Chenda and the Airship Brofman (29 page)

“
Tell me about controlling the elements. How would the Pramuc do that?”

The complete set of Singing Stones, held in the right place by the right person, will unlock the Pramuc's elemental power. The four elements, earth, air, fire and water, rule most aspects of the world. Of course, you have seen the four elements, and how they can behave both destructively and constructively. Shifting earth can bury a whole village, or reveal valuable resources. Swirling air blows away all the seeds from a field or can be harnessed to ease the burdens of man. Fire can destroy or cleanse a wound. Water can erode or refresh. When one controls the elements with only one's will, what could not be done? You could crush the world, or heal it.

She whispered. “The thought of one person holding so much power frightens me.”

If it did not,
you
would frighten me. My visions have shown me the power's potential, which will be formidable, but I cannot see clearly how the Pramuc will wield it. Should you chose to undergo the process of claiming the power, you will need to discover how to use it on your own. My visions can give you some guidance, but once you accept the power, well, I'll be just as surprised as you are about what happens.

He turned his head to the side, as if listening to something.
Your companions are anxious to see you again, especially your soldier. He fears for your safety. I will meet with all of you tomorrow. I believe they will be most necessary to you then.

Pranav Erato dropped Chenda's hands and floated backwards from her. Chenda's arms fell to her sides. She turned to face his retreating figure as Ahy-Me appeared at the far end of the gallery.

“Thank you. You've given me much to consider,” she called after him.

He bobbed his head in reply and his wispy limbs danced away with him out of the gallery and into the darkness.

Ahy-Me cleared her throat politely, “You vill come and join your friends, yes?”

“Yes,” Chenda said, striding toward the small woman. “I very much need my companions right now.”

As Chenda followed Ahy-Me in silence down the dark passageways, she realized that she thought best while walking. The cadence of her feet, rhythmically ticking off the yards, distracted her slightly from the overwhelming weight of her own potential and the choice that she needed to make. She reflected on the stone carvings the Pranav showed her. She could now see herself in the words of the prophecy, as he had said. But that wasn't what troubled her. Accepting that she was the Pramuc would mean agreeing to control and wisely use the power of the elements. She doubted her self control, she questioned her wisdom and she despaired that her character would not be up to the task of finding what was right.

Suddenly, more than anything, she wanted to go home, but she wasn't sure where that was anymore.

Ahy-Me led Chenda into a tiny round cave with a small but very bright fire in the center of it. The room was a living chamber with four tidy beds and a narrow table already laid out with platters of food. A small fountain bubbled and slopped sparkles of water into a carved basin.

“I vill return vid you friends very soon. Please, sit. Eat.” Ahy-Me pulled a heavy curtain across the doorway as she left Chenda alone in the warm chamber.

Chenda felt exhausted and hungry. As she passed the fire, she noticed the flames gave off a sweet, pungent aroma. She sat down at the table and started to nibble on some of the food. She could identify the tangy meat as a preserved fish, and there were some very tasty pickled mushrooms as well. As her hunger abated, the smell of fire and the tinkle of the water on the rocks relaxed her. Her chest, seized in tight anxiety since meeting the Pranav, loosened with every incense-laced breath. She pulled off her aeronaut boots for the first time since slipping into them the morning after the
Brofman
left Atoll Belles. Chenda turned sideways in her chair, propping her bare feet up on the seat beside her and pointing her toes toward the bright flames. She rested one elbow on the table and cupped her palm under her chin. Her mind emptied as she watched the unusually white flames until her eyes closed.

She had no idea how long she sat there dozing at the table, but she awoke to Candice's voice, piercing her nap. “Chenda! My gods! Are you all right?”

Candice was dashing across the small room to Chenda's side. She knelt down as Chenda slowly opened her eyes and smiled.

“Oh, there you are, my scholar,” Chenda said. She saw Verdu and Fenimore looking at her over Candice's shoulders, matched expressions of worry on their faces. “Hello, my soldier and saint,” she giggled.

Candice frowned. “She's as high as a moon beam!”

“Oh, I'm fine. The sweet smell from the fire just made me all rappy and helaxed, er, happy and relaxed.” She looked toward the flames again and noticed that they had dimmed from bright white to an orange-yellow. “Awww... the fire got all dim,” she said with her voice heavy with disappointment.

The other three looked from Chenda to the flames and back. Candice stepped to the firepit, examining the area around it. Verdu and Fenimore each took Chenda by an arm and hauled her up to standing. Without a word, they half-walked and half dragged her to the water basin and splashed her face with water. Chenda gasped as the cold water shocked her back to alertness.

“Eek! Stop it!” She stood up straight, swaying only slightly, and pushed the men back from her. “That,” she said, “was uncalled for.” She turned on her heel and headed back to the table, almost managing to walk in a straight line. She flopped into her seat again, and returned her feet to the neighboring chair. She folded her arms over her chest and assembled her face into a slightly sulky look.

Candice, who had been kneeling by the fire, tossed a few orange, chalky looking chips into the flames, which burned bright for a few seconds, puffing forward a tendril of sweet smelling smoke. “Interesting,” she said, waving her hand to dissipate the vapors. “Verdu, do you have any idea what that is?”

“Sure, it's called the Chalk of Contentment. It's mostly harmless, a cake of herbs and minerals that act somewhat like a soporific. I think our hosts wanted to make sure Chenda wasn't stressed. No harm was meant by it. One could even say that whoever put this in the fire was just trying to be polite.”

Fenimore's expression turned furious. “How can you say that? We come back to find her passed out! A thousand horrible things could have happened to her that way! Polite, my ass!”

Chenda waved a limp hand at both of them. “Shh.... Stop it. I have to say, after all I've had to take in today, I honestly don't mind.” She smacked her lips together. “I am a bit thirsty, however.”

