Gorinthians (30 page)

An hour later, the small
group was eating around the long dinner table and chatting amiably
with each other, trying to enjoy what they knew might be one of
their last moments of peace for a long time.

Chapter 17

Terrance awoke with a start
as he felt the power of a Chasel flash somewhere far to the South.
He sat staring at the wall at the foot of his bed, trying to
pinpoint exactly where the disturbance had originated. He lay back
in his bed and closed his mind of all thought, letting go of the
physical realm around him.

It had taken him years to
learn how to release his physical body, a process that had almost
killed his body the first time he had tried it. That was before he
learned how to leave it in hibernation. Many animals roamed the
Spiritual Realms during winter seasons, as their bodies slowed down
and waited for warmer weather. Terrance had first learned of the
ability to leave his body behind when he had stumbled upon a small
tribal community in the old world. Their spirit leader had taught
his people that bears were among one of the most revered spirit
travelers, and their tribe would dedicate totems and mascots to
honor the great creature. The small spirit leader had shown
Terrance how to master his reliance on his physical body and let
his spirit release its hold on his body and mind.

Terrance’s spirit rose above
his comatose body. The sensations and emotions that were walled off
in the physical body flooded his awareness in a rush. It took him a
moment to gain control of himself as the bombardment of sensations
continued. Soon, he was traveling through the night air swiftly
toward the area of disturbance. Forested hills flashed beneath him.
The hills were filled with life and energy of which his spirit
could detect every particle.

Within moments, he was over
Lake Magnus. He studied the wide swath of destruction that had been
caused by an Elemental. He could feel the spiritless hosts of King
Fedrin and his soldiers as he searched for the person who had used
the Chasel. It was troubling that the King had been controlled by a
Gorinthian. That was the only explanation for his body lying in the
desolation around him. Terrance had put safe guards in place that
should have protected anyone in the royal line.

To his south, he could sense
several people moving toward the village of Laketown. He moved
toward them, feeling a familiar resonance as he did so. As he
closed in on the trio, he felt a wave of surprise pass through him
as he recognized the inventor he had met fifteen years ago.
Traveling with her were none other than Prince Ferrich, and
Morindessa. Terrance tried to think of what these three could be
doing together, but nothing surfaced. He could feel Thistledown's
presence closing in on him. Terrance could feel Thistledown's
surprise as he also recognized the three that were now making their
way into a large house on the outskirts of town.

What's going on,
Terrance?
Thistledown thought in
puzzlement.

I wish I knew, Terrance
responded with the same puzzlement
.
Seranova has the Chasel.

Terrance felt Thistledown's
agreement and an added surge of humor pulse through him. Of course,
Thistledown would have felt the Chasel as well.

Let's go back and get some
sleep
. Terrance sent his thought to
Thistledown.
We can puzzle out what to
make of this in the morning.

The two of them sped back to
the small tear in reality and slipped back into the cottage to
their waiting bodies. Terrance’s body was exhausted from the work
he and Thistledown had done creating Riah's shell, yet he could not
sleep. The feel of Selindria's Core kept pulsing through his mind.
It was more pure than anything he had ever felt. He had been unable
to duplicate it completely for Riah's shell, because he did not
have any elements that were that pure. He would not have thought it
possible for a spirit to change so much from the time that they
entered a host. Then too, there was the fact that she was
half-Zeran and half-Talon, a mix that, to his knowledge, had never
occurred before.

Despite his continuing
attempts to clear his mind of thought and fall asleep, Selindria's
cat-like gaze kept intruding on his thoughts. It was a gaze that
seemed to see much more than he would have liked. When morning
finally came, he rose from bed sandy-eyed and grumpy-looking. He
tried to plan the day out in his mind, before he met with the
others but, once again, Selindria's presence kept surfacing in his
thoughts, causing his focus to drift.

A knock sounded at the door
and he beckoned Thistledown to enter. Thistledown sauntered in as
relaxed as he ever was, but he appraised Terrance with a shrewd
eye. "Would you like to plan the day with me this morning?” he
asked with a raised eyebrow. "I can hear your jumbled mess of
thoughts all over the cottage."

