Gardening won out this weekend. I spent Saturday morning at a garden center (pure heaven) and the rest of the glorious weekend tending to my garden. You know life has changed when you’re excited about a dirt delivery on Tuesday. I wonder, am I just getting older or have my priorities just changed. I believe it’s likely both. Mind you, I’m not THAT old - even if my aches and pains from gardening tell me otherwise. I’m still up for adventure, exploring new places, and pushing boundaries. Although these days most of that happens in my stories.
And that brings me to the latest chapter of EoO. We left Bex a little frustrated by the reactions of her friends when she showed them the crystal key. We pick up with her at dinner with her mum when they are visited by an unexpected visitor.
Chapter 14 (Bex)
My mother placed the plate of roast kelbit in the middle of the table. The dark juicy meat looked crispy on the edges and tender in the center – just how I liked it. My stomach gurgled, although I wasn’t convinced it was solely due to the delicious smell of the meal. I had been putting off this conversation with my Mum for a while now but couldn’t keep avoiding her. Especially since my liberation day was only days away. I owed it to her to let her know my plans and I knew she wouldn’t be happy.
Mum sat across from me and carved a piece of meat. Holding it out for my plate, she started quietly, “You had a visitor today.”
My hand faltered and the plate wobbled as I pushed it toward her and accepted the dripping slice. Silence. A scoop of vegetables. A sigh. I set my plate down and waded into the uncertain conversation, “Oh, did Sarja stop by? Or was it Muut?”
“Neither,” she answered as she calmly took a mouthful of food.
I waited, chewing my meat slowly.
“Master Churznach was concerned that you missed your orientation session,” she said, without looking up from her plate. “Again.”
“Mum, I can explain,” I set my silverware down and looked at her. Her face wasn’t even red. Her mouth was perfectly tranquil. The few bites of dinner turned to acid in my stomach and an icy knife sliced through my guts.
“I don’t know what you’ve got yourself involved in, Bex. And I probably don’t want to know. You’ve been skulking about with Muut for the past month, you refuse to take your guild apprenticeship seriously, and now you’re being called back to Abuzi.” Her chest heaved as she took a deep breath, “I just need to know that you’re going to be OK. That you have a future. That’s all I want for you.”
She didn’t plead, but her eyes bored into my soul. I loved my mum more than anything in the world and I hated disappointing her, but there was no way I could join the Grinders Guild. I’d rather be thrown in a pit of tarlins.
“Mum,” I croaked, then cleared my throat, and reached across the table to touch her hand. The words I’d carefully crafted for this conversation flew from my head as other, less succinct words tumbled from my mouth. “I’m going to do what I was born to do and that’s not being a Grinder. I’m not like Da. He was proud of his guild. But that’s just not my path. I know you don’t believe me, and you think I’m being childish, but it’s something I believe in and feel in my bones that I have to do. I’m going to be away for a while, and when I come back, I’ll have the proof.”
“Proof,” she hung her head and placed her hands in her lap. I watched as tears plopped onto her pale blue blouse. “Those words are too familiar.”
“I know…,” I spluttered. “I’ve told you before that I want to prove that Xan Janal’s stories are true. To find his killers.”
She looked up, tears pooling on the edge of her eyes, “It’s not your words I’m referring to.”
“Then who’s?” I sat back, waiting for an explanation, but we were interrupted by a loud pounding at our door.
We looked at each other, then she stood, wiped her eyes on the back of her hands and walked to the door.
“Good evening, Enforcer Arelwyn,” Mum greeted the dark figure filling our doorway.
The icy knife sliced what was left of my guts as I looked up and saw him staring right at me.
“Good evening, Madam. I’ve come to escort young Bex to her appointment with Hadrial Abuzi,” he removed his black cap and held it under his arm as he looked past my Mum, watching me, as if he expected me to dash away like a scared rabbit.
“Oh, I thought that was in the morning,” I called to him.
“She has requested that it be now.”
“We were just finishing dinner. Would you like to join us first? My mum makes the best roast kelbit in town. It melts…”
“I’m afraid there isn’t time for that,” he interrupted and stepped past my mum. “Please come with me now.”
