"In time... Alive...
Battle..."
Was this life after death?
"Unbelievable...
Miracle... A gift... Althena..."
A dark world of
nothingness, with meaningless whispers to accompany it? How long
has it been? How many grains of the hourglass have fallen since I
was pulled into this place?
I must be dead. Althena
herself must have seen some evil, eschewing my soul from her
heavens.
What? What was in me that
was so black? Why was I not given the chance to find out?
All questions were
irrelevant here. Only the whispers would speak to me with their
unintelligible interpretations.
The only solace I could
find was in the revelation that the sickness could not touch me
here... yet naught could reach me...
"Yasuo..."
Insanity, it had taken
root. I have so wanted to hear someone, anyone call out to me...
"Yasuo,
please..."
What was this? Warmth? How?
I hadn't a body to feel such a thing...
"...Come back..."
Yes, to go back. To have
this warmth embrace me again. To be alive!
"I... I think
he's..." I knew that voice... but who?
"...Going to be just
fine..." Another voice...
Blinding light! My eyes
opened wide, sightlessly, and air rushed into my lungs. Life! So
weak. I was aware of the pain now. I closed my eyes again hoping
to force it away.
"Everything will be
all right now Yasuo. Just rest," the first voice soothed. I
felt a cool cloth pressed to my forehead, suppressing the ache
there. "Good. Rest now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There she was. Waiting for
me. Where I first saw her, in the beautiful meadow, the light
breeze dancing with her golden locks.
"Are you ready to
put those silly dreams behind you my love?"
"I am dreaming now. My
life is not a dream." Each time I entered this dreamland
some invisible thread coiled around my being, urging, coaxing, me
to stay. It would be so easy to leave all the suffering of my
life behind and remain here.
"I can plainly see
that you are still unconvinced. How you can deny that this is
real?" She spread her arms wide, then
let them fall. "How can you deny
me?"
What could I say to that?
She was so persuasive... this world was virtually
undistinguishable from mine. "The way that you can deny a
dream. You know that it is not real."
Her eyes closed briefly. "I
am real Yasuo. I am as real as you."
She walked toward me then, and the thread tightened still.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was dusk when I woke
next.
"Father."
"It has been a long
time Yasuo." He stood a short distance away by a window; the
dying light traced his features.
"Yes it has. The beard
and mustache suit you." I was uncomfortable. My father and I
had rarely talked when I was younger. From what I could remember,
it appeared that for one reason or another he resented my
existence.
"What has
happened?"
"It is a long
story." I could not begin to think of how I would tell him
about my unpredictable changes.
"Neither of us are
going anywhere." Still at the window he did not turn to me.
Just as it was when I was a young boy. He would never look at me
unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Perhaps you do not
father, but I do." I sat up tentatively taking note of my
injuries. How I survived the attack Althena only knows. My broken
wrist had been bandaged, as well as my torso and varies places on
my back. I touched my temple where the ache had earlier been
centered and my fingertips found stitches.
"You are in no
condition to go anywhere. Wherever you are going, I am sure that
it can wait. Getting yourself killed will not get you there any
faster. We were unsure if you would wake again after she brought
you home."
Home. Even the knowledge
that almost all of my problems started in Vane that was the home
that came to mind. Not this place. Never this place.
"You almost died. If
Kirei had not found you when she did... Well, no sense in talking
about it now. You are alive and recovering. That is why you need
bed rest for a few more days."
Kirei. Yes, it must have
been she that had taken care of my wounds. "How well do you
know her?" Perchance some of my answers would be answered
concerning her identity.
"Not well. It does not
matter. She was the one who saved you Yasuo. For that she has the
right as far as I am concerned to keep to herself."
This whole situation was
unbelievable. I hated to admit it, but I would never make it to
Damon's Spire in this state. I was fortunate that I had not been
killed. If I was not dead... then what was that nothingness that
I had experienced? Another dream? It was unlike any I knew.
"At any rate, I sent a
messenger to contact Lemia Ausa and let her know of what has
happened. You can go back when you have fully recovered. Here is
some silver for any items that may have been lost on your way
here." He threw a large pouch of silver on to the dresser
beside the bed without looking my way, and left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sat at a table in a
darkened corner of the pub pondering whether to tell my father
all that has happened or not. He is my father after all, yet on
the other hand I have not heard from him in years. With all of
the betrayal going on in the world these days it would no doubt
be best to leave him in an ignorant state of bliss. Even after
all these years I could not share this heavy burden with him. He
did not deserve to end up missing like Portia. I could not afford
to worry for his safety while searching for her.
"There you are."
My breath caught. I was
getting too jumpy. "Kirei. Please, sit."
"That was my
intention. I thought that I would have trouble finding you. After
looking around I knew that the tall, brooding, hooded man in the
corner was you." Her eyes twinkled as she smiled. Mine soon
followed. I hadn't much to smile for since last we met.
"Hah! Not even that hood can hide that smile."
I might have laughed at the
pretentious look on her face if my split lip had not brought my
injuries to mind. In turn, I remembered the battle, and how Kirei
found me.
"You needn't ask. I
was following you. That is how I found you. I thought that you
would stop in Nanza before moving on, but apparently I was wrong.
While you kept traveling I was still in Nanza. I woke in the
night with a feeling of urgency I can not even begin to explain.