Terrance laughed sheepishly
and nodded. "There just aren't many secrets in this cottage, are
there?"

"That is a good thing,”
Thistledown said prudently. "It's better to get these distractions
out in the open when they start, instead of later when we might
need you."

Terrance just nodded again.
"I thought that we would try finding Riah on our way to
Shalilayo."

"So you want me to take care
of all the arrangements when we arrive at Shalilayo?” Thistledown's
face was expressionless as he watched Terrance.

"Yes," Terrance replied with
a breath. "If Jerard is focusing on me, then he won't be
interfering with you at Shalilayo. Remember, if we lose Shalilayo,
we are lost."

Thistledown nodded
grudgingly. "I still don't like it. You've read the probability
spectrum, you saw how many variables exist with this
plan."

"Sometimes you have to take
big chances if you want to succeed,” Terrance muttered, half to
himself. "Besides, even if I were out of the picture, Jerard still
isn't aware that you exist. He will think that he has removed all
of his greatest obstacles and will become careless."

"What about the three that
we saw last night?” Thistledown inquired, absently polishing his
sharp claws on the end of his fingers against his shirt. "Are we
going to look for them as well?"

"I think that we should keep
an eye out for them.” Terrance looked at the door. He could sense
the others moving into the sitting room as they awoke.

"What about Selindria?”
Thistledown asked, trying not to smile. "Are you going to settle
things before we leave or are you going to go all yellow around the
belly?"

"I don't know,” Terrance
muttered, grimacing at Thistledown. "I haven't had to deal with
this for half a millennia. I don't even remember how to start
it."

"I'm sure that you'll think
of something, oh mighty world-shaker,” Thistledown laughed
mockingly.

Terrance shook his head in
disgust, wishing sometimes that there was a way to shield his
thoughts from Thistledown. "You can be very irritating sometimes,
did you know that?"

"That's your fault, you
know,” Thistledown said pointedly. "I think that this journey is
going to be quite interesting with Cha'le along. I don't think that
I have ever met anyone quite as mischievous as that young
lady."

Terrance chuckled loudly.
"She gets that from her mother. I remember her telling me about her
wedding night with Ivon. She had dropped a Gazni Bear into the bed
the next morning, so that when Ivon awoke he had his arms around
the scaly waist of a giant lizard. I don't think that he was ever
the same after that morning."

Thistledown threw back his
head and roared with laughter, his eyes leaking with mirth.
Terrance felt the focus of attention in the sitting room move to
his door as the others heard Thistledown cackling
loudly.

"I think that it's time to
have some breakfast and move out,” Terrance suggested dryly,
"before the others come in to check on us."

Thistledown nodded, still
wiping at his eyes and chuckling slightly. Terrance spent the next
few moments pulling on his long boots and black shirt with small
pockets sewn into it that held his star knives. He spent a moment
in front of the mirror, making sure that he looked his best, until
he heard Thistledown start chuckling again.

Sighing, he turned back to
the door and walked into the sitting room. Everyone was there
except Lochnar and Selindria. They all turned to look as he and
Thistledown entered the room. Celdic and Li were sitting on a
two-person seat, about as close together as it was possible to be,
while Celdic stroked his hands through Li's hair. Cha'le and Lendel
were also in a two-person seat, Cha'le with a leg draped over
Lendel’s leg as she drew designs on his arm. Jalorm looked like a
third wheel in a high-backed armchair, seeming relieved that
someone else had finally joined the room.

"Good morning," Terrance
greeted them. He sat in a comfortable recliner and Thistledown
sprawled in a second one. "Selindria is still asleep, I
see."

Celdic nodded silently,
while Li gave him a knowing look. Nothing stays a secret here, he
thought wryly. I just barely find out myself, and everyone else
already knows. Standing up again, he glared down at Thistledown,
who was looking a little too smug. "I think that it is time for
breakfast.” With that, he left the room, followed by giggles from
Cha'le as Thistledown rolled his eyes toward Selindria's
room.

