Page 59 of Veil of Vasara (Fate of the Five #1)

CHAPTER 59- BAZ

T he distant sound of arguing woke me up.

“She is gone, there is no use in…” A male’s voice said.

“Without her we are trapped here!” A woman’s voice, Ullna’s voice.

“We need to focus.”

I sat up. We were situated in a similar place as before we were attacked, only it was smaller, and less well hidden.

I stood. Yaseer turned towards me, instantly aware of my movements.

Ullna followed his gaze. She strode in my direction.

“Use your enolith, find her,” she ordered.

“Find….” I was about to ask who when it dawned on me.

Nemina wasn’t here.

“Where is she?!” I asked, in a hushed, but frantic tone.

Beside us, a green light emerged, through it stepped Vykros, and the man, the beautiful Healer, clad in black.

Vykros winked, saluted, and then returned through the teleport he had created.

The man in black remained in place.

Ullna gave Yaseer a look that promised him great pain. “You called for him?”

“This situation is unprecedented.”

“He cannot be here now!”

“What happened?” the Healer asked coolly.

He strode towards Ullna and through his hooded cloak, glared at the wound on her face. “This cut is not healing.”

Ullna jerked her face away, avoiding his touch.

“Noxstone. Again.” The Healer sounded woeful.

“It would have been much worse than this if not for…” Yaseer glanced at me anxiously.

Ullna tutted again and a troubled expression flashed in her gaze.

“If not for what?” I asked.

Ullna was clearly reluctant to answer and so, Yaseer did instead, “Nemina.”

“Nemina?” I repeated. “But her powers aren’t even…”

Yaseer winced slightly, watching me with a pained look.

My face fell, turning very slowly to Ullna.

Ullna met my eyes. “The girl took the blow.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Deliberately?” the cloaked man asked, his voice tinted with concern.

Ullna nodded in response, frustrated.

“She saved your life,” the man concluded.

Ullna was obviously unhappy about this fact.

I was unhappy about the sour expression plastered across her face.

“All the time, you’ve been berating her, scolding her, blaming her, doubting her. The least you could do is look grateful that she saved you…not…disgusted,” I blurted out.

Ullna for once, didn’t reply.

“She could be dead!” I failed to keep the emotional strain out of my voice.

“That is why we must look for her swiftly, and why I have called the Healer.” Yaseer looked at the man. “I am sorry to—"

The Healer interjected. “No, I would have been displeased had you not called upon me.”

The Healer looked at Ullna intently as he spoke. He was clearly displeased Ullna had not informed him of the situation herself.

Yaseer smiled tightly at his response.

“Your enolith,” Ullna stated to me.

I felt around for it. “I…it’s not…I don’t have it anymore. It must have fallen when—"

“Fuck,” Ullna cursed. I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at hearing her swear.

“I didn’t realise it was so difficult to keep a hold of these things for some people ,” Ullna hissed.

“One of those people stopped you from getting killed by a lethal blade,” I snapped.

The cloaked man smiled. The bottom half of his face the only part exposed once again.

“He is right. It is no surprise the stone was lost, or that the young woman saved your life,” the Healer said.

Ullna looked at him doubtfully.

“She knew that she alone had a chance at surviving a blow from those weapons,” he explained.

Ullna’s hand hovered over the cut on her face. “She may not survive this one. It was…clean and direct.”

“Where was she hit?” the Healer asked solemnly.

“I am not sure, but I saw a lot of blood as she fell.”

“She fell?” the Healer sounded confused.

“We were airborne. Riders attacked us. Nemina cannot levitate,” Yaseer stated.

“She was already weakened by her previous injuries.” The Healer’s voice was grave. “Where did she fall?”

Yaseer and Ullna looked at each other.

“Near the Citadel.”

I could not see the Healer’s eyes, but from the way his body language changed, I could imagine they were currently filled with intense discontent. “What were you doing near the Citadel?”

All three of us shifted anxiously on our feet at the Healer’s slightly enraged tone.

For me, that was because it had been completely unlike the previous manner in which he had spoken. But for Ullna and Yaseer…I wondered if they had seen the Healer in this mood before, and if they had seen the consequences.

“Our Teleporter made an error,” Ullna sighed.

“And our Teleporter has been taken,” Yaseer added.

“Aeesha’s been taken?” I asked.

Yaseer nodded regretfully.

“That building? That tall, dark structure, with the domed—" I began to ask.

“Yes, that is the Citadel’s centre,” Ullna confirmed.

“Then we have no choice but to go there ourselves,” the Healer said.

“She wasn’t alone,” Ullna said solemnly. “When she fell, one of the riders, I saw him grab her.”

“One of their riders?” The Healer’s voice was even more gritty and demanding now.

“Why would he do that? He was falling himself,” I pondered out loud.

“Perhaps he thought he could survive the fall, and bring her back,” Yaseer speculated.

“Those warriors are trained to estimate every variable with utter precision. He would have known what he was doing, the risk to his own life when he reached for her,” the Healer dismissed Yaseer’s guess.

“So, they know who she is?” I remarked.

“There is no other explanation,” the Healer said confidently.

“But how?” Ullna sounded doubtful.

“She was…well known here,” I mumbled.

“Why?” Ullna looked baffled.

“She…had a habit of…” I tried to find the words, “Not being as obedient as they would have liked.”

The corner of Yaseer’s mouth turned up. “That does sound like her.”

“They kept her separate from us, for years. So, they always recognised her as distinctly separate from the rest of us.”

The Healer sounded unsettled when he asked. “Where did they keep her?”

I nodded my head. “Deeper underground, but other than that…I really don’t know anything.”

