Gorinthians (47 page)

With a wry glance at Cha’le,
Thistledown cleared his throat. “The Derinian order created a
device called a Probability Spectrum. With it, a person can see the
paths of probability within the spectrum of known factors around
us. The Probability Spectrum is tied into various points on the
Communion Plane in the Spiritual Realm. It gathers as much
information as it can on the surrounding environment and then
creates a set of predictions. The more certain an event is, the
less branches of probability exist. The probability of what
happened on the last line of your letter was probably a certainty,”
he finished with another wry glance at Cha’le, who seemed to be
puzzling through what Thistledown had just said. Her eyes narrowed
suspiciously when she saw Thistledown watching her in wry
amusement.

“
It sounds like a search
engine,” Lori’s voice said behind him from the doorway, where she
was absently twisting a lock of curly, auburn hair and watching
Thistledown curiously.

“
The old ideas are the best
ones,” Thistledown responded with a grin. “As a matter of fact, it
was Terrance’s understanding of search engines that gave him the
idea of using the Communion Plane as a reference point for
gathering information.”

“
Ah yes, a search engine,”
Cha’le muttered loud enough for all of them to hear. “I might have
guessed it would be that.”

Lori’s mouth tightened
slightly, but before she could say anything, Jalorm snorted loudly.
“I might have guessed it would be that,” he mimicked in an
imitation high voice. His eyes twinkled with mirth, though it was
obvious from Cha’le’s sudden scowl she did not find his comment
amusing.

Celdic sighed in
exasperation, looking to either side of him in disgust. Jalorm
seemed to know exactly what to say to upset Cha’le the most and
Cha’le usually deserved it. Someone would have to do something
about the two of them, and soon if they wanted to arrive at
Shalilayo without the pair killing each other.

Li walked into the room past
Lori, pausing as she sensed the mood of the others. “What a happy
little group,” she exclaimed brightly, her dark sultry eyes
examining Cha’le calculatingly. “I thought we reserved the fighting
for the enemy.”

“
Just practicing,” Cha’le
replied sweetly, her tone at odds with the flat stare she directed
at Jalorm.

Jesha was watching the
exchange silently, her cat-like eyes curious. Morindessa and Riah
both looked amused at the interplay.

“
You know, I think they
will do rather well at court,” Morindessa observed to Riah in a
detached tone.

Riah nodded her agreement,
smiling indulgently at the youths. Spots of red appeared on
Cha’le’s face, but Jalorm appeared unaffected. Celdic marveled at
how similar Riah was to her sister, Selindria. Aside from Riah’s
honey blonde hair and unusual height, she was a mirror image of her
dark-haired sister.

“
How long will the soldiers
stay asleep?” Celdic asked Thistledown, more to change the subject
than out of any real curiosity.

“
Until I wake them,”
Thistledown answered with a wolfish grin.

“
But what if something
happened to you before you woke them?” Li inquired. She had moved
around the table and sat across from Celdic, with Jesha sitting
next to her.

“
Then they would waste away
and eventually die,” Thistledown replied unconcernedly. “The death
of the body isn’t really such a bad thing. Once a person begins to
understand that your time in a mortal body is just a very short
speck in the timeline of your Spirit’s life, your fear of death
will fade away.”

Celdic frowned, suddenly
seeing the last twenty years of his life for what they really were;
a short streak in a timeless journey. A thought occurred to him and
he looked up at Thistledown with a sudden hope. “Does that mean
that we could still speak with people that have died? With their
Spirit, I mean.”

Thistledown nodded, a
knowing look in his feral eyes. “Your mother is one of the Spirits
that acts as an envoy to the hosts of Elementals who have chosen to
help us in our struggle against the Enemy. Spirits of the deceased
play a very real part in our lives, long after their mortal bodies
have released them.”

Most of the other youths at
the table mirrored Celdic’s thoughtful expression. Lori’s eyes
looked troubled. “Where does God fit into all of this?” she asked
in puzzlement. “If we are able to see Spirits, can we see
God?”

