The Witches of Ne'arth (The Star Wizards Trilogy Book 2) (19 page)

“Let's try something else, Matt,” Savora said.  “There are some things I must tell you, that you must believe, because only then can I help you and we can save Carrot.  Do you understand?  You must believe these things because then it will help Carrot.  You trust me, Matt.  I'm your friend.  I want to help Carrot.  So please believe me.  You must believe me.  To help Carrot.  All right?”

“Yes.”

“Matt, it's very important to go to the Other Side as soon as possible in order to save Carrot.  Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Carrot can't come with you, Matt.  It wouldn't be safe.  Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“It's vital that you have Savora along.  Savora can help you.  Savora will make your mission successful.  Savora will help you save Carrot.  Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Please repeat the words, Matt.  It's important, for Carrot.”

Over Ivan's objections, Matt recited her words.  All to save Carrot.  Matt wanted so much to save Carrot.  And this was Synth.  Synth wouldn't lie to him.  She was his friend. 

“Do you understand all of this, Matt?”

“Yes.”

“From now on, Matt, whenever I say the word 'Puyallup,' you will return to this hypnotic state.  To save Carrot.  Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“When I say the word 'Duwamish' next, you will count to ten and awaken and have no memory of the time of our conversation.  You must not remember, because if you do, they will stop me from helping you.  I can only help you if you don't remember this conversation.  Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Also, Matt, they will scan Ivan's archives and discover that I was talking to you and they will stop me from helping you.  I can only help you if Ivan doesn't remember either.  You must instruct Ivan that immediately when you awaken, he is to delete the previous five minutes of telemetry from his archives.”

“Ivan, when I awaken . . . . “  Matt was coached by Savora, over Ivan's protests.

Having received the instruction in full, Ivan replied, “Yes, Matt.”

“Matt, will Ivan do as I ask?”

“Yes.”

“Matt, listen closely. 
Duwamish
.”

Ten seconds later, Matt staggered and opened his eyes.  He looked around and blinked.  He was standing by the fence in back of the hangar, by himself.  The sun had broken through the clouds, the sound of hammers and saws came from over the fence.  It was a normal day, yet something seemed amiss.

“Ivan,” he said.  “Everything went blurry just now.  Did something just happen?”

“According to my archives, you were speaking to Colonel Krobart and then you came here.  Would you like to review the telemetry?”

“That's not necessary.  It's probably just – “

Matt halted, because he felt something on his tongue.  He stuck his tongue out of his mouth, and scraped off the object.  It was a tiny fragment of apple.  He stared and frowned.  What was a piece of apple doing on his tongue?  And why did he have the aftertaste of cider, when he could not remember drinking any?

“Ivan, show me most recent telemetry.  Say, since leaving Krobart.”

A pop-up window appeared, and Matt watched the video as if he were once again leaving the hut, going  around the hangar fence, stopping to gaze at the woods.  And then –

“The telemetry skipped there!  Did you see it?”

“Yes, Matt.  According to my chronometer, there is a gap of exactly five minutes in the telemetry.”

“Why?”

“I do not know, Matt.  It is possible the problem is me.  I will run a diagnostic.”

“It wasn't just you, though.  I didn't notice the gap either.”

“As I support your neural activities, it is possible that a malfunction on my part affected you as well.”

“This is not good.”

“No, Matt.  Matt, my diagnostic has discovered another recent gap in archived telemetry.”

Matt reviewed the telemetry – or rather lack of – of the previous incident.  It was a couple days ago, in the woods by the old mill.  “There seems to be a pattern here.  Both times, I'm by myself.  Also, I remember what I was doing that first time, I was excited because I had decided to kiss Carrot.  And this time, I was upset after talking to Krobart.  Maybe when I experience a strong emotional state, it's affecting your circuitry too, causing both of us to have blackouts.”

“I do not see how that would be possible, Matt.”

Matt didn't either.  He did know that it had seemed remarkable that he and Ivan had survived centuries in biogel suspension with little apparent damage.  However, if they were experiencing concurrent memory blackouts, perhaps there was more damage than was apparent.

Having nowhere else to go, he decided to check in at the clinic.  Senti's demeanor was cheerful, until Matt informed her that he was there as a patient.  Solemnly, she closed the door and shuttered the windows.  She sat him on a blanket and placed her hands over his arms, chest, back, and head, observing his reactions carefully.  She examined his eyes closely, then shrugged. 

“You seem the same as always,” she reported.  “Do you feel tired?”

“No.”

“Confused?  Disoriented?  Pain?  Do you have difficulty with seeing or hearing?”

He shook his head.

“You say there were two incidents.  Was there a common factor?”

He recited what he had discussed with Ivan.  Ivan interjected with an addendum, and Matt relayed, “Ivan says that there was the residual scent of Savora in the vicinity both times.”

“Hmm.  Is there anything between you and her?”

“You mean, a relationship?  No, I hardly know her.  I don't think we've ever had a conversation that hasn't been about the mission.”  He felt uncomfortable under her gaze.  “What are you trying to say, Senti?”

“I am not sure, Matt.  Yet from what Ivan tells us, each time you were alone with Savora, and then you had a 'blackout' as you call it, and could not remember what happened.  Perhaps there is a connection with Savora.”

“I'm loyal to Carrot, if that's where you're going.”

“That's not my business, Matt.  But it is evident that your times alone with Savora are triggering these events of forgetfulness.”

“Why would they?”

“Well . . . you are a young man, and Carrot and Savora are young women.  You are loyal to Carrot, but . . . perhaps you are attracted to Savora too.  Your anxiety in your heart over being torn between the two of them is causing guilt, which is causing you to lose your memory of your times alone with Savora.”

Matt shook his head emphatically.  “That's not it.”

