Page 17

Lucian

Past

When Nikkita began her odd romance with Delgarias Dullahan, I was overjoyed.

No longer were she and Kerainne permanently attached.

Even after the faelin trading party returned to Shellandria, Nikkita withdrew more often, keeping to herself as she wrote letters to her beau and read ones he’d sent.

Eventually they began dream-summoning each other.

I wish I could have learned to do the same with Kerainne because the years in Luminista away from her were a torture.

So when Nikkita declined a rescue mission on Earth, I did what was previously unthinkable to me.

I offered to go with Kerainne. To my surprise, I didn’t hate everything about this world of dying magic.

Especially the place Kerainne took me. The trees were tall pines and spruce that freshened the crisp mountain air.

The lake near the portal was a long ribbon wending into many coves and inlets, beautiful and bountiful with delicious fish the Schitsu’umsh tribe served in their welcoming feast for us.

Kerainne did most of the speaking, as I had not studied the Salish language.

There was an awkward moment when I had to explain that I could not hunt.

This was received with acute disapproval and censure until Kerainne explained how in our culture, not killing was a sacred vow.

Some of the tribe members looked askance at me after, and even though I didn’t know the language, it was obvious from their tones and gestures that they thought me to be unmanly.

I proved them wrong by beating them in athletic and practice fighting competitions and won their admiration when they saw how all their dogs were loyal to me.

Still, I was usually relegated to working with the women, foraging for roots, mushrooms, and these marvelous purple berries that were so sweet and tart.

Huckleberry picking was monotonous work and the hiking and crouching on steep mountainsides worked muscles I didn’t know I hadn’t been using.

However, the long hours gave me time to both speak with Kerainne and begin to learn the Salish language.

A week after berry camp, we discovered something amazing.

A party composed of men, women, two-spirits, and tribal elders took us on a gem-hunting expedition.

After long canoe ride all the way down the lake and south-east across two small rivers, we reached a place full of deep pits of mud between two streams. Kerainne gasped in delight at the sight of the pits.

“Garnets!” she exclaimed. “I’d wondered where they’d gotten them.”

With that, she kicked off her moccasins, hiked up her deer hide dress and leaped into an empty mud pit with childish glee.

She showed me how to use a rock pick made from antler to scrape large chunks of clayish mud dotted with stones into a loose-weave basket, which we’d use to sift out the mud in the nearby creek.

I couldn’t stop gaping at this unexpected side of her in awe. “I thought you didn’t like being cold and wet.”

“I don’t. Mud is different. Especially when it comes with treasures.” Kerainne grinned and squished the mud between her toes. “I’ve only dug garnets in Medicia, though. And last time, I had to pretend I didn’t like getting muddy so I could chaperone Nik and Delgarias. It was torture!”

Her enthusiasm helped dampen my sensory repulsion to the cool mud and look on with interest. And when Kerainne found her first big garnet, a naturally faceted decagon that was so dark it looked black until one held it in the light and could see the rich, dark purple, she gasped and jumped up and down, splattering my shins with mud.

“They’re just like our garnets! Purple, and not red!” she squealed in Luminstani instead of the Salish we’d been working on. “And Auntie Bobcat says that they have stars ! I wonder if this why I feel such an odd connection to this area even though the winters are unbearable.”

Now it was my turn to gasp. “You don’t intend to stay here, do you?”

“Of course not.” Kerainne laughed at the notion. “Medicia is my home. Aisthanesthai is my home.”

She said the last so vehemently that a stone dropped in my belly. Did she not like Luminista? Would we not live there if I was able to make her my bride?

I closed my eyes and forced myself to regain my composure. Kerainne was happy right now and I’d be an utter jackass if I ruined that. And I could be patient. When Kerainne had her next death, I’d be there waiting and this time, I’d show her all the good things that our home realm had to offer.

Then, she smiled at me again and all my thoughts vanished with the urge to kiss her again. But while we were among the Schitsu’umsh, we had to abide by their customs. I thought about how I could use that to my advantage.

