First Watch: A Watcher Bay Adventure (10 page)

Levra listened to the conversation between Alena and Vildana, catching most of what they said.

“How did you know to find us?” Alena asked. “That we needed you?”

“I knew you were coming. It’s hard for me explain
how
it works. It’s like I can see a picture in my head. I knew many of you would arrive in the middle of a lightning storm and the little boy—Enric?—would get hurt. I saw he would need healing and that your people wouldn’t be able to help him. And I knew—I could sense it—I would be able to help him. So I went out to meet you.”

Vildana shrugged, as if her actions hadn't saved Enric’s life and continued. “I think my village may be in danger, though. I knew it when I traveled to you. Helping Enric, helping you, might have been a mistake.”

Levra’s heart sunk. More confirmation something with this mission was amiss.

Most of the Ddaerans had some sort of psychic or telepathic ability. Levra witnessed them herself among the people of Dwyr, but she’d never seen an ability manifest in such a powerful way. Vildana knew so much in advance—it was incredible. And her healing abilities were beyond anything Levra ever imagined the Ddaerans could possess. It was all so fascinating.

Vildana’s cryptic words about her people being in danger as a result of helping Enric sharpened the foreboding in Levra’s gut.

Levra was nervous about the Ddaerans’ abilities for a reason she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She could easily trace back her angst to Gunnar’s interest in them. Or at least to Morgan’s warning about Gunnar. The Founders she’d come with aboard the
Horizon
were shifty, and she wasn’t sure who she could trust. But she felt safe here with the villagers, and she knew Enric was safe as well.

There was something odd about Gunnar’s behavior with Vildana that nagged at her, especially when combined with Morgan’s warnings and Vildana’s anxiety. He seemed over-eager to interact with the Ddaerans. Yet, he found every opportunity to be apart from them. His interest was aloof and more scientific than humane. The innate abilities of the Ddaerans
were
quite amazing—Enric was proof of it—but Gunnar was interested in a way that seemed . . . wrong? Something tickled at her memory, but she couldn’t bring the thought to the surface of her mind.

Morgan’s comments came back to her. Could she trust the woman? Levra wondered if the Founders really had much to offer the people of Glanmorr after all. The Ddaerans saved her son, not the Founders. The Ddaerans offered them all shelter. Did they really even need the technology the Founders brought?

Levra found herself wishing they could all get back on board the SS
Horizon
and return to New Seattle to leave the Ddaerans be.

One of the reasons she’d been allowed to join Gunnar on this mission was because of her former dealings as a teacher with the Ddaerans outside New Seattle. Another was due to her relationship with Alena and Mera. She knew the Ddaerans of the village at Glanmorr would be more likely to trust them if there were Ddaerans among the Founders. Was it manipulative? Probably. But her intent was always to offer improvements to the Ddaeran society where she could, and if bringing Alena and her mother helped to gain their trust, then it was worth it in the end.

She felt comfortable here with them, and she also wanted to find a way to repay them for coming to Enric’s aid. Especially Vildana. Remaining at the village gave Levra the best opportunity for repaying them. Especially if there was danger from Gunnar or his crew.

For now, though, it was in the Ddaeran’s best interest to be vaccinated from the common illnesses that could do significant damage to their population, like flu, small pox, and polio.

With the SS
Horizon
gone and their long distance communications knocked out, there was really no other choice.

CHAPTER 12

Glanmorr, Rasia, New Eden

October 16, 12 AA

True to his word, Gunnar sent a crew to collect a small handful of the villagers at first light. Ana arrived, piloting a mid-sized hovercraft. The craft would take a small group back to the Outpost where they would receive several injections and nasal mists to protect them from whatever diseases the Founders were carrying. Because Levra had warned them ahead of time, nobody was alarmed.

Ana took the first group of five back to the Outpost. Levra insisted on going with the first group to assured them the procedure was simple and quick. She promised to accompany Bria in the first batch, as well.

Their craft traveled along the beaches and rocky cliffs around the coast line toward the Outpost. The trip to the Outpost was relatively short, but packed with amazing sights. From the window of the hovercraft, she saw the spouts of what seemed to be whale-like creatures out in the bay. There had to be hundreds of them. She couldn’t get a close look at them from the hovercraft. Levra hoped she could talk Gunnar into an excursion to the sea for a closer look.

“What are those?”

“The spouts of grolls, very large fish. They will dive into the deep sea for many minutes and then spend only a little time on the surface.”

Flying above the surface of the bay, staying near to where the grolls seemed to surface for air, were creatures who looked similar to a seagull.

When Levra pointed them out to Bria, she responded with one word. “Brek.”

It was fascinating to see creatures indigenous to this area of Rasia who she’d never seen in the New Seattle area. They soon arrived at the Outpost, and Levra was surprised to see how many buildings had been constructed before their arrival.

A small compound lay in front of them with several five-story buildings climbing into the sky. The compound looked out of place in this gorgeous setting by the bay. Seven large hovercraft were parked outside the buildings, in addition to a small fleet of hover bikes.
A lot of transportation
, Levra mused.

Once there, the Ddaerans and Levra followed a crewman into a medical clinic. The Ddaerans were administered vaccinations and thirty minutes later they were back in the hover craft heading back to Glanmorr.
Quick and painless. Good.
She put her suspicions to rest now that she’d seen the operation for herself.

Levra returned with the first group after an hour. After Bria explained to her villagers it was perfectly safe and didn’t hurt at all, Ana took the second group back. It took the Founders the better part of a day to shuttle the villagers back and forth to the Outpost via the single hovercraft. At the end, most of Glanmorr received their vaccine. Seeing the Ddaeran protected from potential illness took a load off Levra’s mind. Now they didn’t have to worry about what damage they’d have on the Ddaerans’ health.