“It will not be the only reason she is so easily recognisable,” Yaseer murmured. The other two nodded in agreement.

I frowned. “What’s the other reason?”

Yaseer stopped Ullna from answering, she had probably been about to berate me for my lack of understanding.

“He wouldn’t know,” Yaseer reminded her.

“Know what? What wouldn’t I know? Why do you always take so long to answer questions? It’s always staring at each other for twenty seconds at the minimum before you speak!”

Ullna scowled, Yaseer ignored my outburst.

The Healer said. “It’s her eyes.”

“Her eyes?”

“And her hair,” he added.

I placed my hands on the sides of my head and shook it, letting out a laugh. “What? Her eyes and hair? What does that have to do with anything?”

“You were still free when they made the decree, weren’t you?” Ullna sounded suspicious.

“Just tell me!”

“After the war, a decree was issued that restricted it. They believed, and still do, that it contributes to the development of the birth of sorcerers.”

“What does?”

I decided if they didn’t actually explain what they were speaking about in the next five seconds, I would infiltrate their minds and find out, even if I lost consciousness again.

“Cross breeding… between the Kingdoms,” Yaseer answered.

“Does it? Actually contribute to it?” I looked at the three of them in turn.

“Of course not,” Ullna spat.

“But what do you mean…how can you tell?”

“Don’t you know anything?” Ullna said.

“Can’t you just answer a question normally?” I bit back.

Ullna was about to reply bitterly, when Yaseer spoke up, “The people from each Kingdom possess distinct physical features. Skin, eyes, and hair colours that are characteristic of each territory. You’re aware of the brown or bronze skin, dark hair, dark or golden eyes those from Audra possess. You’re probably also aware that in Vasara, many have red, or auburn hair, sometimes brown.”

“Like Nemina,” I said slowly. Her hair was a searing flame, tinted with gold, a burning copper.

“Yes, but, in Vasara, the people have eyes which are usually red, brown, or rarely, blue in colour, but Nemina’s are—" Yaseer started.

“None of those,” I finished his sentence.

“Exactly.”

“In Jurasa their eyes are blue, or green,” Yaseer continued, “In Zeima, pale blue, or brown, and in Kalnasa they are either violet, dark blue, or—"

“Grey,” I whispered.

“Your friend is half Kalnasan, and half Vasaran,” the Healer confirmed. “And she’s likely one of the only people left in this world whose heritage is mixed in such a way.”

“So, her features would be easy to remember,” I understood.

“But…that Season they hold—” I started.

“It is restricted, not banned,” the Healer stated. “Political alliances come before their theories and principles.”

Ullna scoffed. I sighed. That was to be expected, I supposed.

The Healer spoke again, “Ullna and I will search for Nemina. She witnessed her fall. Both of you should remain here.”

“But I—"

“Acciperean.” Although the Healer's eyes were covered, he seemed to look at me earnestly. “I will find your friend. I will bring her back.”

It was hard not to be distracted by the grace of his movements, his mouth, his voice.

My eyes shuffled around his form, not knowing where to rest. “You can’t know that for sure, just let me—"

“No. Your emotional attachment to her will only cloud your judgement, and being so near to the Citadel is extremely dangerous.”

Ullna cleared her throat and eyed the Healer with clear disagreement.

Was Ullna actually on my side for once? It seemed impossible.

“That’s exactly my concern,” I stressed. “The fact you have no emotional attachment to her at all and she"— I pointed at Ullna— “probably wouldn’t bat an eyelid if she died.”

Ullna took several steps towards me. “That girl is impulsive and reckless. She is dangerous and often foolish. She has no sense of reason or ability to compromise. But…if you think I do not care whether she lives or dies, or the fact she is the reason I am still breathing, then you are wrong.”

“You only care because you want to use her…both of you.” I looked at the Healer.

“Be that as it may, it is reason enough,” Ullna replied.

“No, it isn’t! Reason enough for how long? How long would you fight for someone who is simply a means to an end for you?”

“Until that end is reached, which it is not. You are currently wasting our time and hers.”

No, she was most definitely not on my side.

“If she dies…it will be because she saved your life.”

“I am aware of that, which is why I would like to hurry.”

“So that you can maintain a clear conscience?”

“Ha.” Ullna’s laugh was short and clipped. “My conscience hasn’t been clear for years.”

She strode away and the Healer, before following her, said, “Reach into my mind.” He commanded me so flippantly as if he were asking for a cup of water.

“W…what?” I mumbled. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. “I’m not sure I can. I just used my…and well, now it’s been too soon since—"

“Do it. It will be easy. I’m letting you in.”

“Why are you hovering there?” Ullna shouted at the Healer from behind him.

Sensing I had little time to do so, I complied with the Healer’s request. I was drained but I managed to reach into the Healer’s mind swiftly. He had been right. It was far easier than the times I had done so before. A willing participant made a difference it seemed.

He was thinking of something. At first, I couldn’t understand it, couldn’t make sense of the images, or sounds or words.

But then it became clearer.

It was a memory. He was showing me a memory.

It was brief, but vivid, almost as detailed as reality, as if he had been clinging onto it, thinking on it, making sure each colour and shape remained intact.

It was him…and…

I withdrew from his mind.

In my stupor at the shock at what I had seen, I was silent, looking around the space for a point of refuge, feeling disorientated.

“She is not a means to an end,” the Healer insisted softly.

Then he vanished behind his translucency.

Yaseer was standing to the side, he had obviously been able to hear what had just transpired, but he said nothing, and sat on the ground.

I stood in place, trying to process what I had just seen.

But I couldn’t, I simply gazed at the ground and murmured.

“Shit.”