After speaking with Yellow Root, the tribal councilman who was the most patient with my oddities and in whose lodge I was a guest, I learned how to court Kerainne in the Schitsu’umsh style.

I carried water for her in the mornings, and in the evenings we were permitted to stand outside the partially subterranean dome lodge in which Kerainne was a guest with Auntie Bobcat’s family.

We huddled under a blanket and talked until we heard a cough from the lodge doorway.

Life with this tribe was so rich and peaceful that I was confused as to why they were the focus of a rescue mission. Rescuing them from what? I’d frequently asked.

And then my question was answered.

A hunting party had gone over the Bitterroot mountains to the plains in the east to hunt buffalo.

The tribe didn’t really need buffalo, but they enjoyed going on a long trip, evading other tribes, and the challenge of bringing down such large and challenging game.

And, of course, the meat and hides were valued for food and for trading with the coastal Salish tribes, who didn’t have access to buffalo, but had many prized commodities from the sea.

But this time, instead of buffalo, the hunting party brought back people. They weren’t new wives or war captives, they were members of a tribe where almost every member used magic. They were isolated, but happy and prosperous.

Until Mephistopheles came and took their land.

He didn’t occupy it like a conqueror, but literally stole it, the trees, the lakes, the creek.

All that land would become part of Qua’ al-fán, the world he was building with vast miles of stolen lands like Atlantis and Thinis.

All that was left was barrenness. He even took most of the people, aside from the few who’d read the signs and fled after the others didn’t listen to them.

Not long after the refugees from the other tribe told their story and were given food and shelter, the Schitsu’umsh tribal leaders summoned Kerainne and me to their lodge.

“Our magic elder has told us your purpose.” The chief pointed at Kerainne. “You’ve been here before and took people from us. Not to count coup on us as enemies, but to bring them to where they belong so they can find their destinies.”

“That is true,” Kerainne said. “And you know what I must do.”

The chief and elders nodded in unison, but then the chief crossed his arms over his chest and regarded us sternly. “You also seem to know of that evil god who stole from the world. Is he coming to us next?”

“I don’t know,” Kerainne’s eyes were tormented with sorrow at the idea of the tribe being harmed. “I will have to consult our own magic elder about that. We call him Keeper of the Prophecy.”

Before I could recover from her telling these people the sacred secrets of Aisthanesthai, she continued.

“But if it is of any worth to you, I feel like your lands will remain safe from that evil god. Other enemies may come and take over parts of your lands, but your heart will remain and your people will endure.”

I didn’t know what compelled me to blurt out, “We can help perform a protection spell. To keep the Evil One from knowing of the magic you have, so he won’t come here.”

Kerainne gasped. “We can’t know if such a thing will work. It never has before.”

One of the elders whispered something to the chief. He nodded somberly and turned back to us. “Our prophecy-seers haven’t seen anything resembling the evil horned-god the people we rescued saw. They feel a protection spell won’t cause harm, even if it doesn’t work.”

There was a brief argument as to whether or not I could be included in the ritual, as the chief and council still doubted me because I was neither hunter nor warrior, but I halted the debate by demonstrating the smallest bit of my magic.

When they saw me manifest a shield that prevented their war chief from being able to strike me, I was welcomed to be part of the casting.

Kerainne was welcomed with no objections. Although we’d never demonstrated our magic beforehand, somehow they knew she held power.

After following their secret purifying rituals, we gathered at the place by the lake where the portal to Aisthanesthai was.

I won’t share the tribe’s secret magics, but I will say that I’ve never felt anything like it before.

And the one time I returned to the area over two thousand years later, and over a century after the tribe was displaced to a reservation, I could still feel it in the air.

After the ritual, the tribe treated us to a farewell feast and we took the people we rescued through the portal and to Tolonqua.

Once back in Medicia, a message awaited me in the palace.

Jagwolfe clan wanted me back home to resume my duties.

