I took it, broke it in half, and put half in my
mouth. Eating bark is frowned on in most parts of America. But so is eating
yorkies, at least outside of a Chinese restaurant.
“I wonder if I’ll outlive you. You’re much older than
me.”
“We’re both immortal; we’ll only die if killed, and I
seem to be better at not getting killed than you,” he said.
I knew he was right. “Have you ever been married?” I
asked. “You’ve lived a long time and had kids. Have you ever loved a woman or
were you just… obligated to have kids.”
He frowned thoughtfully at the fire. “A bit of both.
I have loved. There were several women I liked and who I got along well with. I
had several children before I discovered love.” He pulled out his book, opened
it to a page, and then pointed out a signature written in something that didn’t
quite look Sudo, though it still looked a little Japanese or Chinese. “Milia, a
human. She wasn’t a witch, but she had visions of the future, so they tried to
burn her as one. I was visiting Ronez. Ronez was a real gentleman with women
and would not give up the chance to help one. I always found humans to be
irritating and cruel. They very rarely ever did burn a real wizard and when
they did, it was by accident; the person hadn’t even discovered his or her
powers. Milia never denied her powers. She took the punishment bravely, though
she did not deserve it.
“They took her up and tightened the rope around her
neck. Our eyes locked and something in me… I knew I couldn’t let them kill her.
I don’t know why even to this day, but I couldn’t let it happen. Ronez was off
saving someone else so it was up to me to help her. In front of all those people.
But luck came when needed most. She had a vision, right there. Her eyes rolled
back, her skin paled… she looked like she was having a seizure. She called out
my name as if she knew me. It scared people, some of them into running away.
Everyone was too surprised and confused to react. I used that distraction to
get up there and cut her down. She passed out as soon as her vision ended. I
pulled her away and got her back to Ronez’s house without anyone following.
“Ronez called me an idiot many times, but he seemed
to understand why I did it, too. I didn’t understand the look he gave me until
much later. When she awoke, she wanted to sign my book before I even told her
about it. Then she came to live with me and for many years, it was great. I was
happy with her, even when we got in little arguments, usually involving the
kids. She was only able to have two, both of which gave her a lot of trouble.
But after about twenty years, she grew depressed. I am immortal and she kept
getting older.” His face remained indecipherable but his voice was despondent.
“She left me so I wouldn’t see her get older. Despite
all her visions, she believed I was better off without her. I begged her not to
go. She died alone many years later. I said I would never let myself love
another mortal.
“Life was different when I was young. I was never
surrounded by girls or given the opportunity to explore what was out there,
including heartache. I thought the feelings I had for Milia was the strongest
type of love, and so I was miserable for several years. I actually went into a
depressed state in which Ronez had to take care of me. But I learned to keep
living. My life was going to last until I ended it, which would leave my world
and everyone in it in danger. Eventually, there came women I loved even more,
and the older I got, the more deep the love and painful the loss when they died
or left.”
There were a few minutes of silence. I didn’t want to
bring up the other women he loved, not because I didn’t want to hear about it;
I just didn’t want to bring up more bad memories. He had a long life of loss.
The only one he loved who wouldn’t die was Ronez.
Ronez was killed very
recently and I am a reminder of that.
That thought made me miserable. So we
both sat there in misery, his much stronger than mine, and mine considerably
more guilt related.
“Did you find any books you were interested in?” he
asked, his voice neutral. I shook my head at the fire.
“No. Not that I’m interested in yet. Did Ronez like
religion?” I asked.
He looked at me. “Yes, he was fascinated by most of
them. He loved myths, religions, and philosophies, much more than magic even.
He said it was a great way to learn the best about people.”
There was silence for another moment.
“Listen.” His voice was different, almost grave, as
he stared at the fire. “Whatever happens in your life, your utmost priority has
to be the protection of that book. Ronez always took foolish risks. He put his
book and himself in danger too often. In the end, though, he made the right
decision, even though it meant his death. Understand you may have to make the
same decision.”