Celdic glanced around the
table at the others, and saw the same blank incomprehension on
their faces he knew was on his own. “Who is God?” Celdic asked
curiously.

Lori looked quickly at
Thistledown. “Don’t tell me the people on this planet don’t know
who God is!” she exclaimed in stunned disbelief.

“
That is a difficult
question, Lori,” Thistledown replied with a sigh, “but to answer
the immediate question; no, the people on this planet do not know
who God is. As far as I can tell, there is no God in this
universe.”

Lori gasped, her eyes going
wide. She looked like somebody had knocked the wind out of her.
“What about our universe?” she demanded forcefully. “There is a
God, isn’t there?”

“
I have
certainly wanted the answer to that question myself many times,”
Thistledown admitted, rubbing his knuckles on his chin. “You see,
before Terrance left your planet, he was unable to sense his
yar
, or that of anyone
else. We have theorized that it was due to strengthening Auras over
thousands of years that eventually shielded humans from being able
to interact with the Spiritual Realm at all. At the center of that
question lies the largest question of all. Was there an intelligent
being that made the change on human bodies and set the physical
laws to what they are on Earth, or was it all just random
chance?”

“
But if we can see Spirits,
then that is proof there must be a God!” Lori insisted, her face
determined.

“
It is proof we knew of
Spirits at one time on Earth,” Thistledown corrected her, catching
her gaze. “It is the fact that knowledge about Spirits existed on
Earth that led Terrance to believe pre-historic humans could sense
the Spiritual Realm. Whether a God arrived in our universe to take
charge of things is the unknown question.”

“
I’m still fuzzy on the
whole God thing,” Lendel interjected with a small frown at Lori.
“Who is God?”

Thistledown sighed again.
“It’s too early in the morning for a theological debate,” he
muttered to himself. He glanced around the table at the curious
faces of the others. They were all watching him, including Riah.
“To sum it up, there is a belief where Lori comes from that a being
exists who is all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present. Most of
the people on her world believe this being created their universe
and when a person dies, God will judge them. If a person has spent
their life doing bad things, God will punish them in the Spirit
World. If a person has spent their life doing good things, God will
reward them.”

Celdic tried to blank his
face of the doubt he knew must be on it. It sounded to him like a
bedtime story you would tell a child. The rest of the group around
the table seemed to be thinking the same thing, and Celdic hoped he
was doing a better job than Lendel was at keeping the doubt from
his face. Cha’le was not even trying to hide the skepticism from
her innocent features.

“
You said most of the
people on her planet believe this all-powerful being exists?"
Cha’le asked in disbelief. “Has anyone ever met him?”

“
Have you ever seen the
Chasel at your mountain?” Lori demanded of Cha’le angrily, “or the
city of Shalilayo? Or do you just take it on faith that the people
who told you they exist knew what they were talking
about?”

Before Cha’le could erupt at
Lori, Thistledown raised a hand to silence everyone. “I think we
have exhausted the possibilities of this conversation.” Thistledown
shook his head almost wonderingly. “On Earth, almost all of the
wars ever fought were justified by religion. Something about it
seems to make people feel muscular.” He paused, appraising Riah
with a critical eye. “How are you feeling today?”

“
Much better,” Riah
answered with a smile that seemed to light up the room. “A little
rest was all I needed.”

Thistledown grunted
doubtfully. “We will ride for Shalilayo today, then. Remember to
stay extra alert. I expect Jerard to attack us sometime within the
next couple of days.” Thistledown finished with a warning glance at
all of them. “Let’s saddle up and move out. Someone needs to wake
Seranova up.”

“
I’ll do it,” Jalorm
offered, rising from the table and walking up the stairs. Celdic
smiled to himself at Jalorm’s obvious interest in Seranova. Looking
across the table, Celdic found Li gazing at him with a small curve
on her full lips. Celdic found himself grinning back at her,
without really knowing why he was grinning.