The ecosystem I’d built for the lizards needed a few tweaks to make it more viable.

I hated leaving Kerainne. Fates, I hated leaving Medicia, for two important things were occurring.

First, Nikkita had reached her first century of life without having her first death.

So Queen Natalya declared that she had to die in front of the whole kingdom.

Kerainne and I were repulsed at that, but the monarchs said it was tradition.

Secondly, Gelfed the Red, Keeper of the Prophecy, had died. A new one had been awakened, but we didn’t know who he or she was yet.

I promised Nik that I would be waiting in Luminista to greet her when she ascended. Then it was time for me to say my farewells to Kerainne. For the longest time, we held each other in silence.

“When do you plan on returning to Luminista?” I asked her. “There’s so much that I want to show you.”

“I’m not in a hurry to die,” Kerainne looked down at her slippers, avoiding my gaze. “I really didn’t care for the experience. Besides, Nik and I need to return to our mage studies if we’re going to attain the black robes.”

“You don’t even care about mage ranks.” Some of my bitterness escaped my tone. “You’re only taking lessons because that’s what your sister wants.”

“That’s not completely true. The more magic I have, the more people I can help.”

Her fixation on helping people still puzzled me at the time. But my experience with the tribe had started awakening my understanding on how good that felt. Before I could turn this farewell into another argument, I pulled out the biggest garnet from my bottomless pouch.

“Very well. Then soon you’ll need a staff. Keep this safe for me so I may craft one for you.”

Kerainne’s eyes widened. Crafting a staff for a mage was tantamount to a marriage proposal. “Does this mean you wish to court me?”

“I will court you in every culture but the luminite way,” I admitted. “Until you learn more about Luminista’s culture, I don’t think it wise to pursue you formally.”

I held my breath, wondering if she’d be hurt or upset.

Instead, she smiled and nodded. “That is fair. In mage courting, you are permitted to kiss me…and more.”

I groaned at the thought of more and swept her into my arms, claiming her luscious lips in a deep kiss. She melted against me and it took every atom of will in my body not to scoop her up and carry her off to our private cliff.

Like the first time, she promised to dispose of my body in the Jagwolfe tradition.

When I returned home, I received the full list of my duties, thwarted another interrogation about the status of my courtship with Kerainne, and then tried to make my way to the Leonine clan’s welcoming hall.

But my mother had already found out about Nikkita’s death ceremony through the scrying spheres and told everyone.

Therefore, most of my immediate family followed me there.

The Leonine clan already filled the chamber and Lucian groaned. “Nik will hate this.”

My mother made a sympathetic sound. “Well, maybe we can whisk her away to our palace where she won’t be so overwhelmed.”

I raised a brow. “You want to try that again after it went so poorly with Kerainne?”

She shrugged and whispered, “Well, the courtship doesn’t seem to be going well. Perhaps this one will be more suitable.”

Disgust filled me. “I literally watched Nikkita be born.”

Before I could recover from my mother’s constant machinations, I watched the Leonine Clan mob around Nik, increasing her discomfort.

“I’m a little overwhelmed,” Nik told them. “I’d like to go home.”

Eager to end everyone’s selfish machinations for her, I rushed to her side. She gave me a grateful look, happy to see a friend.

“We understand,” I assured her loudly, not caring if anyone was upset at me speaking for us all.

“The first time can overwhelm many. Also, many luminites choose to leave as soon as they arrive here as they were busy with something, so we’re accustomed to these sudden arrivals and departures.

We were planning on paying a visit to Medicia soon anyway, so we may reacquaint ourselves then.

Please give your sister my deepest regards. ”

I gave her instructions on how to return, wishing I could go with her.

Only a few days later, I received two big surprises.

The first was Kerainne’s arrival in my family’s palace. “I’ve come to visit for a few days, if you don’t mind.”

My heart leapt with elation and I pulled her into my arms, not caring if anyone was watching.

And then she delivered the second surprise. “The new Keeper of the Prophecy came to visit us. It’s Delgarias.”