butchiesmom

Keirn smiled as he watched the siiker’s progression down the false trail of Crafting use he’d laid for it. His perch, on a nearby hillock was near enough he could see the siiker move down the road but it couldn’t see him through the trees lining the road. A siiker needed to see its prey to capture it.

He waited for the creature to move out of his sight then he stood, picked up his carryall, slung it over his shoulder and walked in the opposite direction. It had taken him the better part of his first day from the palace to lay that false trail, now he wanted to place a great distance between himself, the palace and the siiker. It was heading due south of the palace; he would head toward the West Mountain Region.

He stopped abruptly about a mile down the road. It had been quite a while since the Guids contacted him, now the familiar buzz of voices in his head was enough to stop him in his tracks. He picked out, She’s gone... from the initial surge of voices. The Lady…Jossa…death…had him asking, What? What Lady? Who’s gone? Lady Analise? Jossa? What happened? He soon received answers to his questions.

Lady Analise crossed over? What happened? Brinn? She must go to the Orphan’s wing, I can’t come back to care for her. If I set one foot near that palace as myself the patrol will take me into custody.

Jossa? Send the weapon to me. Yes, I’m sure! He held out his hand, palm up, watched a glow appeared over it and felt the weight of the object as it materialized on his hand.

He turned the small, shiny square over in his hand. “I haven’t seen on of these in a very long time. Where did she get this? I thought all the ancient energy users had been destroyed long ago.” Unlike Jossa, closing his eyes wasn’t necessary. Jossa, do not allow her back into her room. Stay with Brinn until I decide what to do.

“What do I do now? I can’t go back but must make sure Brinn’s going to be fine.” He looked down at the servant’s garb he’d decided not to abandon after his escape. The garb he normally wore around the palace would have worn quicker than the sturdy fabric of the servant’s clothes. Keirn sighed. He hoped the siiker went beyond the false trail he’d laid for it. Doubling back to the palace for his wife's memorial was risky but something he couldn’t avoid. Their daughter would not understand why she had been abandoned by both parents. Since he hadn’t been there, he wasn’t sure whether Karin had crossed deliberately. He wanted to reassure Brinn that though he wasn’t there, she still was not alone. He turned and walked in the direction of the castle.

The next day found him outside the palace gates amongst travelers coming for the memorial and funeral fire for Lady Karin. A servile demeanor was enough for him to gain entry and for him to roam the hallways of the palace without contest. He managed to join a group of lords and ladies entering the room for the memorial.

Keirn stood in a corner of the room near where his daughter sat with Jossa, her servant. When she spied him and opened her mouth to speak, he held his finger to his lips and shook his head. Capture by the King’s Patrol would do nothing good for either of them.

He met Jossa on her way out of the Orphan’s wing. Brinn’s tiny footsteps could be heard running after her. Keirn took out the small, shiny object sent to him by her, armed it and transported them both out of the palace, back to the place he’d started his journey.

He threw down the object, its energy now exhausted and warned Jossa, “You must leave now, the siikers will hone in on the energy signal and come for us. I don’t know how close they are.”

Jossa hugged Keirn before she ran. “I'm so sorry. Where she found it, I don’t know.”

Keirn replied, “It doesn’t matter now. What matters is Brinn doesn’t permanently lose the only two people left in her world.”

They hugged and patted each other’s back and ran Keirn in one direction, Jossa in the other.

An hour and a few miles of running later, Keirn felt the siiker’s probe searching for his mind, it had found the end of his false trail and doubled back to find him. From the strength of the probe he knew the creature was close at hand. He reached out to the Guids. Help! The creature is too close for me to escape. I need to cross again. Keirn felt agreement from the Guids, took one step, then two. The third step was illuminated by the glow from the siiker’s missile as it moved toward him. His fourth step landed on a hard surface stretching as far as he could see in either direction. He heard a loud noise and stepped back just as a strange conveyance sped by.

Keirn looked at the vehicle as it continued down the road, Horseless carriage? He watched as another approached and braked to a stop. The driver got out and walked around the vehicle.