At least he said ‘please’, I thought to myself as I pushed away from the table. “I’ll just wash up.”
“Not necessary,” he grabbed my arm and guided me toward the door.
“Arelwyn,” Mum started, then corrected herself. “Enforcer Arelwyn, what is this about. Surely, I should be with Bex if she’s going to be questioned by the Advisor.”
“No need. There isn’t any questioning that I’m aware of,” he tugged me out the door and into the darkening night.
“Don’t worry, Mum. I’ll be OK,” I called to her. “I’ll be back before bedtime.”
***
Enforcer Arelwyn led me down a narrow alley. The darkness, now complete, in the cramped passageways between the buildings. I stumbled, tripping over a bin and he caught me without missing a stride, pulling me forward. He hadn’t said a word since he told me to stay close. We wound our way through the labyrinth of backstreets that spread through the depths of the market creating a web of life sustaining alleyways.
“This isn’t the way to the Advisor’s quarters,” I muttered at his wide shadowy back.
No response as he turned left down another even narrower passage.
“Where exactly are you taking me?” I tried again.
Still no answer.
I stopped. “I’m not taking another step until you tell me where you’re taking me.”
Enforcer Arelwyn stopped, then turned, and closed the gap between us in two long strides. Standing in front of me, his enforcer uniform melded with the shadows that engulfed us. All I could see was a glint in his flint sharp eyes reflecting the watery light from a second-floor window. His flint sharp words cut any further protests, “We are nearly there. She will tell you what you need to know. Follow me and no more questions.”
He turned around and I followed him. If I’d had a tail, it would be tightly tucked between my legs. After a few more twists and turns, he stopped in front of a low, narrow alcove. It was little more than a depression in the wall. He checked both directions before pushing a stone above and to the right. A door swung open and dim light spilled out into the alley. He grabbed my wrist and quickly pulled me through the doorway, pushing the door closed behind him.
We were standing in a small, cozy room filled with overstuffed furniture and walls lined with books. Everywhere I looked there were books. They were on shelves, stacked in neat piles on the floor, piled on chairs and several laid out on the small table that filled the back of the room. Abuzi leaned over a map sprawled out with books on each corner holding the edges in place.
She looked up at me, her dark wavy hair loosely pulled back at the nape of her neck. Gone was the formal robe of her station. Instead, she wore a dark brown long vest over a pale tunic and dark green leggings. Brown leather boots covered her legs up to her knees. She looked as if she were prepared for a long journey or a masquerade. Her green eyes glinted in the warm amber light, and she looked…excited, or anxious. I wasn’t quite sure which considering the circumstances.
“Ah, Bex,” she purred and motioned for me to take a seat, “Thank you for coming. Please come and sit.”
Glancing at Enforcer Arelwyn, but not moving further into the room, “It’s not like I had a lot of choice.”
“Yes, sorry for the late hour and unusual summons,” she stood and walked over to me. “Things are moving a little quicker than I had anticipated.”
“Things? What things?” Alarm bells rang as my mouth turned to sand.
“Please sit,” she pointed to a chair at the table.
Enforcer Arelwyn nudged me in the back, and I shuffled forward. I sat heavily in the chair, glared at him, and clutched the end of my braid in my fist.
“Oh, don’t mind him. He means well.” Shifting her attention back to the table, she swept her hand across the surface of the map, “Does this look familiar to you?”
Shifting my gaze across the map, I could see that it was a drawing of our world. I saw where our town was nestled between the two ridges of the Aulex and the Clowell mountains. To the south was the windswept region of the Obupiri Dunes. The other towns and villages were all notated as well as the major traveling routes that connected them. There were also symbols that indicated where there may be potential water reserves. I looked further to the edges of our world and saw along the border in certain areas there was a circle with what looked like a multi-petaled flower on it. Most had a black line through the middle, but there were a few that were unmarked.
I could feel her eyes on me, watching for any glimmer of acknowledgement. Keeping my face as placid as possible, I looked at her, “A map of our world. So, what. I’ve studied them in my lessons before. What’s so special about this one?”
Abuzi sat back, “That’s one of the things I admire about you Bex. You don’t give anything away.”
“I haven’t got anything to give away,” I challenged.
