Gorinthians (24 page)

Stepping over some of the
rubble that had collapsed from above when the earthquake struck,
Seranova paused as a small, blue-glowing object caught her eye.
Pulling several broken pieces of brick from around it, she pulled
it free with a grunt into her mouthpiece. Brushing the silt from
it, she saw it was a small statue of a man with wings, the fact
that he was a man being obvious from the lack of clothes. As she
touched it, a white glow emanated from it, blinding her. She could
tell by its weight that it was made from Prenium, but she was not
prepared for the bright light that appeared when she touched it.
She knew the Prenium objects she had amassed thus far would glow in
the dark for hours after being in the light, but she had never seen
one that began glowing on its own, or with the bright intensity
this one did. Fascinated, she tried to see into the statue to
detect where the light emanated from. As she studied it, she began
feeling a tingling along her spine that ran into her arms and legs
and almost burned. Dropping it suddenly, she stepped back with a
loud clank of her heavy sandals. Immediately the hot, tingling
sensation and the intense light both ceased, leaving her blind in
the sudden change back to her Everglow sight. Cautiously, she
reached out and laid a finger on it. Light flooded the depths once
again, and the tingling sensation slowly returned. Snatching her
hand back, she thought for a moment before wrapping her hand in one
of the weighted bags that hung at her waist and reaching forward to
touch it once more. Nothing happened. Giving herself a satisfied
nod, she scooped the statue into the bag.

As she turned around, she
realized that her Everglow vision was not returning. The bright
flash must have done something to ruin it. Heart pumping, she
breathed heavily through the air hose as she began blindly making
her way back to where she had dropped into the lake. Reaching out
with her hands, she felt for the rope that she left hanging from
the bank with a rock tied to it. After several minutes of fumbling
in the dark, she risked touching the statue again, just long enough
to get her bearings and find the rope. Once again, light bloomed
from her bag, illuminating everything around her. After a moment,
she spotted the rope several paces to her right, and stomped over
to it, removing her finger from the statue. In the blackness that
followed, she clipped her Prenium sandals onto the rope, untying it
from the rock that held it. Once her sandals were secured to the
rope, she loosened the straps and slid her feet out of them. The
air pockets in her coat helped to counter the weight in her bags
and the objects that she carried, but she still had to use the rope
to pull herself up to the bank.

Pulling herself over the
edge, she turned back to the lake and began pulling the rope up
that her Prenium sandals were tied to. By the time that she had
them over the edge, she was panting with exertion. Being an
explorer was hard work. As she began pulling her leather sandals
back on, a voice cleared behind her, causing her to whirl around in
shock.

---

Ferrich felt as if every
muscle in his body were on fire. He was not exactly unfit, having
climbed up and down the Pit on a regular basis, but the forced pace
that Morindessa had set since leaving Shalilayo four days past
would have exhausted even the hardiest infantry soldier. They slept
only long enough for him to regain enough energy to continue.
Morindessa did not seem to be showing any signs of fatigue, a fact
that distressed Ferrich more than he liked to admit, even to
himself. She kept a constant watch of their surroundings, as if she
expected the king and his guards to come rushing out of the brush
beside the road.

They passed a small town
called Laketown when the sun set and Ferrich suggested they stay
the night at the hostel. They had spent the last two nights
sleeping under bushes; the first night, they had not stopped at
all.

"Ferrich, where do you think
your father is going to send his soldiers to look for you?”
Morindessa asked patiently. "You do know that the hostels are
subsidized by the crown, don't you?"

Sighing regretfully, Ferrich
nodded in resignation. "I just miss having a bed beneath me.” He
looked at Morindessa wryly. "That's what happens when you are
raised in the royal palace. You get pampered, whether you like it
or not."

Morindessa chuckled softly.
"That's what I like about you Ferrich," she said smiling at him in
a way that made his cheeks redden. "You admit your weaknesses and
move on. That's a rare trait in a man."

Ferrich cleared his throat.
He was uncertain of how to reply, or even if he should reply. He
had come to know Morindessa to a small degree on their hasty
journey from Shalilayo. At first, he thought that she might be
setting him up for some kind of ransom, thinking his father would
pay for his return. As he talked to her while they traveled, she
told him of the pair that raised her and her life after they left.
He was amazed at her knowledge in the Arcane Arts, though she had
laughed when she heard him call it by that name. She told him there
were places in the world where people were raised learning to use
their
yar
shortly
after learning to talk. Ferrich was still not certain if she was
exaggerating. The longer he traveled with her, the less he was able
to concentrate. He had not dealt with women very often, spending
all of his time studying the Arcane Arts, so he had no idea how to
act around her. When he heard her laugh, it made him feel warm
inside and he began trying to think of something else that would
make her laugh, tripping over his tongue as often as not, whenever
he made an attempt at light banter. As tired as he was, he did not
look forward to sleep, because it meant he would not be able to
hear her laugh or see her smile with a look of delight in her eyes
that he did not understand.

"I was thinking that we
would find a secluded place next to the lake," she said, her eyes
scanning the distance for a trail that would lead them around the
town and to the lake. Ferrich felt his cheeks heat up again when
she mentioned the word secluded. He was not certain if she knew the
effect that she was having on him, and enjoying it, or if she was
oblivious to it.

Her slight frame slipped
silently off the road, appearing ghost-like as she slipped through
the thick foliage without a sound. Ferrich hurried to follow,
trying not to lose sight of her as the last light of the sun
faded.

