“Seed?” Vaiarathe asked.
“Yes, Mistress. Another world.” His voice was like gravel being shaken in a sealed barrel of honey. I could not even smell his emotions on the air; he blended in perfectly with this place.
“We were told we need an Ovule to use the Radicle,” I said.
“Yes, Singleborn. There is an Ovule here.” He nodded.
“How did you know I was a Singleborn?” Perhaps I should have been cautious, but my emotions swirled about my stomach like butterflies.
“I can sense your power, child.”
“Can you show us how to use the Ovule in the Radicle? We wish to leave this world,” Vaiarathe said before I could ask the old shell how he could possibly sense my power.
“Of course. That is my role here. I am surprised you do not know that, Mistress.” He bobbed his graying head and I noticed that his long pewter hair did not sway with the movement. He turned his back to us and slowly shuffled into the dilapidated temple.
“The Ovule is in the Radicle’s heart. This way, please.” We moved through a few empty rooms and then came upon the familiar pedestal. On this stone dais sat a polished metal ball that matched the description Nyarathe had given us. The orb filled the place with the scent of dozens of flowers mixed with coppery blood. I could almost taste the power seeping from the small etchings on its smooth surface.
“How does it work?” Vaiarathe’s voice was filled with excitement and I could actually smell her delight.
“Place your hand upon it as such.” The Elven did so and the glow in the room darkened a few seconds before yellow lines of light sprang to life along the smooth walls around us.
“These dots are worlds that have been seeded.” His voice stuttered between the words. It seemed as if the old fossil was about to fall asleep where he stood.
“It looks like some Radicles can only send to specific worlds,” Vaiarathe stated.
“Why do you say that?” I asked her.
“Look how the lines flow to the dots. I can see hundreds of others that are not illuminated.” I followed her finger and noticed the same on the wall. There were fifty-two spots lit on the walls, but almost four times that many were not glowing.
“She is correct.” The man nodded and I heard his neck creak like an ancient oak tree.
I studied the walls again and paid closer attention to the lines and intersections. It was a spider web of chaos, but after a few minutes of examination I pointed to one of the dots at a far corner.
“This place only has two lines leading to it. All the others have at least six. Does that mean that this world is only accessed through two other worlds?”
“Yes Singleborn,” the Old One confirmed.
“Tell me of this world.”
“If you place your hand on the Ovule and focus on the dot, then you will be told of its mysteries.”
“Like this?” Vaiarathe had already moved next to the ancient Elven and placed her hands on the smooth orb. The lights on the wall pulsed and spun. The old tree stepped back away from my daughter and his eyes opened wide with surprise.
“There are no Elvens on this world, Mother; but there are beautiful forests, vast oceans, jungles, lakes, rivers, and mountains. There are two moons!”
“There are no other worlds with Elvens besides this one, Mistress.” The old fossil guessed my next question. I was about to ask him why our people were only on this planet, but my daughter interrupted.
“This world will be perfect for us, Mother. I can even feel the location of the Radicles. I like the one in the mountain range. Beneath the crags is a beautiful valley where we can build a home. It looks almost like the one where Relyara lives.”
“Fine.” I didn’t really care which world it was. I preferred a land with other Elvens, but if this old piece of rock said that option was not available, I did not want to waste time agonizing over the circumstances. I just wanted to leave.
“How do we get started?” I asked the ancient Elven man.
“The human has already connected with the Ovule. She can tell it that she wishes to travel there and then lay upon one of the Plumule. Then the Radicle will take her to the world.” The man pointed into the other room at the stone beds arranged in the center of the circular chamber.
“Does the Ovule come with us?” I asked. My attention focused on Vaiarathe. She had her eyes closed while she grasped the orb. The glow from the lines and dots on the wall pulsed as if they were alive and I began to feel uneasy.
“No, Singleborn. It will stay here for the next one who wishes to travel. If you have another in your possession, it can be carried with you, but the one used to power the Radicle must remain here.”
“It won’t work,” Vaiarathe said suddenly and we both turned to her.
“What do you mean?” I asked the girl and my stomach tightened.
“It can only send one of us. It doesn’t have enough power.”
“Is this true?” I almost screeched at the old man.
“No. No.” Confusion was plain on his face and his jaw trembled slightly. “It should be able to send many humans or Elvens.”
“Touch it.” Vaiarathe’s green eyes watched the Elven as he hesitantly reached out to feel the surface of the device.
“Oh. I see,” he said after a few minutes. Then he shook his head and removed his hand from the smooth surface of the orb.
“What do you see? Why won’t it work?” I almost screamed through my clenched teeth. We had come this far and endured so many trials. I should never have allowed myself to believe it was almost over.
“You will need another Ovule. One for each of you. After you use the Radicle the Ovule will be empty of power.”
“But you said this could send many people!” I growled and Vaiarathe laid her hand on my arm. I shrugged it off and thought about ripping the limbs off of the old Elven.
“It can. But the Ovule has shown me the truth, Mistress.” He kneeled down in front of me and placed his head on the ground. The movement was slow, every joint in his body creaked in protest. “You could travel without the Ovule, but if you wish to use the device you will need one for each of you. Those are the rules you made for the Radicle.”
“What in the name of the Dead Gods are you talking about, asshole?” I wanted to stomp on the fool’s head.
“Mother, please.” Vaiarathe pulled on my arm and probably saved the old bastard’s pathetic life. “We just need to find another Ovule, then we can return here and leave together. The O’Baarni have some?”
“Nyarathe believes they do.” I nudged the crumpled man at my feet with a booted toe. “You said something about traveling without the Ovule. What did you mean?”
