It was early afternoon, and Patinus was relieved that this particular part of Irobi was very rural, with no townships on their route for the rest of the day. He was anticipating a relaxing evening at the home of his long-time friend, Lord Benesh. It had been some time since he had seen his old friend, who had been ill for a while and hadn't been involved with the rebellion. They would have lots to talk over, and Patinus was looking forward to introducing his wife to his old friend.
A shout rang out, dragging his thoughts to the present.
* * * *
Jhond was sitting at the small table in the cabin enjoying a quiet read. Ninian was up on deck enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. So far, the voyage had been peaceful, and Jhond was grateful for the rest. It felt good to have no concerns. He heard footsteps on the stairs and gave a slight sigh that his quiet haven was about to be invaded. Ninian was a good friend, but there were times when Jhond wished he could learn the art of sitting quietly.
The door opened and Ninian came in, already speaking. "It's a wonderful day out there; you should go up and take the air."
"Thank you, but I was enjoying a quiet read."
"You seem to have done nothing but read since we left Rugarold," Ninian said.
"It's been a while since I had the opportunity to enjoy such a restful pursuit. I--" The world seemed to tip sideways, leaving Jhond feeling decidedly dizzy. He reached up and put a hand to his temple. Something was wrong.
"What's the matter?" Ninian said, and Jhond realized his friend was standing directly over him, a concerned expression on his face. "You went pale and very still for a few moments."
"I don't know," Jhond replied. "I suddenly felt dizzy...something is wrong."
Ninian frowned. "With the ship? I don't think so; we--"
"No, no, with..." Jhond's voice faded, and he stared at Ninian feeling completely lost. "I don't know, Ninian. I don't know what's wrong or with whom."
"It has to be someone close if you're affected like this," Ninian said.
"Yes, and that's what scares me." Jhond rose and paced the small cabin. "I have to find out. I have to help."
"Calm yourself, Jhond. Get control."
Jhond immediately stopped. Standing perfectly still, he closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down and gather his talent at the center of his being. When he felt serene, he let his senses free.
"I still don't know," Jhond said, clearly distressed. "Why can't I tell who it is? I'm the Eynan and can't even tell who it is in trouble."
"You could use the Strands. I know you're concerned about overusing the stuff with the risk of losing content, but the only other alternative is to create a power circle and use your magistry to try and gather more information that way."
"I don't know if I have time for that." Jhond felt the weight of his concern and was frustrated he didn't even know where to start looking. He straightened his back and said decisively, "I'm going to use the Strands. I'll concentrate on my father first of all; I have the strongest link to him."
As Jhond spoke, Ninian produced the chest containing their valuables and returned it to full size. Jhond reached inside and took out the cylinder containing the fabled Strands of Time, then settled himself comfortably on the floor, his legs crossed, holding the cylinder by the top and bottom. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and began to speak the ancient words of magistry, moving the cylinder as he did so until he was holding the cylinder by the glass sides.
All at once he was inside the cylinder, falling, tumbling over and over amidst the twisting slivers that shimmered with an unearthly light as they glittered and swirled around him, so he felt dizzy and disoriented. He attempted to straighten himself, trying to slow his descent, but he wasn't even sure which side up was.
The sounds surrounding him grew louder and more confused: one moment muttering and murmuring; the next screaming and chattering; the noise getting louder and louder until the cacophony was so great it felt as if it scored his flesh. He was desperate to shut it all out. He tried to lift his hands to cover his ears, but he couldn't move a muscle.
He fought to settle his shattered nerves, forcing himself to remember he was the Eynan and the Strands of Time accepted him, helped him. He tried to close his eyes, but couldn't do that either, so he concentrated on shutting out the sights and sounds surrounding him and seeing only with his mind's eye. He brought an image of his father to the fore, dressed in the finery of an officer of the Timendran army, riding his finest horse. He called to his father, saying how much he needed to see and speak with him.
Then abruptly he saw his father. Lord Girau wasn't riding, however. He was seated at a desk bathed in bright sunlight, and he was writing. Girau looked happy and content, then he called to someone and another person came into view. Jhond recognized him, too. He was one of the Timendran generals, and in that moment, Jhond knew it wasn't his father who was in trouble.
