of way town. Zeeve thinks she has different blood
.
”

“
What is that supposed to mean
?”
Jeremy asked, not really liking what Zeev
e’
s words were getting at. Terana did
n’
t know, and that was how the family wanted it to be.

Zeeve looked him directly in the eye and shrugged
.“
Zeeve do
n’
t know. What does it mean
?”
The little lvess
a’
s eyes twinkled.  Jeremy had the feeling that Zeeve lied about not knowing. The very thought worried Jeremy. What would happen if this lvessa told Terana?

“
I do
n’
t know. Yo
u’
re the one who said it
.
”

“
What are the two of you talking about
?”
Terana asked
.“
I know
I’
m different and something is wrong with me. So why are you two discussing it as if I was
n’
t here
?
”

Jeremy looked away from Zeeve to look at her
.“
There is nothing wrong with you. To be frank
I’
m not really sure I know what your lvessa friend is talking about
.
”

“
Lvessa! Zeeve is not a lvessa
!”
Zeeve had dropped the steak in indignation
.“
Lvessa leave Marlhema long time ago, with ucora. After the war when Dragon Kings were buried
.
”

“
Now what are you talking about
?”
Asked Jeremy somewhat confused. It sounded like the beginnings of a story thrown way out of proportion; what with Dragon Kings and a war and such. And what really got Jeremy was Zeeve making it sound like concrete fact. Everyone knew dragons were fairy tales told to scare maids.

“
The
Shadow
war
.”
Zeeve clarified. His hands flew to his hips
.“
Do
n’
t tell Zeeve that you never heard of the Shadow War. You must have heard something of it
?”
Zeev
e’
s voice held quite a bit of shock as he watched them shake their heads
.“
No?
No
?!  You guys really
are
out of the way
.”
He muttered to himself.

“
I guess. But you still have
n’
t told us what you are
.”
Terana pointed out.

Zeeve regained some of his composure
.“
Zeeve is a Moleci
.
”

“
A small person
?”
Jeremy asked.

“
Makes sense, does
n’
t it, Jeremy
?”
Terana rationalized, meeting his eyes. And for a moment, Jeremy felt like there had never been a distance between them. Jeremy looked back at Zeeve
.“
He is tiny
.”
Terana concluded.  Jeremy looked away from Zeeve to her. A faint smile played at her lips. A ghost smile that always was there when she was teasing
him
. It was then that he felt a small pang of jealousy; he was not her only friend anymore. He knew it was selfish of him, but he liked that she had been dependent on him and
only
him. Now there was thi
s…
this Zeeve who also claimed her friendship. 

“
Zeeve is not tiny! How many times must Zeeve tell you? Zeeve is tall for Zeev
e’
s kind
.”
The moleci reacted in outrage.

Zeev
e’
s reaction was delicious. So Jeremy, who claimed to be Teran
a’
s tutor, decided to follow her example. Perhaps get a better reaction due the teacher
.“I’
m sorry, Zeeve, but she is right, you
are
tiny. Itsy bitsy, even
.
”

Zeeve stood straight with his jaw set and his hands on his hips
.“
I AM NOT TINY!! CA
N’
T YOU SEE THAT?
!
”

A hastily stifled giggle and a cough were the only answers he got.

***

Pershara- east of Egon Lake

The voice said to run. Kairevasigh ran. There was something hunting  in this dark, strange forest. She could hear it somewhere off to her left and slightly back.

Arrruuu RUP!  The sound was like the noise a hanging wet carpet makes when struck by a broom. Kairevasigh startled at the sound and lost her stride. Her foot snagged on a loose rock and she went down. The wrapped sword flew from her hands. The cloth unwound, revealing the black blade with the shining brass hilt. Kairevasigh heard something padding toward her. She turned and her eyes widened. Coming out of the shadows was a dog-like creature. Its yellow eyes were fixed alarmingly on her. It paused to stand on its hind legs, sniffing the air. It fell back to all four, its mouth open in a toothy grin. Saliva dripped from its fangs. It was huge, about seven feet long.

Kairevasigh scrambled forward, snatching up the sword and turned on the beast. Arruu RUP! It barked. Another answered, looming next to it. Kairevasigh growled at the two beasts. Unlike the horse or most any other creature; they were not impressed at her attempts to intimidate. After all, she was a small twelve year old human. They were seven foot long, dog-like killing machines. And there were more of them then her solitary self. She was like a bear cub faced with a pack of wolves. Wolves avoided an adult bear, but a cub was fair game.

She didn’t like being fair game. 

Kairevasigh found herself once again brandishing the sword before her against a monstrous foe. Again, the beasts were not impressed. She could hear more of them circling behind her. It was a large pack of whatever these things were.

The one who had come out first decided that it was done waiting. It leapt for her. She raised the sword between them and, looking into the creature’s yellow eyes, shouted “STOP!!” She slammed most of the power she had left into its mind.  She had never tried this before, having some respect for the sanctity of another’s freewill. But she was aware of others of her race doing it. Kairevasigh hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, but she heard the whispers of the upper hierarchy doing so. This ability was why she avoided looking into too many eyes…

But now Kairevasigh had no choice if she wanted to live. Her power hit the overlarge canine and she saw herself. Saw herself as prey. That would not do. She learned from the creature’s mind was that it was the alpha and female. Its duty was to lead the hunt and protect any pups.  Kairevasigh labeled herself ‘pup’. And worse yet, a pup in danger.