“Are you ok buddy? I saw what happened! Should I call the cops? I got his tag number!” The driver drew a shiny, metallic object from a pocket in his garb, pushed something on it and held it to his ear.

Just the few sentences he’d heard were enough for Keirn to grasp the language and dialect of his benefactor. Keirn stopped him, “No, I’m fine. I could use a ride though.”

“Sure, Buddy. I’m just heading to the next town though.”

“That’s fine by me!”

He had been surprised at the power and speed of the vehicle, car, the driver had called it.

Keirn was surprised how cool it was in the car. The air outside was warm yet it was cool inside the car. He wanted to ask what art of the Craft produced such an effect and if the man would teach it to him but after the ‘radio’ he didn’t think it safe to do so. If the man thought him unsafe to be around, he might drop Keirn off somewhere. Keirn knew there were others of his kind stationed around entry points for emergencies such as this, he hoped to find that person soon after entering the village.

The noise coming from what the driver referred to as a radio hurt his ears. His disbelief at what they preferred for music was laughable for the driver.

“Where you been living, buddy, in a cave? This is an oldies station! You should hear what the younguns call music nowadays!”

Keirn just gave him a look of disbelief. What could be worse than this…this…rock and roll? It sounds like King Brugher trying to sing. Not wanting to insult the man about his ‘music.’ Keirn just gave a polite reply of disbelief and hoped the man would let the subject be. Keirn was safe and moving much faster than he would have back in his own world. He wondered if his own world had been like this before the massacre.

***

Keirn stepped out of the vehicle, thanked the driver and shut the door, the driver honked as he drove off. He took time to scan his surroundings.

“How much?”

“For family? No coinage,” the trader held out the ware to the man in front of him.

“Only family knows the truth…”

“Family will restore the stolen…”

Keirn smiled. “It’s good to find another of the Craft still alive, my friend.”

The trader smiled back. “It’s not easy living without the Craft, but in a world without it...”

Keirn’s smiled faded a bit. “I had no choice…”

Baran’s smile vanished, “I understand. I crossed into here just as the siiker attacked. If I had been one second slower…”

“Only those in a siiker’s grasp can say what happens next. Would it be like here, unable to use that which we crave? The King knows…”

“I know one thing; you will be here for a while. This dimension has the energy you need to go back but it will take some time to collect it.”

“My sweet Brinn is safe now but my lady, Karin has crossed. My presence there garnered danger for our child. This is a safe place for now.”

The trader stopped what he was doing to absorb what he just learned, “Your lady? Lady Karin has crossed? You have a child? Boy or girl?”

“Her name is Brinn. Five years old. A dutiful, loving child.” He thought of his last view of Brinn and smiled faintly, “She loved to play ‘Court’ with her dolls.” Keirn’s smile faded, tears welling up in his eyes, “Jossa, her body servant, took her to the Orphan’s wing after Karin crossed. I left to solve their lives. Karin crossed to save Brinn’s. Her beauty…,” his voice caught, “her beauty was unparalleled.”

The trader put down what he was holding, “I remember her, so beautiful. Your daughter must be a beauty.”

Keirn shook his head, “So far the poor child resembles me. Hopefully, that will change as she grows.”

The trader laughed, “Come friend, you can stay with me until you get your bearings. My wife loves company.

"Manda is here? You both crossed?"

"No, Manda wasn't with me when I crossed. She was with child, ready to birth. I went for the midwife but met the siiker on the way back to the cottage."

"So you don't know if the child and Manda survived?"

"No and if it weren't for meeting my wife here, I would not be sane now. We can talk more about this later. Do you have any skills other than the Craft?”

“As a matter of fact…”

butchiesmom

This has been updated since it was first posted. I hope someone reads it, lol.

hugs,
Gail

Altree94

This is Fantastic! I really enjoyed the read, Gail. Now PLEASE give me the next chapter!!!!!!
DON'T change anything! It is perfect as it stands!