He sighed with relief and slowly withdrew until he found himself tumbling amidst the Strands again. He tried to hold on and stay inside them to conduct another search before he found himself falling, falling--until he was once again back in the real world.
"Girau is safe," he told Ninian breathlessly. "I have to try again."
The next most important people who Jhond had imprinted upon were Gallia and Patinus. Jhond prepared himself to interact with the Strands and soon found himself tumbling around inside the cylinder again. Jhond knew Patinus and Gallia were together, so he opened himself to an image of either of them. At once, he saw Gallia--and she had a hand raised to her mouth and a look of shock in her eyes. Gallia was not easily frightened and was well able to take care of herself, so Jhond knew right away they must be in trouble, quickly gaining an impression of Gallia's whereabouts.
Instantly, he withdrew from the Strands and felt as if he had tumbled from the cylinder. However, when he was back in control of himself again, he was still sitting in exactly the same position, except the cylinder was now lying in his lap.
"Well?" Ninian queried.
"It's Gallia and Patinus. I must get to Irobi."
Ninian picked up the Strands of Time by the ends of the cylinder and quickly returned it to the chest. Jhond removed the pendant from around his neck and affixed it to the ring on his finger. The ring had been passed down to him from his grandfather and had been in the Reeve family since the Withdrawal, though Jhond had only discovered the real purpose of the ring after the first visit to the Isle of Truth. He glanced at Ninian, who smiled confidently at him, and Jhond twisted the pendant one quarter turn. He disappeared from the
Horologue
to appear on a dusty road in the middle of the Iroban countryside.
"Jhond!" a familiar voice cried, and he swung around to find himself gathered into the arms of his half-sister, Gallia.
"You are safe," he said, hugging her back, not too gently.
She laughed. "I was until you decided to half squeeze me to death."
He released her and it was only then he realized a rather bemused looking Prince Patinus and about half a dozen Iroban military men surrounded him.
"Do I gather you thought to rescue us?" Patinus asked.
Jhond frowned and, glancing around, saw there had been some kind of trouble, but it had been dealt with, as some more of Patinus' soldiers were in the process of tying up a group of men.
"My help is not needed it seems," he said. "What happened? I knew there was danger, but not the facts of what was going on."
"Not saying we wouldn't have appreciated the assistance," Patinus said. "We were attacked by a group of Illurian stragglers. They had heard about our progress and apparently decided to take their revenge by killing us. Thankfully, the captain of my guard was vigilant enough to be prepared for all occurrences."
The captain, who had been standing close by, bowed before saying, "It helped, sire, that the men were half drunk."
"Don't refute my praise, Captain. It is well deserved," Patinus said.
The captain snapped to attention and withdrew, leaving Jhond and Patinus alone.
"I knew something was wrong," Jhond murmured.
"I'll never understand how you do what you do, but thank you for coming to our aid."
"Would you like me to transport you and Gallia to your palace? It's possible there could be more such men hiding in the countryside. Your men could make faster time there on horseback without having to cope with your coach."
"Thank you for the kind offer, Jhond, but my sister, Ilada, is also travelling with us, along with two other ladies we rescued. I wouldn't feel comfortable deserting them because of the attack."
"And before you offer," Gallia said, "I'm not leaving either." She smiled and took Jhond's hand. "You can't watch over us all the time, Jhond. You have more important things to do." She kissed his cheek and added, "Go on back to Ninian and see what else is hiding on the Isle of Truth."
"As you command," Jhond said with a grin. "Look after each other."
He twisted the pendant against the ring again and in a flash returned to the ship's cabin to find Ninian pacing the small space. He paused the instant he saw Jhond, his eyebrow raised in query.
"Their party had been attacked by Illurian stragglers, but they'd already subdued them before I even arrived."
"You sound put out you weren't able to help."