“You can do whatever you wish. I am your servant and I am sorry for what we did to you, great one. Please forgive us all.” His voice became a moan and then it changed pitch and it almost sounded as if he was singing a song.
“No. Stop. Shut your fucking face!” I ripped the man off of the ground and held him in the air by his fragile throat. He had only sung a few measures of the song but I felt it continue to echo through my entire body. It felt as if I had heard the words before, but when my mind repeated them they sounded alien and my head began to ache.
“Look at me!” His eyes were rolling back in his gray sockets and then they seemed to focus on my face. “You said I could use the Radicle without the Ovule. Tell me how. Now.”
“I don’t understand, Mistress. Please forgive me.” He choked out the words while tears rolled down his face like rain and I set him down with a sigh and turned to my daughter.
“You will go through first. Then I will find another Ovule and return.”
“No. We can go together to find another.” She shook her head and her lips folded.
“It is too dangerous. They will kill us if we are caught.”
“We won’t be caught though, Mother. We’ve escaped them for a dozen years.” There was a glassy sheen to her eyes and I knew she was close to crying.
“We ran and hid from them. Now I will have to go into one of their cities. You will journey through the Radicle and I will meet you on the other side once I’ve retrieved another Ovule.” My heart was hammering in my chest.
“I can just wait here for you. Or maybe go back to Relyara’s valley if you are worried about them catching me.”
“No. They are close to us now. We need to keep moving forward.” I reached out my hand and smoothed the hair from her face. “You will be fine on the other world. You are strong.”
“They are following him. They don’t care about us anymore. I can wait here and Father will find me. He is close.” Tears streamed down the girl’s face now, but she wasn’t sobbing.
“No, Vaiarathe. You need to do this for me. If I know you are safe I can focus on this task. The O’Baarni probably don’t even know how powerful an Ovule is. They may have them sitting forgotten on shelves. It will be easy.”
“I will never see you again if you make me leave. I will never see my father. Please, just let me come with you!” The words choked out of her and I felt my own tears begin to pour down my face like warm rain.
“Nonsense. I’ll get the Ovule, my love. Nothing can keep us apart.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her face into my chest. She fit perfectly there and I realized that the last twelve years traveling with her were filled with more joy than fear and more laughter than sadness. My daughter was the best parts of me and Kaiyer and I loved her with a ferocity that pained me.
“They will kill you!” she screeched into my chest while she squeezed my arms. “They will capture you and I will never see you again. Please believe me! I know what will happen!” Her words chilled me. I pulled the girl into me and inhaled the fragrance of her hair.
“Even if they kill me, I will know you are safe. That is all that matters to me. That is all I have cared about since the moment I laid eyes on you my darling. That is why I taught you how to survive, hide, hunt, fight, and be strong.” I pushed her away from my chest to look at her beautiful face.
“Do not argue with me anymore. I love you beyond words, Vaiarathe. Do you know how much I love you?”
She nodded through her sobs and raised a hand to wipe the tears from her green eyes. “Of course. You tell me all the time.” She smirked through her tears and I laughed a little in spite of the heaviness in my heart.
“You will wait for me on the other side. You said there is a valley near this Radicle?”
“It is west of the mountain range. Please do not leave me, Mother. I am scared to be without you.” The girl’s admittance of fear almost made me reconsider my choice. She had never been a coward and I wondered if her prediction about my fate was correct.
All of her other predictions had come true.
“You know how to survive, my beautiful Vaiarathe. It won’t take me more than a few months to return. Then we can be together. Nothing will stop me from seeing you again.” The girl nodded but her sobs continued and I knew my words did not reassure her.
“Mistresses!” a voice said from the ground next to us. I had forgotten about the old Elven ward until he spoke from his prostrated position.
“There might be a solution,” he said before I could extract punishment for interrupting the moment I was sharing with my daughter.
“You can travel to another Radicle, but sleep until someone speaks your name and activates an Ovule to receive you. That way the human can leave first and my mistress can retrieve her when she follows.”
“I can just sleep? What does that mean?”
“The magic will preserve your life and body while you frolic amongst the stars and endless islands of creation, as if you are dreaming. It won’t last forever, but a hundred years will seem only a day to your physical form.”
“I choose that option,” Vaiarathe said.
“No. What if your prediction is right and the O’Baarni do kill me? Then you will never awaken.” I shook my head and sighed.
“That is why you should take me with you!” the girl tried to argue again, but I frowned and fixed my stare on her. She knew my decision had been made and the tears began to flow. I wrapped my arms around her and we did not speak for many minutes. The pain filled my chest and I felt as if I could not breathe. I didn’t want this. I wanted her to stay with me, but it would put her in peril. Stealing an Ovule from the O’Baarni would be a dangerous endeavor and I did not want to risk the one I loved. She would be safer in this new world where there were no O’Baarni to chase her. I owed her that protection at least. The girl was innocent of any of the atrocities that her father and I had inflicted upon each other and this poor world.
If this was the correct decision, then why couldn’t I let go of her? Why couldn’t I keep from crying? Why did I still fear for her?
I wished we could have embraced for days, but I knew our time was short. I couldn’t show her my fear. I couldn’t tell her that we might not see each other again. I couldn’t let her know that I was willing to send her away because her life was worth a thousand of mine. Instead I needed to be strong so that Vaiarathe would know that this was the correct decision.
The O’Baarni would come to this place soon and I wanted my daughter safe before the murderers arrived. They would extort information from the old Elven, but I could not kill him.
“What do I need to know about this place when I return?” I asked the Elven warden.