Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora Series Book 1) (11 page)

“Can we have some clothes, please?” begged Alora. “I don’t want to lie down any more. And I have to figure out how to get us back. My uncle’s going to be frantic when we don’t come home, especially if they see that hole in the ice.”

“I don’t believe you should attempt another transport,” said Raelene. “You were very fortunate to have accomplished this one without any training. But we’ll discuss that later.”

Kaevin managed to pull his pants on under the blanket, but Alora waddled in her blanket through the door to a storage room. She shut the door for privacy, which left her in complete darkness. Cracking open the doorway allowed enough light for her to slip into the strange, but comfortable, clothing. She reached for the door handle, freezing as a ripple of nausea attacked her stomach. A strange, raspy voice assaulted her ears.

“Yes, I’m searching for my niece. She has fifteen years. Her father passed and left an inheritance for her.”

Alora peeked through the crack at the man who was speaking to Raelene and Kaevin. He was tall, with brown curly hair and beard. His two companions were checking out every single patient in the room. The nauseous feeling grew, along with an intense desire to pull Kaevin away from the stranger. She held her hand across her mouth, swallowing the saliva that flowed like a fountain from her cheeks.

“I hope you won’t mind if we search for her in Laegenshire. Her name is Lena.”

Alora sucked in a breath when he said her aunt’s name. She peered through the crack. Had he heard her? His eyes seemed to look everywhere at once. His blue eyes. Hadn’t they been green before? As she continued to watch, his brown curly hair turned straight and black, and his nose grew smaller.

It’s my father. Doesn’t anyone recognize him? Didn’t they see him change?

Before her eyes, the other two also morphed their appearances.

“You can search, but you won’t find her here,” said Raelene.

“Thank you for your understanding and aid,” said Vindrake, motioning with his head for his men to follow him outside.

The moment the door closed behind them, Alora dashed from the storage room.

“Did you see that man?” She spoke in an urgent whisper, gripping Kaevin’s arm. “That was my
father
.”

Raelene shook her head. “No, Alora. Sadly, your father is—”

“—
Vindrake
. I know. I met him. That was him—that was Vindrake.”

“No, Alora. I was standing close to him.” Kaevin used a patronizing tone she didn’t care for. “You simply couldn’t see him clearly. His eyes were green, not blue. And his hair was nothing like Vindrake’s.”

She tugged Kaevin toward the storage closet. “Yes, that’s what I thought at first. But then he started to change. His eyes turned blue and his hair turned black and straight. His beard was black and straight, too.”

“How do you know what Vindrake looks like?” asked Raelene. “When did you meet him?”

“I met him on Sunday. I talked to him when I was in my hot tub. He recognized me, and told me he was my father and said my mother had told lies about him. And I didn’t know whether to believe him or not. But when he asked my name, I gave my aunt’s name instead of mine, for some reason.
Lena
. That’s the name I gave him. And now he’s here asking for me by my fake name.” She felt Kaevin rubbing soothing strokes across her hand where she had a death grip on his arm.

“But still, this man... these men weren’t Water Clan,” Raelene insisted.

“I’m telling you I know what I saw. It’s like their faces were masks that just faded away until I could see their real faces underneath.”

A wave of nausea swirled in her abdomen. “He’s coming back,” she croaked, jerking on Kaevin’s arm, pulling him inside, and closing the storage room door. She left a tiny crack so she could peer out again. The man who was Vindrake paced through the healing house, examining the patients in the beds. His hair was brown and curly. As she concentrated, it lengthened and straightened and darkened, until the guise melted away.

Laethan returned and his sullen demeanor grew grouchier as he spotted the strangers strolling through his healing house.

“You there. Stay away from my patients. Do you want to come down with the plague? And carry the sickness across the countryside?”

“I don’t intend to touch anyone,” snapped Vindrake, even as he pulled his hands inside his cloak and backed away.

“We’ve had many cases of plague around Laegenshire. Have there been many occurrences in your shire? I didn’t hear where you’re from.” Laethan positioned himself between Vindrake and the closest patient.

“Waenshire.”

“Waenshire? That’s quite a distance from here.”

“Look at him,” whispered Alora.

Kaevin peered through the crack and shook his head. “It’s not him,” he whispered.

“Look again. I’m going to help you see him.” As Kaevin squinted through the crack, Alora placed her hands on either side of his head and concentrated on peeling the mask away, as she had done before.

Kaevin gasped and turned back to her, his eyes wide. “I saw him!” he whispered.

Raelene moved closer to Laethan and the stranger.

“Laethan, the young girl who died several weeks ago … wasn’t she from Waenshire?”

“Yes, Mirraena was her name. The poor child didn’t even have three years. There were several cases in Waenshire. Your own family wasn’t afflicted?”

“Hmmm,” said Vindrake, but he wasn’t listening to Laethan. His eyes were on the storeroom. He moved toward the closet with deliberate, stealthy steps, cocking his head to one side. He reached out to grasp the wooden handle with one hand as the other hand slid to the hilt of his sword.

Raelene held her breath. Without thought she attempted to transport Kaevin and Alora to safety, forgetting her wander-jewel had long since lost its spark.

He jerked open the door.

It was empty, but for the supplies on the shelves.

“Is there something you need from the storeroom?” asked Laethan.

“No,” said Vindrake. “I thought I heard something.”

“We’ve had some problems with rats,” said Laethan.

“Yes. Well, let me know if you find Lena,” he said to Laethan. And, turning to Raelene, he said, “Thank you, Bearer, for your assistance.”

“It is considered rude to address me as Bearer when I am no longer active. Are no manners practiced in Waenshire?” Raelene kept her voice even, though she had a strong urge to wipe the smirk from his face.

