Episode #1 - "Torn": Star Chasers (Volume 1) (8 page)

    
Llai joined them just as they sat down to eat. The topics of their conversation were light and sporadic. Llai told them the day was clear and sunny. Ty replied that it was a good day for roaming about. After Ty helped clear and clean the dishes (Shilastar’s idea, not his), Llai initiated a new direction for their conversation.

    
“They have not gone, you know.” Llai’s face lost its normal casualness as he spoke. He looked directly at Shilastar, speaking clearly. “I have a secret to confess. I knew you would come. I was expecting you. I saw them, and I knew...”

    
“You knew what?” demanded Ty.

    
“Ty...” chastised Shilastar, trying to get him to back off.

    
“No, it is fine.” Llai smiled. “You two know more than you would care to guess, and more than I would like, but neither of you understand. You, Shilastar, haven’t even trusted Ty yet, as Phaylio did. He said when they came, you would come; and he said to look for you. I have, often...” Llai grinned broadly as they stared back.

    
Llai snapped his fingers in front of their eyes, “Wake up, wake up!”

    
“I am,” replied Shilastar.

    
Ty said nothing and frowned at Shilastar.

    
“I am,” repeated Shilastar.

Llai didn’t seem to be in such a hurry to tell them the information they were after, so they settled in for a long morning. It was fairly quiet. All Llai’s children were grown, scattered far and near. Breakfast was long over, dishes cleaned and stored. Many stews were brewing now, as the cook had come back again.

     Llai had left them alone for a time, returning with an unfamiliar instrument. The machine was long and slender, obtuse on one end, and had eight strings across its face. The two watched in fascination as Llai stroked it and it chimed, echoing beautiful but laden music from its bowels. Ty thought it grand. The only music he had ever heard was synthesized. Llai showed him how to pluck its strings and the sounds startled him as he touched his fingers to it.

    
Llai hummed the chorus of a song Shilastar knew and Ty had heard rather recently, but he couldn’t recall where or when. Shilastar’s sang along, her light crisp voice carrying the somber melody and occasionally peaking to highs beyond the range of most. Ty had started to sing with her, but now he let her go it alone. He was mesmerized by the song and her face.

    
Ty was still watching her as the song faded out. Shilastar caught his eyes for an instant and then she looked away, smiling widely at Llai. Ty was momentarily jealous, then the feeling passed and he didn’t know why he had felt so. The joy didn’t last long, as even the message of the song reflected. Llai set aside his instrument, looking concerned.

    
For the first time Ty saw the tired circles under Llai’s eyes and a dark shadow held therein. Llai’s tone scarcely reached above a whisper. A light breeze or a shuffle against the floor could have muffled his words, so they huddled close.

    
“He said you would come here first, and to tell you the truth I never believed him until now. She was late with child the last time I saw them. And you know, it was almost the time that you beckoned upon my door. I never forgot, and if I recall correctly the hour was the same, though it be so many years back... A—”

    
Llai paused, about to say another word, but they never gleaned it from him. He retreated behind the bar, gathering three glasses in his large, fat hands. He dispensed two drafts topped with a fine mist of foam and the third he filled with a creamy liquid, which he gave to Shilastar.

    
“She had such a power in her eyes, and that night especially so. I would have done anything she asked and still would again. Her eyes drew me in and drank in my soul. And you know, with her eyes on me, it was as if she was in my soul and running through my mind. I never felt so moved... that is, until I saw your eyes. You have that same searching stare, cuts right through to the heart. I dropped two glasses right down there last night when I saw your face and caught your eyes out of the corner of mine.”

    
Llai pointed to the spot, though the mess had already been cleaned up.

    
“I haven’t done that in years. You know, she never spoke to me more than a few words, a goodbye, a hello, and a few others, but I can recall each as if they were yesterday.” Shilastar’s lit up with fond memories. Her mother was always soft spoken, and said little. Phaylio was her voice, but she held the power of beguiling, and it was in her eyes and the warmth of her heart.