Opening the cabinet that
contained the yellow powder, Terrance poured a small helping on
nine different plates, followed by some brown and red powder.
Reaching into the far cabinet, he pulled a pitcher out that
contained the solution for the dry food. He poured a small
measurement of the liquid on each plate, whereupon the powder began
changing into fruit, vegetables, and biscuits. He took the plates
out, two in his hands, the other seven floating behind him upheld
by the force of his
yar
, and set them on the long table between the sitting room and
the kitchen.

The rest of the group began
filing over to the table, idly chatting as they sat down.
Thistledown looked at Terrance in surprise as he sat down, then
glanced significantly at the plate in front of the empty chair and
nodded his head toward Selindria's room. Terrance felt his brows
lower in a scowl at Thistledown as he stood up again and took
Selindria's meal to her bedroom. He felt the others gaze following
him across the room as their conversation quieted and gritted his
teeth. Knocking softly on the door, Terrance reached out with
his
yar
probingly
into the room to make sure that he was not walking in on her
changing. Finding her asleep, he slowly opened the door and walked
in, closing it again behind him.

Selindria lay under her
covers with her long black hair fanning out around her. Her face
was serenely peaceful as she slept, seeming more beautiful than was
humanly possible. Then he remembered that she was not human, so it
was possible. Conjuring a chair next to her bed, along with a tray
stand, he sat down and placed the tray on the stand next to the
bed. He was completely enchanted and just stared at her face,
unable to keep his eyes away from her. Without realizing it, he
reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her face, noticing how
coarse silk felt in comparison.

Suddenly, he realized that
her eyes were open and watching him silently. Jerking his hand
back, he began muttering apologies when she reached out and pulled
his hand back, kissing it softly. He thought that the skin on his
hand where her lips had touched might burn right off his hand.
"Good morning, Terrance,” she whispered softly.

"Good morning, Selindria,”
Terrance replied lamely, feeling completely at a loss as for how to
proceed. Good morning? What am I thinking?

"Terrance?” Selindria
asked, still whispering as her eyes stared into his soul with no
need of her
yar
.

"Yes, Selindria?” Terrance
replied quietly.

"Will you kiss me?” she
asked, her expression serious. He could see the open, vulnerable
look just behind her eyes as she watched him intently. For answer,
he moved forward and wrapped her in his arm. His lips met hers and
the fire that began in his hand filled his entire face as she clung
to him fiercely. He could feel her warm body pulsing quickly
beneath him, in time with his own rapidly beating heart, and his
desire became almost unbearable. Struggling with himself, he
finally made himself pull away, feeling as if he were giving up the
greatest treasure in his life. She lay beneath him, a beautiful
smile lighting her already beautiful face.

"That was very nice,” she
whispered into his ear. "I think that I may need you to show me how
it is done occasionally, in case I forget."

"I think that I could handle
that,” Terrance replied, smiling down at her, his eyes
twinkling.

"Oh good," she said, pulling
him back down into an embrace that lasted much longer this
time.

---

Lochnar entered the front
door of the cottage to find everyone but Selindria and Terrance
eating breakfast, though he had already known where everyone was
before seeing them with his eyes. Lochnar was glad that his
daughter had finally found someone that was a match for her. Though
he lacked the emotion of happiness, he felt partly responsible for
her inability to find a mate. Her newfound experience of having a
relationship allayed his concern. He had loved once in his life,
when he had married Riah and Selindria's mother, Sendria. He had
been raised among Talons, with the brutal kill-or-be-killed
life-style deeply bred into him. The gentle tolerance with which
Sendria had viewed the world, however, touched a chord within him
he did not think even humans were capable of understanding. Talons
did not feel happiness because they did not feel sadness. They did,
however, feel hate and rage in extremes that humans would never
experience. This enabled them to experience the other end of the
spectrum of emotions such as love and passion much more deeply than
humans ever could.