Cha’le rose from the table
and left the room, with the burr still firmly lodged in her hair.
Lendel followed her out of the room; his handsome face clouded with
what Celdic would have said was uncertainty. He would have to
question Lendel about it later.

Celdic went up to his rooms
and gathered his traveler sack before returning to the ground floor
of the inn. He had mixed feelings about riding the horses. He
remembered reading about them in some of the books he owned, but
seeing the actual size of them was more intimidating than he
expected. The dun that Thistledown led him to when he came out to
the front of the inn had a look of flat disapproval on his long
face as he surveyed Celdic with one eye.

“
Just remember that a horse
can sense your mood,” Thistledown warned him as he handed the reins
to him. “If he thinks you lack confidence, he will try to take
liberties.”

Celdic nodded, trying to
mask the uncertainty that he felt. Sticking his foot in the
stirrup, he swung onto the large beast in one graceful motion. On a
sudden impulse, Celdic reached out with his
yar
and probed his horse, wondering
how aware animals were of other Spirits. His horse snorted and
turned its head sideways so that it could stare at Celdic
curiously. “Just getting to know you,” Celdic murmured
soothingly.

One large eye blinked at
him. “What shall we call you?” Celdic wondered, absently stroking
the soft mane.

“
Do you really think the
dumb brute needs a name?” Cha’le asked coolly as she walked past
him to her horse. “Just call it horse.”

Cha’le jumped back in
surprise as the dun nipped at her with its teeth. She glared at
Celdic, her eyes daring him to say anything. He wisely kept his
mouth shut, turning his back so that she would not see his smile.
“I think that we shall call you Travesty,” Celdic whispered into
his ear.

The rest of the party was
already mounted. Seranova was yawning, her eyes still shiny with
sleep. Jalorm sat on a tall roan next to her, trying to appear in
control of his horse. He was succeeding rather well, so
far.

“
Let’s ride,” Thistledown
called from his tall chestnut. Celdic followed him out of the city
gates, under the suspicious scrutiny of the town guards. The guards
were probably wondering why they were leaving on the soldier’s
horses.

Morindessa spurred her horse
up to where Thistledown rode at the front of the party. “I suppose
I should update you on a few complications before we arrive at
Shalilayo,” she informed Thistledown, glancing back to where
Ferrich was engaging Lori in an animated conversation.

Thistledown studied her for
a moment before nodding. “I saw the leftovers of the king and his
party after Seranova raised the Chasel at Lake Magnus,” he told her
gravely. “I meant to ask you why the king was chasing
you.”

“
He was after Ferrich,”
Morindessa replied with another glance back at Ferrich. “Captain
Kerns had been sent to arrest him at the building of Arcane Arts at
the University. Ferrich told me he had just finished climbing down
the steps to the Pit and found Radroc’s body when the soldiers came
down to arrest him. Captain Kerns told him the king learned of
Radroc’s murder and ordered his arrest.”

Thistledown sat rigidly in
his saddle, his eyes wide. “He saw Radroc’s body?” he demanded
incredulously. “Are you certain?”

Morindessa looked surprised
at Thistledown’s concern. “That is what he told me. Ferrich thinks
that he might not be dead, though.”

Turning in his saddle,
Thistledown beckoned Ferrich to join them. Ferrich broke off his
conversation with Lori, looking startled. He nudged his horse and
it sped up to join them at the front of the group.

“
Tell me what happened when
you saw Radroc’s body,” Thistledown commanded, his feral gaze
latching on to Ferrich like a hook.

Ferrich seemed unable to
break his gaze with Thistledown. “I saw him hanging from the
ceiling by his entrails,” Ferrich said quietly. “I couldn’t touch
him, though. I tried to pull him down and my hand went right
through him.”

“
What else?” Thistledown
probed. “Did you notice anything else?”