    
“That is until that day,” Llai continued. I was taken aback then, and now. He had a special gift, too. But truth be known, I couldn’t lay a finger on it. They had come so many times over the years, never wanting anything but a touch of drink... and one of my songs. I played the best I could for her, as if it mattered. Usually, they would leave then, and I thought it odd to come such a way for a song and a drink... though I don’t think so anymore. Honestly, from the first time I laid eyes on her an envy grew in my heart, but that also passed... There I go rambling on and on.”

    
Llai broke off, his eyes were on an oblivious Shilastar. The smile on her face and the intent in her expression was overwhelming for him.

    
“The number is odd, twenty-two you know. He told me this and she laughed, I still remember it: ‘Twenty and twenty-two one is up, one is down, one is twice as important as most, but the other is not half again the less... Six and twelve and in between, though three and four be seven, four and three could be regarded otherwise... Twelve for closing, two times ten for opening... six and twenty if you prefer it mixed around... Some prefer the first while others the second... One is always great, two is always second, but third is not always worse and sometimes best... But begin with four and then to three...’ I looked him straight in the eye when he said it and asked him the count of his drink, he raised up... I’m sure you know how he does... seeming two-fold a man... turned his palm around, raising two of his long fingers at me with a smile on his face ever so nice as you please. I shrugged and turned away, and that is when she bade me to play that song... the one of somber melodies. And truth be known, it was never my favorite, but I stroked its tune all the same... She smiled and turned to me, eyes full of fire. She repeated his words clear and slow, lest I forget, but she didn’t stop there, she went on and on and on... And I never turned away...”

    
Llai stopped again. “Oh, my...” he gasped, stroking his chin. “Oh, my...” Then walked away, leaving them hanging, wanting more. Llai wandered out the door, and then just as it slid closed, it whirred open again. Llai was standing there, his face was pale, a cold sweat imbedded in his brow now. “Go,” he said, “go, go, go, go! Hurry now and don’t forget...”

    
“But...” objected Ty.

    
“Get, get! Hurry now!”

    
“But...”

    
“Go to Pritt...”

    
“Is Send’r there?” asked Ty.

    
Llai’s face was stern, and he glared ominously as he spoke. “Take care of listening ears. That is where you must go. Hurry now, don’t delay.” Llai helped them to their feet and shuffled them toward the door, stopping short of it. He handed Ty a brimming sack, and to Shilastar he gave a basket. Then he pushed the two out the door, closing it on them before they could protest.

    
“That’s it!” Ty shouted, throwing down the sack. “I’ve had it... All that to tell us to go to Pritt!”

    
“Ty you shouldn’t...”

    
“Shouldn’t what? Shilastar, don’t try me, my patience is at an end.”

    
“Didn’t you listen to a thing he said? Ty how can you do this?”

    
“Look,” began Ty, “Shilastar, I have troubles of my own... I don’t need, nor want anymore. I’ll go with you to Pritt and that is it.”

    
“No need,” snapped Shilastar, picking up the bag Ty had discarded and walking away. “I can do this on my own.”

    
Ty would have let her walk away, but for reasons he could not explain, he chased after Shilastar and forced her to detour around a corner. They had no sooner rounded the bend and were out of sight, when eight robed figures passed along the avenue where they had argued. Only Ty saw them. He panicked, and all he wanted to do was be away, far away, but something bid him to stay. Just for a little while longer.

    
“Come on,” Ty chastised. “Hurry up!”

    
Shilastar resisted his touch, following nevertheless. Reluctantly, as they breached the city’s edge, she commanded the lead, suppressing a grimace. She paused, getting her bearings, using the twin suns directly overhead as her guide. She also seized the opportunity to snatch a glance into the basket. A sweet aroma had been teasing her, and it became even more powerful as she stuck her head down close. She was astonished by Ty’s sudden sense of urgency, and pleased with herself for having faith in him.

    
The most expedient route to Pritt took them close to the ruins, where they stopped for what could have been the remainder of the day. Ty was exhausted, and Shilastar was admittedly tired. They sat down ate, a moderate meal, and then after Ty rummaged through the sack he had been given, he found two thin-lined slip covers. In their comfort and warmth, he and Shilastar almost drifted off to sleep.

