Vibrations: Harmonic Magic Book 1 (30 page)

Taking a deep breath—she seemed to do that a lot when in front of this particular door—she knocked firmly. “Come in Ix,” the voice came.

She entered the room and found him seated at a table, poring over a large book. He looked up with those red-rimmed eyes. “Tell me why you failed to capture the old man,” he said to her.

Ix told him the whole story, from how she found the compound and extracted information from one of the remaining servants all the way up to how she manipulated the townsfolk of Raihar to attack the party, hoping she would be able to defeat the weakened defenders.

“They were too strong,” she told him. “They easily handled the group of villagers and as I watched them fight, I realized that I could not defeat them all. One is a Zouyim mage, one is a Sapsyr, and the other, a young man with some fighting skill. I’m not sure how he fits in, and he is no match for me alone, but I was cautious. I believe I could defeat any one of them, but two or three together? I couldn’t see taking the risk to try when I could try again under more favorable circumstances later.”

He looked at her, his red eyes boring into her. She could almost feel the heat of his gaze searching her soul. The pale skin on his face didn’t move, didn’t wrinkle, didn’t show any emotion at all. He merely stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. “Of course,” he finally said, his eyes cooling. “I wouldn’t expect you to risk yourself in a situation with unfavorable odds such as that. There will be other opportunities. We will make sure of it.
You
will make sure of it. Now, tell me what you know of our prey.”

She relaxed now that he had decided not to kill her, now that his eyes were not drilling into her. “The name of the man is Dr. Walt. He came from another world, according to the servants, perhaps the world from which you came. The young man also comes from his world, apparently. The Zouy and the Sapsyr, well, they are Zouy and Sapsyr. I suppose that’s all that is important.”

“No. It’s not. Tell me that you were not so incompetent that you didn’t question the servant fully about who was in the party and what information he had about them. That would be disappointing, Ix. It really would be. I expect so much more from you.”

“Of course. I didn’t want to bother you with the petty details.”

He waved a hand absently, as if shooing an insect aside. “It’s not a bother. Information is our most important weapon. Always. Tell me everything you learned and I will decide for myself if it’s useful or not.”

“Yes. Yes, of course. I’m sorry.”

He looked at her, no doubt trying to see if there was any irony in her speech. Deciding that there was not, he waved toward the other chair. “Sit. Tell me everything you know.”

She told him everything that happened between when she teleported away until the moment she returned. She left nothing out, and it took over two hours to explain everything to him.

“I see,” he said when she had finished. “Dr. Walt, some sort of scientist, no doubt. I believe that I know of the Zouy and Sapsyr. I have met the girl, met her when I killed her mother in front of her. The young man, Sam, is the most mysterious of all. He seems to be under the tutelage of the mage and the warrior, but how did he come here, what is his purpose, what is his relation to the others? Curious.”

He steepled his fingers in front of him, tapping them on his upper lip. “And you say they are on their way here?”

“Yes. They told the villagers they were heading north on a very important mission and the man in their compound also said they were heading here.”

“Interesting. I wonder what their plans are.” He looked at her again with those reddish eyes. “I want you to catch up to Shordan and his forces. He spent too much time gathering men and supplies forces and left just this morning. Once you catch up, scout ahead and find a suitable location for an ambush.

“I want you to bring me this Dr. Walt. If possible, try to bring Sam, as well. Kill the Zouy and the Sapsyr. Their kind must be extinct. Go.”

Ix got up and started for the door. She reached for it just as she heard his voice again. “And Ix.” She looked back toward him. “Don’t fail me again.”

Nodding, she walked out and closed the door behind her.

32

Sam sat in meditation, trying to gather his
rohw
in preparation for Rindu’s daily lesson. They had stopped earlier than normal because they had reached the ideal spot for setting up camp, a place that Rindu was well familiar with.

On the Western side of the small meadow, there were large rock formations, blocking the constant wind that blew in the area. The meadow was several hundred feet from the large path—or small road, depending upon opinion—they had been traveling since Tramgadal. Just on the other side of the rock formations, in fact. It was surrounded by a variety of trees, though Sam could not identify any of them except the pine trees that were so ubiquitous in this region of his own world. He couldn’t tell if they were the same trees as were present on his world or ones unique to Gythe. He’d really have to learn more about identifying trees.

Just on the other side of a group of trees to the East, there was a stream and a small pond, providing a ready source of water. According to Dr. Walt, all the water in Gythe was fit to drink. It was a wonder that Sam did not take lightly, being from a desert area on a world where you had to filter or treat surface water before drinking it.

Sam opened his eyes when he sensed movement. Rindu was standing in front of him. “I must discuss something with Dr. Walt. It should not take more than one half hour. Please meet me back here then.” With that, he padded off silently toward Dr. Walt’s tent.

Slowly releasing his breath, Sam stretched his neck from side to side and stood up. He would go and enjoy soaking his feet in the small stream. Rarely did he get time to just relax, so he would take advantage of it. Grabbing
Ahimiro
, he headed through the trees toward the stream.

Excited about his short break and imagining how good the water would feel swirling around his feet, he absently pushed through the last branches of the small bushes bordering the trees and stopped in his tracks.

Nalia was kneeling on the ground with water cupped in her hands halfway to her face, obviously intending to wash it. Turning as he came through the bush, she froze for a moment, eyes widening, hands frozen where they were.

Sam’s mind raced. She was not wearing her mask. He felt his face redden, like he had violated her privacy. He was sure his face reflected how he felt: apologetic, anxious, and excited all at once. Looking into her eyes, he was sure that she could see his dismay, but all he could see in her eyes was horror.