"It's not so much that. I'm grateful they'd solved their own problem without needing me, but I hate the idea that they, or my father, could be at risk and I might not know about it until it was too late. I'm the Eynan, for the Lords' sake. Shouldn't I be able to do something?"
"I'm not sure what to say," Ninian admitted. "We're still learning about the power and the ability of the Eynan."
Jhond stared at Ninian, a smile beginning to form. "You're right, of course. Just because I don't know how at this moment doesn't mean I can't do something. I just have to find out what and how."
Jhond watched as the
Horologue
eased into the bay of the Isle of Truth, his blond hair blowing into his face in the stiff breeze. He shoved his hair back out of the way, while acknowledging it felt strange to be approaching the island again and to have no concern they might be in danger. This time, Captain Amired had no need to ask for Jhond's assistance in finding the isle, instead sailing his ship directly to the once concealed string of three tiny islands, the last one of which was the fabled Isle of Truth.
So much had happened since Jhond first landed here, a nervous young man unsure of what he was doing, or even if he should be doing it. It was difficult to believe that only a few short months had passed. The life he'd lived back then seemed like a dream, as if he had been someone else. He supposed he had been. After all, now he was the Eynan, the most powerful mage in existence. And he was still two weeks short of his twenty-fourth birthday.
Behind him, he heard Amired talking to Ninian. "So can anyone find this place now?"
"Oh no." Jhond could hear the emotion in Ninian's voice. "Jhond's presence allowed you to sail directly here. To anyone else, these islands would still appear to be lost in the mists."
Jhond smiled to himself. He no longer even needed to exercise his power in this special place. It
knew
him. "Come on. Let's go ashore," he said to Ninian.
Aldous, Amired's first mate, approached them. He was a bear of man, his rough appearance belying his quiet ways. "As there's no danger this time, Captain, can I let the men relax, have a little fun on the beach?"
Jhond grinned at Ninian when Amired responded, "Not that they really deserve it, but I guess so."
"Not deserve it, Captain?" Warkist spoke up. "Nearly died at that stronghold we did, helping you fight against the emperor and that mage of his."
Jhond glanced over his shoulder and watched as Amired strode toward Warkist. The sailor was hardly a favorite of the good captain, who was less than a step away when he halted. Staring directly into Warkist's eyes, Captain Amired said, "Never saw you when we stormed that throne room. Where were you?"
"I...I was fighting near the main entrance, Captain, keeping them murderous bastards from getting up the stairs."
"Hmm, so you say." Amired's tone made it clear it would take more than Warkist's word to convince him. "Aldous, I leave it to you to assign shore leave." Turning his back on his obstreperous sailor, he said, "If you don't object, Jhond, I wish to accompany you and Ninian to the tower. I'll keep out of the way, but I'd like to keep an eye on things while you're inside."
"It's not really necessary," Ninian replied, smiling as he added, "But it if makes you feel better."
"I know Suvran's dead now, but this place has too many memories." Amired's voice faded and he stared out across the rocky foreshore.
Jhond was struck by a vivid memory of the fear and determination in Amired's eyes on that very beach when Suvran had threatened to snuff out his life if Jhond didn't reveal the whereabouts of the Strands of Time. Jhond also remembered his own anguish when he'd refused Suvran's demand, knowing what the terrible cost would be. The idea of that powerful artifact in that evil man's hands didn't bear thinking about.
If it hadn't been for Ninian's power...
Jhond shook his head to chase away the memory.
"Whatever makes you happy, Amired," Jhond said, as he clapped him on the back.
The three men climbed over the side and into the small boat, which had been lowered into the water. They were quickly followed by two crewmen assigned by Aldous to row them ashore. Jhond could easily have moved the boat to shore without the need for crew to row, but he decided not to use his mage ability when it wasn't really necessary. He knew some of the crew still felt uncomfortable with the power he and Ninian displayed, even though it had saved all of their lives on more than one occasion.
On reaching shore, they left the sailors securing the boat on the long narrow beach and walked toward the path leading up the cliff to the tower on the summit. At the base of the steep climb, Jhond queried, "Do you feel the need to stretch your legs, Amired, or should I save us the effort?"