The Silent Tempest: Rite Of Exile Part 22

Only a few feet down the slope, where the boy had already dug a small hole, a dull, white sphere gleamed in the soil. It was the skull Soren had found.

A chill struck Caleb's heart, and with a blistering oath he bent down again to yank his son away. But Rennor swung him around and pointed at the skull, his voice quickening in enthusiasm.

"Don't you understand? Whoever last found the Lor'yentre dropped it here when he died. Everyone else would have searched in the cavern like us. It's here, I'm sure of it!"

Caleb snapped free of Rennor's grasp. "Then why let Warren dig for it? And why did a healthy Raen die on the side of a hill?"

Rennor laid a firm hand on Caleb's arm again-this time with dire consequences. There was a blow to Rennor's face like the snap of a twig, and he fell back, his nose and mouth plastered with blood. Caleb shook his knuckles, grimacing, then reached for his son.

He froze, his hand inches from Warren's shoulder. For the boy had screamed in agony.

Caleb stared aghast. Harsh and almost cruel in its intensity, it was a cry he had never heard any child use before.

Warren remained crouched, gripping something against his chest. He trembled for a moment, then turned to his father and unclenched his soiled fingers.

Two narrow, black cylinders lay across his hands. Elliptical in shape rather than circular, their satin-like finish devoured light rather than reflected it, giving off a faint aura that darkened the skin of Warren's palms. Each half was rounded at one end, recessed by a small, circular port; one glowed faintly blue, the other green, and the opposite ends were jagged-as if once whole but now were broken in two.

The Second Lor'yentre.

Caleb's heart turned to ice. The sight should have drawn a shout of victory from his lips. Instead it infected his soul with a poison of utter loneliness, like the cry of a prisoner long left to rot in a forgotten dungeon. A wave of guilt accompanied that loneliness, as if all the griefs in his life-Karla's death, Warren's sickness, his betrayal of the Oath-were somehow made manifest in this little device, convicting him beyond all hope of salvation.

He barely had enough breath in his lungs to speak. "Warren-are you all right?" he whispered hoa.r.s.ely. The boy nodded.

Soren had leaped down the hill at Warren's scream, and he ground to a halt before them. "What in great Grondolos happened?"

"Interesting choice of words," said Caleb. "Warren's found the Broken Lor'yentre-or at least I think so."

Soren looked down at the boy, then crouched beside him. He smiled and held out his hands, but Warren shrank away.

"Give it to him, Warren. Don't worry, you can trust him."

"Why? I'm the one who found it."

No one spoke. All sound of wind and weather faded from Caleb's ears.

Warren's eyes wandered, as if he were struggling to find the right words. "Finders keepers, losers weepers-right, Dad? Isn't that what they used to say?"

"Warren?" Caleb asked, his heart pounding.

"I'm okay," he said, standing up. "I don't know how it happened. But I'm all right now. I'm like I was before."

Caleb's voice caught in his throat, an excruciating reluctance to believe what he was hearing-lest this all be a dream the slightest disturbance might shatter.

"It's like I just woke up," Warren added. "I don't remember much-only a couple of words from their language, and a few people here and there." He smiled. "Like Telai."

Caleb glanced at Soren, desperate for confirmation. But the old Raen only wore a puzzled frown, unable to comprehend the boy's transformation. Rennor merely sat cleaning his bloodied face with a bit of cloth he had soaked in the morning dew.

Warren grimaced and placed a hand on his stomach. "Dad-when are we going to eat?"

Caleb tilted his head back, spread his arms, and sent a mighty shout into the sky.

He fell to his knees and wrapped the boy in his arms, laughing. Long the sound of his triumph lasted. But his laughter slowly took on another tone, until it faded quite away, and he wept quietly. Warren hesitated, no doubt uncomfortable with such an emotional display, then gripped his father in return.

At last Caleb stood back to look upon him again. "It found no illness it could not cure," he murmured as if to himself. He pointed at the Master Raen. "You!-with your talk of evil and hidden purposes. This was meant to be. Meant to be!" he yelled, raising his fist.