Her perfect, smooth skin shone in the late afternoon light. Her chestnut hair swirled around her head in a graceful dance that dazzled him. Off-handedly, he wondered how her hair stayed so beautiful being stuffed into the back of the full-head mask she constantly wore.

His eyes passed over her delicate neck, which appeared too soft for how strong he knew she was. Her chin curved beautifully into her reddening cheeks, which in turn blended with her soft, subtle cheek bones, defining her heart-shaped face.

Her eyes, almond-shaped and framed by perfect lashes and thin, expressive eyebrows, were opened wide, making their color vibrant, drawing him in. With the light reflecting off the water, he couldn’t tell if her eyes were a pale green or a subtle blue—he thought that they actually changed colors with the angle he viewed them—but he could see the streaks of lighter color radiating outward from the center like starbursts.

Her lips drew his eyes. They were compressed with her irritation, but even so they were full enough to be inviting without being too large. He wondered what it would be like to kiss them, and then realized with a shock what he had just thought. He really couldn’t be blamed, though. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Ever. In person or in pictures. She was a goddess.

The moment stretched on interminably. Sam could not tear his eyes away from her, though he knew that he should. Knowing that this may be the only time he would ever see her without her mask, he drunk in the sight of her, trying to memorize every little detail.

She reacted first. Scooping up her mask from where it lay next to her, she stretched it over her head, got up, and began walking quickly back toward camp, going wide of where Sam was standing, still motionless.

“Nalia! Wait!” he pleaded as he finally went into motion, running toward her. He didn’t think about what he was doing until he had already grabbed her arm.

She promptly twirled, applied a joint lock, threw him onto his back, and then calmly continued walking toward camp.
Smart move, attacking a living weapon when she’s upset.
You’re lucky she didn’t kill you
.

Scrambling to his feet, he started after her again. “Nalia! Please, talk to me. Please.”

She stopped, shoulders slumped, and allowed him to catch up to her. “Sam, you have taken my honor from me. You have shamed me and I do not know what I can do to regain that honor. I would prefer it if you would leave me alone for now.”

Walking around to face her, he slowly—very slowly!—reached out and took her hand in his. “Nalia, I am so sorry. I didn’t know you were there. I was only going to the stream to soak my feet.”

“You were to be training with my father. Why are you not doing so?”

“He put my training off for a half an hour so he could discuss something with Dr. Walt. I’m sorry. I would never have trespassed on your privacy like that. It was purely accidental.”

She swiveled her masked face toward him, but to his surprise did not pull her hand away. “Are you content now? Did you look long enough to remember my horrid face? Do you feel that you have power over me now?”

Sam saw that she was on the verge of being hysterical, something he did not think possible with her. Pulling her hand toward him and cupping it in his, he spoke softly. “I am sorry, Nalia. I am sorry for invading your privacy. I am sorry that I stood there like a lout staring at you. I am sorry most of all that you feel embarrassed or insulted by my actions.” He caressed the back of her hand softly. He was surprised when she allowed him to continue.

“The thing is, Nalia, there were three reasons I froze and stared at you. The first is that I saw the horror in your eyes and knew that my mistake would affect you powerfully, and I didn’t know what to do about it. I panicked. The second is that when I saw you, I finally figured out something about this world that had been confusing me for quite a while. And the third. Well, the third is really an extension of the second thing.

“What I figured out was that, for some things, there are completely different standards on Gythe compared to Telani. The way people on your world and my world see things is not the same. Here, the accepted standards of beauty are much different. You see, the third reason I stared at you is that you are by far the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. If you were in my world, you would have dozens of men following you around constantly, even if just to be able to catch a glimpse of you.”

He locked his fingers in hers and reached up with his other hand, very slowly, and gently pulled her mask off. She stood there, shock painted across her face. Dropping the mask to the ground, he wiped a single tear from her cheek with his finger. Looking deeply into her eyes, he smiled. “Beautiful!” he told her, “absolutely beautiful.”

She sniffled and her mouth tightened to a thin line. “Are you telling me this truly, Sam? You are not just trying to make me feel better? You are not trying to keep me from breaking some of your bones for the shame you have heaped upon me?”

He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “Nalia, this is the truest thing I have ever spoken. You are the perfect example of beauty. If I could put together any features to make the perfect woman, she would turn out to be exactly you.”

A ghost of a smile crept its way onto her face. “Your world has some strange ideas, Sam.”

“I would agree with that in general, but not on this particular thing.” He stopped then, tilted his head.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Oh, it just occurred to me that you must think me tremendously ugly. If you thought Torim handsome, you must not think much of how I look. On my world, I may not be extremely handsome, but I’m at least ordinary-looking.”

She flushed. “Well, when you first joined us, I thought you rather plain, but not really ugly. As we trained and I got to know you, though, you have almost become attractive to me.”

“Almost.”

“No, I misspoke. With how tenderly you just comforted me, and with what I have observed of your personality, you
are
attractive to me. I do not put emphasis on physical beauty, as you might expect of one who is so ugly that I must hide my face to prevent my shame.”

Gently brushing her cheek with his finger, he looked into her eyes and smiled again. “To me you are an angel. Maybe you can remember that when you feel bad about how you look.” Kissing her hand quickly one more time, he released it and picked her mask up, handing it to her.

He watched her put it on, more carefully this time, curling her hair into a makeshift bun to stuff it into the mask. He observed every little movement as if it was a sensual dance, enjoying how she moved and enjoying all her features until they were, one by one, covered over again.