“I know. I’m not sure I really know what that means,
but I know what I would have to do.”
We stood up simultaneously. Edward brought his hands
together as if in prayer, opened his hands very quickly, and then made a motion
like he was pushing something into the fire. The fire lashed out angrily and
died.
“Cool,” I said. “Do you always show off for your
apprentices?”
“New apprentices are always awed by the simple
tricks. It’s nothing special; all I did was blow out the fire. Most of my
apprentices have been young teens who lose interest quickly if the magic seems
unobtainable.”
He started for the porch and I grabbed the lantern
before joining him.
After putting his dirty clothes away, Edward stayed
up to read a book while I went off to bed, not knowing how much longer my legs
could last. The bath had been nice, but my muscles really hurt. I sat down and
kicked off my shoes, then got up and moved them so Edward wouldn’t trip over
them. It was very dark and quiet; even Tibbit made no sound.
I thought about the book and how I would possibly
have to risk my life for it. Everything I would ever do would have to include
the book’s best interests. Why didn’t that bother me?
* * *
It wasn’t long before I drifted into a dream.
However, this dream wasn’t normal; it didn’t involve Vivian or Mother, or
college. Nor did it involve Edward, the yorkie, Tibbit, Ronez, or the haunted
springs.
It was pitch black for a few minutes before my eyes
started to adapt. Even then I couldn’t see the walls or floor, only the outline
of a tall man who stood between me and a light. I realized why I hadn’t seen
anything before; he had just lit a lantern. Because of the position of the
light, I could barely make out anything about the man other than that he faced
away from me.
“Are you sure?” His voice was cold and calm with no
emotion, but at the same time it was deep and menacing.
I couldn’t look around; I didn’t seem to be able to
move. It was so vivid, but I didn’t feel anything, not even the temperature of
the room.
“Yes, my Lord, there were two of them.” The new voice
was light and worried; a child’s voice. “The book of Earth had a Guardian. Shio
told us he killed the Guardian of Earth, but maybe he lied. Do you trust the
one he killed was a Guardian?”
“I do not trust Shio, but I know the wizard he killed
was a Guardian. There must be a new Guardian. I’m disappointed that it found
one so quickly, but I’m more interested in the other Guardian. Two books are
together. Now is the time to hunt them.”
“But… two Guardians, my Lord? With you unable to
leave… we might be outmatched,” the child said, apprehensive.
“You don’t understand. One is new, practically a
child. The other Guardian must be protecting them both. That means both the
Guardians and their books are vulnerable. Send Shio to find them. Tell him not
to attack, only report back.”
“Where shall he start the search?”
“I don’t care. He defeated one Guardian already, so
he can find them. If he finds another Guardian, not the two I’m looking for, he
is to take the Guardian’s book anyway and return it to me. Go now.” The man
started to look over his shoulder, but before I could see his face, my body lit
up with pain.
* * *
I woke from my dream and sat up, but I had no breath
to scream. My body felt suffocated even as the pain immediately dulled. After a
few seconds, whatever was constricting my body released me and I sucked cold
air into my aching lung. I was sweating profusely.
The bedroom was lit with sunlight, which went a long
way in helping me to get my bearings. With the understanding that it was just a
dream, I tried to calm my pounding heart. Edward, who had been holding the
bookshelf up, approached me cautiously, as if I was freaking out.
“What did you see?” he asked carefully, for he was
trying not to panic me.
Tibbit was screeching his lungs out. I leaned back,
clutching my ears. “Turn it off!” I cried.
Edward looked up. “Shut up!” His voice wasn’t very
loud, but it was deep and seeped authority. It even had a hint of growling in
it. The bird stopped dead. Edward must have known how horrible I felt, since he
leaned down and handed me a piece of Wigknot bark. I raised it weakly to my
mouth, my hand shaking. “What did you see?” he asked again, calmly.