They continued through the
trees, eventually finding a well-made game trail that led toward
the lake. As they broke through the edge of the trees to the
lakeshore, Ferrich gaped in awe as, for the first time in his life,
he saw both moons cresting the horizon, completely full. Morindessa
stopped as well, gazing at the rare phenomenon with a small smile
on her lips. They stood at the edge of the lake for some time, just
gazing at the pale spheres that lit the night until it was almost
as bright as noon-day and reflected the lake's black water
peculiarly.

It took several moments for
either of them to notice the small log in the water with a piece of
bamboo sticking out that was slowly moving toward them. A moment
later, they noticed that there was a pair of leather sandals and a
bag lying on the shore. He looked at Morindessa questioningly as
the log bumped into the shoreline. He felt her
yar
rush past him, aiming at the
log.

"Someone is breathing
through that bamboo!” she said with a sharp intake of breath.
Grabbing his arm, she pulled him back into the trees, until they
were hidden from the lake.

"Wait here,” she commanded
quietly. "If you hear me shout, run."

Ferrich opened his mouth to
argue, but hesitated. He knew that she would be much safer if
something went wrong without him there to get under foot. He could
still remember vividly the ease with which she had overcome Captain
Kerns and his soldiers. Still, shame filled his face once again as
he found he was completely useless.

As if reading his mind,
Morindessa reached out and squeezed his hand. "We all have
strengths in different areas, Ferrich," she whispered softly. "Your
time will come to be brave, but not yet.” Her eyes held his until
he nodded reluctantly before turning and disappearing into the
brush.

---

Morindessa slipped silently
through the underbrush back to the lakeshore where a woman was just
emerging from the edge. The stranger dripped water as she pulled
herself onto the shore, immediately turning to pull a rope up that
was dangling in the water. She had to be one of the more unusual
sights Morindessa had ever seen, and she had seen some very unusual
things. Reaching out with her
yar
, she studied the woman inside and
out. She was impressed in spite of herself at the extraordinary
device that the woman had used to breath under water. As her
yar
passed over one of
the pouches hanging at the woman's side, she almost gasped aloud in
surprise. There was an object of immense power inside the pouch, a
power she had only felt once before. The woman was panting slightly
as she pulled what appeared to be steel sandals over the edge of
the shoreline. As the sandals caught the moonlight, and held it,
Morindessa realized the sandals were made of Prenium. Where had the
woman come up with the money for something so expensive? Had she
just found them on the bottom? Questions whirled through
Morindessa’s head as she studied the strange woman who was just
fastening her leather sandals to her feet.

Stepping forward,
Morindessa cleared her throat slightly to announce herself.
Whirling around in shock, the woman stared at her. Her look was an
odd combination to be sure: part fear, but part annoyance too. "I
am sorry to intrude, but I was not certain if you needed help or
not.” Morindessa watched her carefully, sensing her with her
yar
for any kind of
threat.

The woman was quite lovely,
if you looked past all of the abnormal paraphernalia that adorned
her, but she seemed completely unaware of the fact. She watched
Morindessa warily, her eyes glowing a strange green color that
Morindessa recognized as the after-effect of Everglow. Her
shoulder-length brown hair dripped down a smooth face that could
not have seen more than thirty years.

"Who are you?" the soaking
woman asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I am called Morindessa.” At
the last moment, she had decided to tell the stranger the truth,
hoping that it would invoke a little more cooperation.

Eyes widening in fear, the
woman scrambled backword in a crab-like walk, putting as much
distance as she could between them. She stopped only when her back
thumped into a tree. She sat breathing heavily as Morindessa slowly
walked closer.

"I am not here to kill you,"
Morindessa said dryly. "If that were the case, you never would have
seen me before you died. What is your name?"

Licking her lips nervously,
she replied "Seranova.” She looked over Morindessa's shoulder,
toward the village. "Who sent you? If they can't have me, they want
me dead, is that it?” The fear was completely gone; only hate
filled her voice now.

"I already told you, I am
not here to kill you.” Looking over her shoulder toward the
village, Morindessa frowned slightly. "And to whom are you
referring?"

"Never mind,” Seranova
replied, letting out a shuttering breath. "If you are not here to
kill me, then why are you here?” She sat with her back against the
tree and stared defiantly at the newcomer as if daring her to do
her worst.

"Just passing through,
actually," Morindessa replied with a shrug. "I came over here to
avoid going through the village. I did not expect to see anyone out
here at this time of night.” She paused, examining Seranova's
peculiar clothing with pursed lips. "Did you create all of these
contraptions?” She gestured at the misshapen coat that Seranova
wore and at the air hose that was piled up on the
lakeshore.

Seranova nodded slowly but
still watched her warily, as if she did not believe her. She
started shivering from the cold, now that her adrenaline had
abated. Her eyes drifted over to the Prenium shoes that were lying
on the shore. They represented a small fortune, even to a noble.
Morindessa glanced at them too, before turning back to
Seranova.

"I think that I am in the
wrong line of work," Morindessa said dryly. "What's it like down
there?"

"Vast," Seranova said
through chattering teeth. "I think that it used to be an
underground city."

Morindessa nodded, "that's
what I've heard.” Reaching out with her
yar
, Morindessa began drying Seranova
by changing the properties of the water until it turned to steam.
Seranova gasped in amazement as the moisture evaporated from her in
a matter of seconds. "You'll catch a cold if we leave you in those
wet clothes,” Morindessa explained lightly.

"Thank you,” Seranova said
in surprise. She stared at Morindessa with a puzzled expression, as
if unsure what to make of her. "Your reputation had led me to
expect an entirely different person."

Rolling her eyes, Morindessa
sighed, "Expectations are always so hard to live up to."

They both laughed and
Morindessa offered her a hand to help her up. Without hesitation,
Seranova accepted the offered hand and rose to her feet with one
smooth motion.