I knew that I had to find you then. I was almost too late Yasuo.
I am so sorry. If I had not stayed in Nanza! If only..."
I leaned forward and
covered one of her trembling hands with my own. "It is far
from your fault, Kirei. I can take care of myself," I paused
for a moment when I noticed her lift a brow, then I cleared my
throat. "Most of the time I can. I will admit that it was
not in my best judgement to go on as weak as I had been. What I
mean to say is that you should not look back and worry about what
might have been. Before setting out for Damon's Spire I will be
resting a few days at my father's house."
"I am glad to hear
that. Your father is a great man. He has helped many people,
including you. He began bandaging you up before you were even all
the way in the door!"
I almost choked on my
water. "What! I find that hard to believe. He has practiced
the art of avoiding me all of my life."
"Whatever his reasons
for that I do not know, Yasuo, but I do know that the man loves
you. If you could have seen him." She lightly covered my
hand. "He does care more than you think. There are just some
people in this world that are not as apt at showing it as
others."
At that moment Portia came
to mind. Her and my father were complete opposites in that
respect. My father rarely opened up to me and, ever since I met
Portia she could not manage to keep anything to herself. And
Kirei... she was just intriguing. I was not sure what to think of
her.
I drew my hand away from
hers as another thought came to mind. Why had she been following
me?
"You are a mystery to
me, Yasuo. I want to know you. You have this barrier around you
and just when I think I have reached the zenith it just gets
taller. You said that you were going to Damon's Spire, and I will
not lie, I am curious. It only adds to your allure. I know,
however, that you wish for us not to get any closer and I am
hoping that it is only because of the reason you are seeking
Damon, and not because of me."
If my beliefs permitted me
to accept it, I would think that we had some kind of psychic link
between us! I hope that her perceptiveness does not wind up
putting her in any danger. As I looked at her nothing set off any
intuitive alarms. For now, I would trust her.
Interrupting my
contemplation was the sound of flapping wings immediately
followed by the irritating sound of Alex's flying cat's voice. My
gaze went to the door and saw Alex and his companions enter the
pub. While the tall brigand talked to the thieves' guild leader
the others talked to... my father? When had he arrived? I could
not believe how closed off from my surroundings I had been while
I weighed my situation. Perhaps he just had not noticed me.
Still, it was odd that Alex would be talking to him. I wonder
what business Alex had with him. I would have to ask my father
later.
"So Kirei, which
classes were you taking at the..." I must be losing my mind!
Kirei was gone! "Kirei?" I looked around but it was as
if she had disappeared. Again!
I looked back to the bar in
time to see that my father had left and Alex's party was heading
into the back of the tavern where there were halls that led to
the thieves' market in the basement. Why was there a need to join
the guild? Suspicion mixed with curiosity crept into my mind...
Bah! What business was it of mine? If they all wanted to be
thieves why should that matter to I?
I sat back in the chair and
tried to make myself comfortable and to accommodate my injuries.
I finished drinking my water, and the fingers on my uninjured
hand tapped restlessly on the tabletop...
I could resist no longer!
If I wanted answers, I could not sit here and wonder...
Royce!
I had made it down the hall
in the back in time to see Royce fade out of sight with a little
girl!
"The red dragon is
next!" Royce's voice threatened, and then her presence was
gone.
Royce... I could have
confronted her had I followed Alex. Damn!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was still wondering what
had happened to Kirei the next morning while I was packing my
items and equipment. I knew my father was not going to like my
decision to leave. I knew that there was a chance that I could
die if I ventured to the spire now. But I had to chance it; it
was just too coincidental that I kept encountering one of the
three Vile Tribe Sisters at each of my destinations.
"I hope that you are
going to tell me that you are going back to Vane."
"I am sorry
father..." I did not turn to him as I finished packing.
"Where are you
headed?"
I should lie and be done
with it. But Kirei's words came back to me then. Maybe all these
years it was not resentment he felt towards me. Maybe it was
directed at him or maybe there was none at all. Perhaps he was
one whom was awkward with words so instead of stumbling over them
he chose not to speak. Or I am just making excuses for his cool
demeanor, the only one I have ever known.
"I know that I have
not been the best father to you, Yasuo. Nevertheless, I have not
been a bad one either. I have wanted what was best for you. That
is why I sent you to Vane with your aunt when you began showing a
high potential for using magic. I wanted you to have the best
schooling. If you had stayed here, you would have had no
education. You would have learned to become a thief. Perhaps good
enough to sustain a sorry life at best, like the rest of the pick
pockets around here. They are not bad people at heart. But living
the life a thief is not a life. I did not want that for you. I
can not make up for the times that I have not spent with you. And
I can not promise that things will change between us even now.
But I wanted you to know that. If nothing else, I want you to
know that much."
I was speechless. Maybe
this was the dream. I had always wished for my father to say such
things to me. I am not surprised that he would tell me these
things at a time when I might very well be facing certain death.
I can not fault him. He does not know all that has happened to
me. At least my heart is lighter in knowing that he is not just
saying these things because of my impending meeting with Damon.
Even still, all I could manage was a short moment at his side and a hand on his shoulder before I walked from the room.
§ Chapter 9 § Tear Main § Chapter 11 §