Senti sighed.  “Well, Matt, if you truly want to learn what transpired during those moments you were alone with Savora, you can always ask her.”

Matt said nothing. 

Senti continued:  “If stress is responsible for your 'blackouts,' then the only possible treatment I can advise is rest.  I suggest you stop work for the day and sleep if you can.”

Matt mumbled agreement and, slothlike, departed.  Along the path to the village, he scowled at the sky and reflexively balled his fists.

“She has to be wrong,” he said.  “I know I'm stupid and immature sometimes, but I know better than
that
.  I've got an important mission to do, and even subconsciously I wouldn't ruin it over some love triangle, like I'm just some kind of teenage boy.”

“Technically in Earth years,” Ivan said, “you
are
a teenage boy.”

“I mean, I'm not a
lovesick
teenage boy.”

“I am not qualified to make that assessment.”

“I mean, I do love Carrot, a whole lot, but I don't mean in the romantic sense.  Well, I guess now I do mean also in the romantic sense, but . . . I don't know, Ivan.  I can't think straight anymore!  This is so confusing, why does it have to happen now?  I guess the one thing I
do
know for sure is that I've got to go on this mission, because it's going to help Carrot.  And it's not just that I know that.  It's that I feel it.  I've never felt so certain about anything before.”

Upon reaching the village, Matt was approached by Geth, who was wearing a Leaf uniform.  Matt noted the trim of the clothing and the shine of the collar insignia, but at the same time it was strange to see that Geth, who had been the virtual commander of Ravencall mere days previously, was commissioned only as a captain in the Leaf. 

“Matt!” Geth called.  He had finally stopped addressing Matt every time as 'Wizard.'  “Has your friend on Moonstar seen my daughter?”

Matt had given up trying to explain what a space station was, or that Herman was an artificial intelligence designated as 'keeper' of the station.  He simply replied, “Even under the best conditions, Herman's only over any given region for a small part of the day, and then his vision is reduced at night and the sky has been cloudy, and he can't see through clouds – “

“A 'no' would suffice,” Geth muttered.  He looked down.  “She left without speaking to me.”  He glanced up, behind Matt.  “I see you have problems of your own.”

“
Huh?  What?
”  For a moment Matt feared Geth had learned of his mixed thoughts about Carrot and Savora.  Then he turned in the direction that Geth was gazing.  At the edge of the clearing, a Leaf lieutenant was watching.  “Oh, him.  Yeah, Krobart has someone following me around like a dog.  I guess that guy is my 'shadow.'”

“We
are
given shadows now, aren't we?  We risk our lives so that the Inner Circle might rule Britan, and they reward us with dark suspicions.  What do you suppose that fellow there will whisper to Krobart?  That we are conspiring?  It makes one wonder if one should.”

Matt mumbled that he was very tired, excused himself and returned to his hut.  He lay facing the roof and shut his eyes.  He saw images of Carrot and Savora – and Synth. 
I feel like an idiot
, he thought.  What if he was in truth wallowing in a love triangle? 
I feel like an idiot!

And how could he be interested in Savora?  His relationship to Carrot was so much more special now.  They had gone through enough adventure for a lifetime, whereas Savora was a blank to him.  So what if she did look like Synth?  She wasn't Synth.  Who knew if Synth was still human by now, and even if she was still the same old Synth, what was that to him?  And how could he so superficial, that mere physical appearance could trigger doubts in a relationship that he had been so certain about? 

There is physical exhaustion, there is mental exhaustion, and then there is emotional exhaustion.  Matt tossed and turned and repeatedly thought of resuming work at the base just to avoid the burden of thinking about 'It.'  Finally he drifted to sleep, but that was no respite, for in his dream he was standing in the woods and saw Synth in front of him.  She was speaking, but he couldn't hear her words. 

“Matt,” Ivan said.  “Senti is here.”

The woods disappeared and he was back in the hut, sprawled on the bedding.  It was dark and stars peered through the window.  A silhouette stood in the doorway.

“Please, Matt!” Senti exclaimed.  “You've got to come quickly!  There has been a horrible injury!”

He arose and followed, aware that his 'shadow,' who must have been waiting outside all these hours, was tracking.  With lantern in hand, Senti led Matt through the woods, down a maze of winding paths.  He wondered how anyone without an implant could find their way.  And what was a person doing out in the woods at this time of night, and what were they doing that would cause an injury? 

“Senti, what's the nature of the injury?”

“There is no injury.  Carrot wants to see you and this pretense is being done to evade the spying of the Leaf.  Hold, we are almost there.  Be ready!” 

“Be ready for – ?”

Matt felt a hand grab his arm and drag him behind a tree.  Carrot smiled in the moonlight, holding a vertical forefinger to her lips.  Senti dashed on without him, and a moment later the Leaf's 'shadowman' passed, chasing down the trail after her bobbing lantern.

Matt and Carrot hugged tightly.  He became aware of Mirian and Norian and nodded. 

“We had to meet in secret for safety,” Carrot said after heartfelt greetings were exchanged.  “As we neared the village this afternoon, friends warned that the Leaf intends to arrest us.”

“I can believe it,” Matt said.  “Things have really changed under Krobart.”

Norian snorted.  “They are envious of your popularity with the people – both of you.  I am not surprised at the turnabout.  Even as I fought with them, I have always known that half the Leaf is composed of the very rogues that the Romans describe us all as being.”

Carrot clasped Matt's hands.  “Were you able to watch our progress from the sky?”

“Clouds were in the way.”

“Then I'll tell.”  She related their adventures, concluding, “The hedge is impassable and the bridge is a fortress, and so we were never able to enter the Land of the Trolls.”

“Well, then that's that, I guess.”

“No, it's not, Matt, and you know it!  We can fly over the hedge!”