Rennor rose to his feet, blood still flowing from his nose and his eyes watering. Despite this he seemed elated, perhaps accepting a punch in the face as the price of success. The trace of a frown still darkened Soren's expression, but he shook off his reluctance enough to grip Caleb's shoulder.

"I'm happy for you," he said. "Warren, too."

Warren merely blinked at him, and for an instant Caleb feared a relapse of some kind. Then he dismissed the thought as absurd. "Thank him, son."

The boy turned a strange, blank stare toward his father. "I already told you-I don't know their language that well."

"Sorry," Caleb said, then taught him how to say thank you in Adan.

Warren repeated it to Soren, who smiled a little. "Fine, Warren. But you should give the Broken Lor'yentre to one of us."

Caleb translated his words. A flash of anger contorted Warren's face, then vanished.

"Soren, let him be for a bit," Caleb said. "He's a little shook up right now. Wouldn't you be? I understand your right to such an important find, but there's plenty of time for that."

Rennor was starting to become almost unrecognizable, with his quickly bruising nose and puffed eyes. "I 'gree" he said, as if suffering from a bad cold. "Besides, de healig powers might go 'way once Warren gibs it up."

There was a sharp ring of steel being drawn, and a cold blade slapped against his neck.

Soren's eyes glared inches away from Rennor's. "A day will come when you speak one word too many, and it will be your last!"

Both Caleb and Warren looked on, slack-jawed in astonishment. But Rennor had made a valid point, and Caleb stepped where Soren could see him, palms held out in appeas.e.m.e.nt. "Soren, if there's any chance that taking the Lor'yentre from Warren might reverse the healing ... "

His voice trailed away as the Master Raen turned his stare upon him. After a moment Soren withdrew and sheathed his sword.

"You grasp for excuses, man from Earth. I'll bide my time for now, on the off chance you may be right. But rest a.s.sured-we will revisit this matter again before we reach Ada's borders."

Caleb nodded, relieved. "Don't worry, Soren. The Raeni have vowed to destroy the First Lor'yentre, not the Second. It's incapable of evil, broken as it is. It's as safe in Warren's hands as it is in anyone's."

But the Master Raen was finished with the discussion. "We should leave the island as soon as possible. We can sleep in shifts on the raft." Without another word he began a determined retreat to the sh.o.r.e.

Caleb offered no protest and followed dutifully. He glanced down at the child walking at his side-Karla's child-his joy almost more than he could contain.

Yet a faint premonition tainted his euphoria. The rocky terrain demanded his attention, and he tried to dismiss it at first. After all, he had no gift of insight such as Telai or Garda possessed. Perhaps it was merely a leftover effect of his strange guilt at the sight of the Broken Lor'yentre. But the sensation grew until it stirred the hairs on the back of his neck. The trees still danced in the wind, and the distant blue lake appeared no different than the evening before. Yet something wasn't right.

He stopped to look behind him. The crown of the hill rose tall and bare against the rising sun. Beneath it stumbled Rennor, his eyes still streaming as he fought to catch up. Nothing unusual about that, Caleb decided. But he couldn't help thinking that the man's tears were no longer the tears of pain.

Eventually Caleb shrugged and turned away, hurrying to rejoin his son. An hour later, it finally hit him.

The old tree was gone.

Here ends the first part of The Silent Tempest. The second part, Hope Betrayed, follows Caleb and his son as Soren leads them back to Ada to face the consequences of Warren's discovery-and his healing.

Map of Ada.

Map of Ekendore.

GLOSSARY OF NAMES.

All dates are given in Adan years, which are slightly longer than Earth's. The year of Caleb Stenger's arrival is 997. For a full appendix visit: HTTP://WWW.THESILENTTEMPEST.COM.

Acallor: Loremaster of Spierel, male, age 84. He was Telai's mentor when she was a teenager.