While the villagers traveled back and forth to the Outpost, Levra kept the rest of them entertained by showing them some of the technology the Founders brought with them. Her comm device was the first thing she showed them. She’d arranged, with Morgan, to set up a transmission between Vildana, who was among the second group to visit the Outpost. And when Levra was back at the village, they dialed her up so Levra could show them the instant communication. The villagers were amazed by this ability. They were equally impressed with the hovercraft that flew them between Outpost and their village. When the children saw the hovercraft lift off the ground and coast above it, they laughed gleefully. It was one of the nicest sounds Levra had ever heard. She loved the melodious harmony of happy children. Her worries seemed like paranoia to her now, and she was glad to be surrounded by the Ddaerans.

Once all the villagers were back and the hovercraft returned to the Outpost, Levra forced the conversation back to the Ddaerans. She wanted to know everything about them. Where did they grow their produce? Did they eat meat? Were they hunters or gatherers?

She’d already ascertained the village was matriarchal, like Dwyr. The women were the leaders, of both the village and the families, while the men functioned as warriors and hunters.

Levra learned a lot about their culture by watching them function in their natural environment. The village ate together for the evening meal, with all the families coming together in a large central building built strictly for this purpose. Each person spoke easily when they sat down for a meal. The wooden hut was larger than the individual family homes and rounded with a thatched roof. Expansive openings all the way around the building acted as windows. Levra noted the wooden shutters covering the windows during the storm last night were removed now that the day was sunny and warm.

As darkness fell, the festive mood continued. The clan, along with Levra and the other visitors, gathered around a massive campfire. The villagers began to chant in a series of breathy sounds while some of the children pounded out a beat on small drums. Bria stood in front of the roaring flames and let out a high-pitched wail. She held it for a few seconds, dropped an octave, and wailed again. She repeated the chant, over and over again, ascending and descending the musical scales as the other women continued chanting. The men lay prostrate on the ground in a circle, each in front of a woman. The women stood over the men, dropping into a crouched position and holding it as long as Bria held her note. Every time she paused, the women stood.

Likewise, every time she began to sing another note, the women knelt. In a beautiful harmony, the men lay on their backs filling Bria’s silences with grunts and clicks. When the women stood in time with Bria’s wail, the men ceased their calls and raised both legs into the air, keeping their backs flat on the ground and bending at the waist as their legs rose straight into the air forming an L-shape. As the women lowered into the new crouch, the men lowered their legs to the ground and the area surrounding the campfire was once again filled with the haunting sound of Bria’s cry.

Levra watched, mesmerized by the beauty of it all. Bria managed to capture light from the flames and she shaped it into fiery balls of energy. She moved these orbs of light around the circle. Eventually she returned all the orbs back to the fire they originated from.

Levra had no idea what it meant or symbolized, but the fluid harmonious movement between the men and women, in addition to controlling the light with their minds, was enchanting to watch. When Bria’s song and the villagers dance ended, Levra was worn out from the intensity of it even though she’d done nothing but watch from the edge of the circle.

The men who had been lying on the ground stood and took turns approaching Bria and kissing her cheek before they each followed a different woman out of the circle. Finally, everyone was out of the circle except for Bria and Vildana’s father, Veld. He approached Bria, and she led him out of the circle.

The whole ceremony might have lasted nearly an hour, and it was absolutely beautiful. The mutual respect the Ddaerans showed for each other was remarkable and humbling. They were far superior in their interpretation of gender roles than her own people, living in a community with true gender equality. She’d noticed something similar with the Ddaerans at Dwyr, but there was something about having no home of her own to return to. Living here with them in their village changed her perception. Perhaps her recent interactions with her husband influenced the way she viewed this clearly matriarchal society.

Alena approached Levra. “Miss Levra, Bria calls for you. She is in her hut.”

“Thank you Alena. I’ll be right there. What did you think of this ceremony tonight?”

“It was beautiful. There was a boy I noticed. I think maybe he noticed me too. Tomorrow I would like to find him and ask him what he thinks of me.”

Levra laughed as they walked toward Bria’s home. “What a lovely idea.”

When they walked into Bria’s home, Levra instantly sensed something was wrong.

“What is it, Bria? Alena?”

Bria spoke, looking between Alena and Levra. Levra listened intently, trying to glean what she could from the woman’s tone, but ultimately had to wait for Alena’s translation.

“Vildana is missing. Nobody has seen her since this morning, when we talked to her on your wrist.”

Alena pointed at Levra’s wrist comm, showing Levra what she meant.

“Impossible. She must be somewhere. Wait,” Levra said, putting her hand up to stop Alena. “Don’t repeat what I just said. It would be insulting to them. Instead, ask them this: is it normal for her to be out this late?”

Alena repeated and then answered. “No. Bria said she should have been at the ceremony. She noticed during the ceremony Vildana was absent. They have asked those who went to the Outpost with her and nobody remembers seeing her get back on the hovercraft to return home.”

How strange
. Vildana’s extraordinary abilities and Morgan’s words of warning entered Levra’s mind simultaneously. She immediately suspected Gunnar. But she had to be careful what she said next. She didn’t want to create problems where there might not be any.

“Can you ask them how long it would take on foot to get to the Outpost? Would any of them be willing to guide me there? I’m not certain I could find it on my own, especially in the dark.”

Alena nodded. “Bria says one of the hunters can escort you so you don’t get lost. It should take only an hour each way at a brisk walking pace.”

Just then another woman entered the hut. Levra recognized her from the fire dance. She spoke to Bria and Alena translated, but Levra guessed by her tone it wasn’t good news.