“I had a dream. It was just a dream. What happened in
here?” I asked, indicating several fallen books.
He sat beside me on the bed. “Tell me what you saw.”
“I was in a room with a man… I couldn’t see him
because he was turned away and there was a light on the other side of him. He
spoke to someone. I don’t know where she was, but she was a child, I’m sure. He
asked about two Guardians; a new one and another one. The girl was telling him
about us. She knew about me and that you’re with me. The guy told her that our
books are vulnerable together and ordered the girl to send someone named Shio
to find us. I think Shio was the one who found Ronez. When Shio finds us, he’s
got to report back without attacking. The girl was worried about taking on two
Guardians because of something about him not able to leave, but he told her we
wouldn’t be a problem. He turned but before I could see his face, I felt pain
and woke up. What happened here?”
“I woke with the cabin shaking. You were soaking up
energy and lashing out. As a Guardian of the book, you’ll have visions when the
book is threatened, but if you can see him, he can see you. You were taken out
of it by the book so you wouldn’t be seen.”
I was feeling fairly back to normal by then. “How can
they track our books?”
“Like the servants and me, they can hunt the scent of
the books. However, that only works for a small distance. They wouldn’t be able
to find it here unless they were near my territory.”
“I forgot about that. So, the books stink?”
“No. They have a distinct aura that can supposedly
drive big animals away and smaller ones out of their minds. When you first
approached it, did you want to leave it and get away?” he asked. I nodded.
“That was for its own protection. The fact that you did pick it up and keep it
without becoming its Guardian is… interesting. Then again, I have never seen a
book unclaimed. I imagine the instinct to sign it would be strong whether you
were meant to be its Guardian or not.”
“Aren’t you taking a big risk protecting and teaching
me?”
“It is a worse risk to leave you and your book
defenseless. I’ve already thought this over before you signed your book. How
they travel the worlds is the real mystery.”
“The man made it sound like that wouldn’t be a
problem. They got to Ronez. What if Vretial found a way around the books? And
if he did, why does he want the books?”
“The gods are all watching him, keeping him
restrained. If he did find a way for his servants to travel without the books,
he would still want more books to take control of more worlds. As for Ronez…
Most likely, he let the wrong people sign it.”
“But you?”
“I have trust issues.”
I frowned. “You trusted me pretty quickly. How do you
know I’m not with them? That I didn’t find the book before you and play dumb to
get you to let me sign your book?”
He chuckled. “You are smart. Pretty paranoid, too.”
Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean there isn’t an
evil god out to get me. And my little book, too.
“I thought of that. Ronez and I told each other every
new name put in and why it was done. He only had two humans in his book, and
both died over a hundred years before your birth. You’re clearly human and I
knew you couldn’t leave Earth to serve Vretial and travel back to kill him
without your name in his book.”
“So you think Vretial’s servants had signed his
book?”
“I don’t see any other way to travel,” he said.
“If that’s the case, we have nothing to worry about,
because their names are not in your book, right?” I asked. He frowned and
nodded. “Was Ronez ever without his book?”
“No.”
“You said he told you every new name. Did he ever
mention Shio or did you see the name in your book,” I asked.
He shook his head, thinking. “Ninety percent of the
names I can’t read, but he never mentioned Shio. We always familiarized
ourselves with each other’s books, and I examined it while you slept the first
night you got here.”
“Ronez was killed on Earth? For sure?”
“Yes. His body was never found, but Erono, god of
Duran, said he was on Earth when he died. I spoke with Ronez’s boss, who said
that he was hanging out with an employee, who also went missing at the same time.
I assume he was killed as well. I checked his house and found nothing out of
order except for his guitar on the floor. That was how I found you so quickly;
he lived in Austin, Texas. Though, I must say, it was hard work to track you
down in such a populated city.”
“Did you look into the employee?”