Fenimore took an empty cup from the table and filled it at the basin while Verdu and Candice took the empty seats across from Chenda. Fenimore brought back the drink and handed it to Chenda, who started to pull her feet back to allow him the last chair. Fenimore scooped her legs up and slid into the seat, dropping her feet into his lap. “I don't mind,” he said with a smile, “Be comfortable.”

Chenda sipped, “Well, thank you.”

She looked at the faces around her, highlighted by the soft flickering light. They stared at her patiently, until Candice barked, “Well? Spit it out!”

“Oh, sorry. My mind is a little empty now.” She shook her head trying to clear it. “I love sitting with my feet up and I hate shoes,” she said, apropos of nothing.

Verdu's lips twisted into a half-smile. “The side effect of the smoke is a general loosening of the tongue. She's likely to say anything she's thinking at this point.”

“I see that,” Candice frowned. She snapped her fingers twice. “Focus! What did Pranav Erato tell you?”

“Hmm... where to start? Well, much to my surprise, it turns out I
am
about as Tugrulian as you are, Verdu.” Chenda told her companions the whole of what Pranav Erato revealed about her parentage, her husband's role in the Resistance after his airship crash, and the carved gallery of the First Pranav. She babbled on about how the Singing Stones had drawn the four elements to her body, and how each of them was part of the prophecy. Chenda lamented about her fears over being infused with power. Finally, she ended her long telling by blurting out, “And I really don't know what I should do, but I have an overwhelming desire to just run away, and I really love the way you are stroking my ankle, Fen, it's really quite comforting at the moment.”

Chenda slapped both hands over her mouth, embarrassed over that last bit.

She peeled three fingers back and said, “Somebody please find a way to shut me up.”

Fenimore raised his hands in surrender. “Wow.”

“Wow is right,” Candice said, “What are you going to do?”

Chenda looked deeply into the faces of her companions, her closest friends in the world. “What would you do if you were me?”

She turned to Fenimore first. He regarded her soberly. “If
my
instincts were telling me to run, I think I might just do that. If you want to go home, I'll take you there. I've already got a plan, sort of, to-”

“Go home?” Candice interrupted. “What's left for her there? She's not even
alive
as far as anyone is concerned. Her life has been irreparably altered. There is no going back.” She turned to Chenda and reached for her hand across the table. “I'm not saying you need to embrace Pranav Erato's prophecy, but you'd be foolish to think you can ever go back to the life you once knew. If you try to be Chenda Frost again, there will be too many questions about where you've been, and who the charred dead guy was in your room. I don't know if I would want to explain that. And don't forget the people who are trying to kill you. There is no reason to go back to the Republic and wear a name tag that says, 'I'm Chenda Frost. Please line up here to bump me off!'”

Chenda looked to Verdu, who said, “I think you already know what I would do.” He looked at her with sad eyes. “I can only guess what will lie ahead of you if you chose to take on the role and the power of the Pramuc. It won't be easy. I don't think that anyone has ever had that kind of potency before. It may not even work, or it could kill us all for the trying. There has just never been a Pramuc before. Uncharted territory, this. But I would do it if I were you. There are just too many people in this world that could use the help. If I had a way to act, to try, and I didn't do anything, it would feel like a lie – a big one – and it would last for the rest of my life.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “So, you, collectively are telling me 'Yes, no and maybe.'” Chenda closed her eyes for a moment. “Well, your perspectives give me food for thought. Thank you all for helping me get this far. I never would have made it without your help and guidance. I just need to think a little longer.”

Verdu spoke, “If it helps, I will stand by you no matter what you choose to do.”

Fenimore chimed in, “Whatever you need from me, just ask. I only want to make sure you stay safe. I'm here as long as you are.” He stroked her ankle again, hoping to be a comfort once more.

“And I'm sure my office will still be poisonous for another week or two, so I've got some time to stick with you, as well,” Candice added, and they all laughed.

“I wonder, can we get any more of that Chalk of Contentment?” Candice asked.

The next morning, lying in the darkness of the small chamber, Chenda decided that all three of her friends were right. Chenda knew that there was no returning to her old life, and starting life over in the Republic would leave her always wondering
What if...
. Verdu's sentiment about turning her back on a gift, a unique one from the gods no less, made her heart heavy. Regret would plague her if she didn't try. Clearly, Chenda had made her choice. When she met with Pranav Erato, she would accept the role of Pramuc.

She listened to the gentle breathing of the others, each still sleeping. She rolled out of her bed and crawled over to where Fenimore slumbered. Chenda leaned close and asked the stupidest question one can ask a sleeping person, “Fen, are you awake?”

“Hmm, narf,” he answered. He breathed in deeply. “Chenda? What's wrong?”

“Oh, nothing's wrong,” she answered. “I've just decided what I am going to do. I'm going to try and embrace being the Pramuc. I will, but I am really frightened. I don't want to talk with the others about how much of a coward I am.”

“There's nothing wrong with being frightened when you are about to plunge headlong into the unknown. Don't be so hard on yourself.”

“Thank you for that. I only mention it because I want you to help me with one thing.”

“Sure, whatever you want.”

“I want you to keep that retreat plan in mind. If I can't control this thing... I mean, I don't want to hurt anyone, and, if it turns out that the vast power of the elements is more than I can control or endure, you've got to find a way to get me out of harm's way, someplace I can't devastate the landscape or something. If it's really making me suffer, or I become some kind of monster, I need you to help me end it. Can you do that for me?”

“End it? Or end you?” Fenimore asked.

“I think you know what I'm asking,” Chenda said.

“We can just go now and skip all the terror, if you want.”

“I don't think I can,” Chenda replied taking Fenimore by the hand. “Will you protect the world from me if this all falls apart?”