    
Oddly, Ty was the first to regain his feet, because the instant he closed his eyes, his thoughts began to roam, and he didn’t like where they carried him. The first sun was drooping on the horizon as they renewed their march. Ty fancied slipping down the ridge they walked along, mingling among the decaying structures just below, and in his reflections he did.

    
They pressed on, coming to an area of thick, lush grasses that were almost as far reaching as Ty’s height. The grasses hindered their progress in the diminished light, their path veering at first left and then right and then back again. They reached Pritt at first sunset, only because Shilastar had prodded and urged Ty to go faster. She didn’t want to spend the night out beneath the sky, even with Ty beside her.

    
Shilastar had never been to Pritt, because it lay more than a full day’s trek from Phaylio. Its shield barrier lay no more than a hundred yards from the first dwelling. It was neither too small nor overly large, a string of domiciles stretching out in both directions. Pritt had four major arteries, which crossed each other four times at perfectly adjoining cross sections. All structures, housing or otherwise, were of exact proportions, each built precisely ten feet from the roadway. If each of the five cities had a function, Pritt’s was fairly well defined as a center of engineering.

    
Shilastar didn’t have to wonder where the village elder dwelled. She as she had been taught and walked to the center building, of which there were two, and after choosing the second, she walked up to its door. Unfortunately, its owner was not at home. They had to wait. And sitting there on the doorstep, they both fell asleep.

    
Hands were around Shilastar’s throat, choking her. She couldn’t breathe, and she panicked. She tried to scream, but nothing would come out. Eyes, she saw nothing but eyes, and hands were squeezing the life from her. She fought to move her arms, but they were held back. She gasped for air.

    
“Who… are… you?” she demanded.

    
“Quite,” responded the one before her.

    
“Who… are… you? Let me… go!”

    
“I’m sure...”

    
Shilastar cleared her mind, chasing the grey shapes at the edges of her consciousness back until they blended in with the shadows at the perimeter of her thoughts. With the specters gone, she was free. She held herself and shivered. She nudged Ty, but he wouldn’t wake up. She wished Phaylio was there to comfort her, but he wasn’t.

    
Frustrated, she shook Ty until he opened his eyes.

    
“What?” Ty shouted.

    
“What, indeed,” said the other, no longer a specter in the shadows.

    
“Who are you?” asked Ty.

    
“I could ask the two of you much the same...”

    
“Shilastar?” exclaimed a wide-eyed Ty.

    
Shilastar glared back at him, with her flare for imitation. “Pritt, I assume?”

    
“Pritt, indeed,” replied the other.

    
“You’re not going to ask us in?” begged Shilastar.

    
“Hhmm,” said the man, shuffling by them to open his door, disappearing inside, leaving Ty utterly confused.

    
Shilastar was less confused. “That’s him,” she whispered.

    
“How can you be sure?”

    
“I’m sure of it.”

    
Just then the door clamored open. Taking this as a sign that it was all right to go in, they did. The door shut as they entered, and a bright, searing light immediately blinded them.

    
“Ty?” Shilastar called out.

    
“Shilastar?” Ty responded.

    
“... Ty...”

    
“Hush, hush, come sit down. It’s not often I get guests, make yourself at home...” The light was suddenly gone when the other finished. “Well, well come on sit down, I don’t have all day. I’m a very busy man. Nope, don’t have all day.”

    
Ty and Shilastar glanced at one another. Shilastar chose a chair to the far right, and Ty to the left. The man smiled at the choices. “So let me guess, friends, but not really companions. You travel not because of wish, but out of necessity. Let me guess... Yes, yes, quite, I’m sure...”

    
“You are Pritt?” asked Ty.

    
“This is all Pritt,” replied the man motioning with his arms in a wide circle.

    
“Yes, he is,” replied Shilastar.

    
“He is what?” asked the man.

    
“Please, help us?” pleaded Shilastar. “We were told to come to Pritt and seek you out.”