She smiled and tapped her finger on the edge of the map. “I’m going to share a story with you. One that I believe you will relate to.”
“I’m a bit old for bedtime stories, don’t you think,” I glared at her.
“You seem to be the type to enjoy stories,” she leaned forward. “Especially adventurous ones.”
Sitting back, I crossed my arms, waiting for her to get on with it.
“The story I’m going to tell you is about a young man whose head was filled with questions and curiosity. He was always asking ‘why’ and ‘how’ and ‘what if’. He wasn’t happy about his prescribed path in life as it wasn’t one that he had chosen. He challenged his parents, guild masters, councilors, really anyone who tried to tell him what he could or should do with his life. In his curiosity, he began exploring parts of the world that had never before been seen. As he adventured further afield, he stumbled across an…let’s call it an anomaly.
She tilted her head and looked at me, “Do you understand what an anomaly is, Bex?”
“Yah, I’ve read about it in a dictionary once,” I snarked.
“Of course, you did,” she continued and pointed at the edge of the map. “These symbols indicate where the anomalies occur in the boundaries of our world.”
I couldn’t help myself as I reached out and placed a finger over one nearest me, “And why are some blacked out and others aren’t?”
“You’re very perceptive. Why do you think that is?”
“Because these ones,” still pointing at the one that was blacked out, “Have been closed. While the other ones,” I pointed to a flower symbol, “Are still open.”
“Exactly,” Abuzi confirmed. “And where do you think these anomalies lead?”
Sitting back, I crossed my arms, wondering where all this was leading, “Why don’t you stop with the slippery sand questions, and get to the point?”
She walked around the table and sat in the chair opposite; her hands folded in her lap. “This young man I was telling you about, the one who discovered these anomalies, passed through them, and found mysterious other worlds. When he eventually returned, he told his people of the amazing adventures he had. He spoke of wonderous lands filled with people like us, yet very different. Their worlds were filled with a myriad of beasts and plants the likes never before seen.”
Abuzi sat up straighter and looked at Enforcer Arelwyn as she continued with her story, “Most dismissed him as having succumbed to sun scorch sickness. While others began to question the truth behind his stories. Some set off to find out for themselves. Most never returned. And others,” she paused to make sure I was listening “Took an interest in his abilities to sway people. He had an innate goodness in him. Curiosity drove him and it was his capacity to love that set him apart. He loved life more fully than most. He wanted others to experience the wonders he had and to rejoice in the mysteries beyond our world. And he quickly learned that freedom had a price. One he wasn’t willing to pay.”
I raised my hand to stop her, “Interesting story, but what does this have to do with me?”
“Well, you were very close to Xan Janal,” she started.
“Is that who you’re speaking of? I wouldn’t exactly say we were close,” I snarled. “I told you; I never missed his storytelling events. But that doesn’t mean we hung out and drank pints together.”
“No, I don’t suppose you did,” she sat back. “Yet, I believe he trusted you.”
“And what makes you think that?” My pulse was now pounding, my palms sweating. I looked past Enforcer Arelwyn, gauging whether I could scoot past him fast enough to get to the door before he caught me.
“I believe there may have been a connection between you and Xan Janal that neither of you were aware of,” she sighed. “But I don’t suppose we’ll ever know for certain.”
Enforcer Arelwyn stepped forward, “Advisor, it is getting late. I should get the girl back home before her mother raises an alarm.”
“Yes, I suppose you should,” Abuzi stood, and began folding the map into a small square. Handing it to me, she said, “Take this. It may help you on your journey.”
I stood up and took the map from her, “My journey?”
“We both know you’re not destined to be a Grinder,” her stern expression returned. “Now go before your mother calls Councilor Jrabel directly.”
Before I could ask anything further, Enforcer Arelwyn was ushering me out the door and we were back in the oily black alleyway. He started down the passage bidding me to follow him through the shadows of the night. My head swam with so many questions, I was stunned into silence as I followed him obediently back to my home.
I hope you’re enjoying the latest chapter of EoO. If you want to be one of the first to know when the next one drops (weekly - although days sometimes vary), then hit the subscribe button below and you’ll be in the know.
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