“Forgive me.” He made a deep bow of obvious feigned repentance. “That was thoughtless of me.”

A quick search confirmed Raelene’s fears. Alora and Kaevin were nowhere to be found. “We have no way to determine where they’ve gone,” she said. “We can only hope they arrived at a safe place.”

Darielle asked, “Should I urge the expedition to return? They surely have not progressed too far.”

“I think not,” Raelene replied. “It is most likely the girl has returned them to her home in the north.”

“What of these other men who are also searching for a girl of fifteen years?” asked Bardamen. “Do you believe this is mere coincidence?”

“They are supposedly searching for a different girl, by the name of Lena,” said Laethan.

“I detected no hint of malintent,” said Darielle.

“Just before she transported, Alora insisted one of the men was Vindrake in disguise,” Raelene admitted. “She contended she could see their true visages, and their actual eye color was blue.”

“Perhaps a bit of hysteria from a girl of fifteen years who’d had a traumatic experience?” Laethan suggested.

“She also maintained she’d spoken to her father and given the name Lena when he asked for hers,” said Raelene.

“You don’t actually believe that was Vindrake in person who came into the healing house today?” Bardamen questioned.

“No,” Raelene responded. “But perhaps Vindrake is truly aware of the girl and is somehow using others to conduct his search. I must say, although he had no evil aura and no bondmark, I still did not care for the man from Waenshire. He left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.”

“I would agree with you, wholeheartedly,” said Laethan. “Being in his presence gave me an angry disposition.”

“I didn’t notice any change in your temperament.” Bardamen quipped, and Raelene rolled her lips in to keep from smiling.

“Did he ever give his name?” asked Laethan, apparently choosing to ignore the barb.

“None that I recall,” said Bardamen.

“Do you think the expedition should continue?” asked Darielle. “It is almost time for me to make first contact with the group. I can only give an impression, but Graely will know if I’m asking them to turn back.”

“No,” Bardamen said gravely. “I fear the expedition may be our only hope. I wish we could somehow warn them Vindrake is likely aware of the girl.”

“After speaking to Alora and Kaevin for a short time, I am convinced the girl lives beyond the mountain pass. We need to expedite the search party, sending them straight for the passage without detouring to look in the nearby shires.”

“If they moved with haste, they could reach the pass in a seven-day, rather than a fortnight,” said Bardamen.

“I have no way of passing on that information,” said Darielle.

“I could do it,” said a muffled voice in the back.

Raelene turned to look behind her. Emerging from a crouched position behind a table, Jireo stood up and faced the remaining council members. “I could ride fast and catch them by tomorrow night.”

“How many years do you have, Jireo?” asked Bardamen.

“I have seventeen years.” He raised his chin. “I’m old enough.”

“Don’t you have other obligations?”

“No. I was assigned to a local search group with Kaevin. Obviously, that group will no longer be needed. So, I’m available to ride to the expedition group.”

“Had you not been eavesdropping,” Laethan commented, “you wouldn’t even be aware of that fact.”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was only hoping for a chance to speak to my best friend. I didn’t know he’d been transported again.”

“But you are too young to be expected to use your gifts in the event of an attack,” reasoned Bardamen. “You can’t join the expedition.”

“But I can bring a message to the group and return alone. I commonly go on hunting trips of three to four days duration. This will be no different,” Jireo reasoned. “My horse is fast, and I’m gifted in direction. I won’t lose my way.”

Bardamen caught her eyes, and Raelene nodded assent. Laethan and Darielle agreed, though Laethan never dropped his customary scowl. “Very well, Jireo. Ready quickly for your journey, and we will send you on your way at once. Graely will be heartened to know we’ve seen his son alive.”

*****

“Where are we?” Kaevin asked.

She had no idea how they’d transported, but she knew exactly where they’d arrived.

“We’re in my bedroom.”

A sigh escaped his lips. “I’m simply glad you didn’t take us back to the lake.”

She realized how easily she could have done just that. Every mistake she made had the potential of ending their lives. She remembered falling in the freezing water. And Kaevin trying to save her. And him falling through the ice with her. And she remembered the pain of waking up with lungs full of water. The image of Vindrake coming toward the door with his hand on his sword, replayed in her mind. And she thought about Ringo, mewing pitifully on the ice as the hawk circled overhead.

She couldn’t help herself. Tears began to fall, and the more she fought to stop them, the harder she cried.
Why can’t I control my emotions?

Kaevin wrapped her in his arms. “Please don’t cry. It’s all right. We’re alive, and you’re an amazing bearer. You were fantastic today. Please don’t cry.”

The door banged open, and the light flipped on.

“What are you doing in here?” yelled Charles. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you! We thought you were dead! Caught in the storm! Drowned in the lake! Lost in the blizzard! And you were hiding out in your bedroom? Your friends stayed here to help me search for you! We were just getting ready to call the sheriff’s department!”

“But Uncle Charles—”

“I don’t even want to hear it. I’ve heard enough, and I’ve seen enough. I’m so disappointed in you, Alora!” He slammed the door and walked out.

*****

An hour later, Charles still refused to listen to anything Alora had to say. By that time, she and Kaevin had already told their entire story to Beth and Wesley, who had stayed so long to help with the search they could no longer safely drive to their homes in the snowstorm.

“I don’t know what to do,” said Alora, pacing in front of the couch while the others lounged on the furniture. “I’ve got to make him listen to me.”

“He’s pretty mad,” said Beth. “But only because he loves you.” She cocked her head to the side. “Could you move? I can’t see the TV screen.”