Ada: The land where the Adaiani live. The forest of Tratirene forms its western border, while its eastern runs along the Outlands. Dernetonde and Lrana form the northern border, while the southern border lies south of Telene.

Adaiani: The people of Ada. Most are very light blond or white-haired, though some whose ancestry can be traced to the Treth have darker hair.

Agrin: A wide, flat region of central Ada between lakes earden and Tnesen.

Allera: Second Underseer of Spierel, female, age 91.

Anidrin: Older brother to Acallor, age 86. Lives in Onayonle.

Bannlef: Master Raen of Enili, male, age 60.

Berrensal: Third tower of the fortress of Spierel, where the offices and council rooms of the Underseers are located.

Besa: Southernmost major city in Ada, and the youngest, founded in 884.

Besir Orand'itee: A collection of written works by the most famous Prophet in Ada, Orand. It contains pa.s.sages of wisdom, reflections, and most notably the Yrsten Prophecy. The original scrolls are not available to the public.

Blood Valley: See Tedrel.

Borone: Master Raen of Leiff, male, 41 years old.

Broken Lor'yentre, First Lor'yentre: See Lor'yentre.

Caleb Stenger: Also known as the Falling Man. Male, 33 years old, father to Warren Stenger.

Corinn: Chief Raeni scout of Ekendore, male, 29 years old.

Council of Nine: A group of nine men and women of Ekendore who serve not only as local Underseers but as judges and lawmakers to Ada as a whole. They live in Wsaytchen, the seat of Ada's government, where the Overseer resides as well.

Crooked Pa.s.s: A narrow pa.s.s high in the mountains south of Enili, dangerous during the winter months.

Cresus: The outer sea, west of Trethrealm.

Dernetonde: A vast, arid wasteland north of the Iendrai between Grimoa and the Irenseni. Its northern end has never been mapped.

Derre: The official door warden of Wsaytchen, female, 55 years old.

Dorgonan: The name the Hodyn gave to their main city before it was captured by the Adaiani and renamed Ekendore.

earden: Lake bordering the north of Agrin, south of Crooked Pa.s.s.

Eastgate: A wide gap in the mountains between the Iendrai and the Norgdir, allowing pa.s.sage between the central and eastern regions of Ada.

Edai: Weaponmaster of Ekendore, female, 43 years old.

Eiveya: Telai's horse, a large black mare.

Eke: Telai's house servant, female, 66 years old.

Ekendore: Main city of Ada, where the Overseer and the Council of Nine reside. It was captured from the Hodyn in the year 370.

Enili: Northernmost of Adan cities, near lake Lrana. Established in 321.

Enili Pa.s.s: A long pa.s.s east of Enili leading to Dernetonde.

Enntesk: A school for physicians in Telene.

Erthair: River flowing west from the southern end of lake Lrana. It is said to feed lake One'en, where the island Graxmoar is located.

Etrenga: Most hallowed Supreme Raen and Overseer in Adan history, the first and only time anyone held both positions. She is the author of the Oath of the Raeni, and was the first to swear it, thus becoming the first official Raen.

Etre Obald'aseli: Minor work written by the last Adan Prophet, Obald, circa 250-260.

Eya: Physician of Spierel, female, age 51, Garda's older sister.

Feitseg: Fifth Underseer of Ekendore. His many duties include consultation for both new citizens and those who wish to join the Raeni.

Ferguen: Lord of the Hodyn people.

Fet'anidare: Meaning "presentation of the blade", it is part of the ceremony surrounding the taking of the Oath of the Raeni.

Fetra: The most common type of sword used in Ada, and a ceremonial weapon for their military, the Raeni. Its chief characteristics are a long hilt with no pommel, a short cross guard, and a narrow, slightly curved blade with a single honed edge. Higher members of the Raeni usually have their swords engraved.

Fouve: Raeni guard stationed at the armory in Ekendore.

Frehaiani: Network of caretakers dedicated to the education and safekeeping of Raeni children.

Garda: The 18th Overseer of Ada from 983 to present day, female, 47 years old.