Shadows of the Realm (The Circle of Talia) (35 page)

Her heart pounded and she tried to kick and thrash, to escape the murderous force, but watery hands held her tight. Her thoughts were wildly fighting the serenity imposed on them by this place. Before tipping over the precipice into panic, Bronwyn recalled Sinjenasta’s earlier words. It was time to master her mind. She ignored her mortality and the thought that she couldn’t breathe. She stopped fighting the invisible terror, retreating to a peaceful place to consider her options. She remembered water was really made up of air. Now she just had to think of how she could convert it to something she could breathe.

She couldn’t boil it because she would cook herself. How did the fish do it? Could she alter her lungs? Avruellen had never mentioned whether or not one could alter one’s body. In the distance, her lungs were crying out for oxygen, her body doing its best to grab her attention before it died. She called out to Thireos, God of beasts, to show her in detail what gills looked like. If she didn
’t receive an answer she would soon be dead. An image appeared in her mind. Bronwyn thanked Thireos and focused her will on the picture that was her only salvation.

She could feel her body losing consciousness. Pushing worry aside, she concentrated on her lungs. She realised the minute particles forming her lungs alternately winked in and out of sight. One instant they were there, the other they weren’t. Like pieces of a puzzle she replaced the different particles as they flickered in and out. When one particle disappeared she immediately replaced it with one that would help alter the form of her lungs.  Her chest was shot with excruciating pinpricks of pain every time she replaced a particle. Finally she saw in her own body, the image she held in her mind. Against instinct, but too exhausted to care, she opened her mouth and felt a solid mass of liquid rush into her chest.

She couldn’t believe she had done it! It was a strange sensation to be breathing underwater. Bronwyn opened her eyes, newly oxygenated blood causing the black spots to dissipate. She had never been so close to death. Now what?  She could not feel Sinjenasta’s presence anywhere. Had he abandoned her? Was this all a ruse to kill her? She didn’t think so. The great cat could have sliced her open with his claws any time he chose. In her recaptured state of consciousness she realised the force that had dragged her under had let go. Was this the test, to alter her body? Bronwyn decided to float back to the top.

The journey to the surface was gradual. Bronwyn enjoyed the relaxation of weightlessness. Light pierced through to where she floated; she was almost there. Her head popped through the soft barrier. Bronwyn looked up at the same blue sky and clouds she had seen earlier. This lake wasn
’t under Vellonia. She had no idea where she was. She couldn’t breathe again. Was she on another world? Chastising herself for being stupid, she dove underneath the water and took a breath. She would have to reconvert her gills to lungs. She dreaded the pain, but felt confident she could do it.

The process took a couple of minutes. She emerged a second time to gulp in fresh air. Turning her head this way and that, revealed no sign of the creature she was to bond with. She was surprised to see her clothes lying on the lip of this other lake. It was as warm out of the water as it was in. Bronwyn let her body dry in the sun before she dressed. The land surrounding the water comprised of gently rolling hills, adorned with thick green grass, dotted with ancient trees whose canopies cast vast, cooling shadows over the countryside.

Bronwyn called out for her companion. Drakon’s panther did not reply, but a young man did. He stepped out from behind an ancient trunk. Bronwyn held her breath as a tingling warmth spread through her body as she looked into his blue-green eyes. She had never seen a man so beautiful, with smooth, pale skin, straight nose, and black hair. He was dressed in earthy tones and had a bow slung over his shoulder. The arrow he held was red at the tip, indicating he had recently shot some poor animal. Even with that knowledge, she found she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

His intense stare made her feel as if she were still naked. He spoke in a soft, deep voice, which held an air of quiet confidence.
“How do you come to be here, Princess?”

Bronwyn had to clear her throat before she could speak.

“I jumped into the lake, and here I am.”

“
Well then, if you prefer not to tell me, that’s okay.” Maybe he didn’t realise the true nature of the mass of water he lived next to.

Bronwyn knew she had to bond with Sinjenasta and wondered if maybe he had noticed a big black panther anywhere. 

“Why do you seek such a dangerous creature?”

“
He’s my friend, and I need his help.” The handsome young man hesitated an instant, guilt altering his features.

“
I’m afraid I’ve done something you will not like.”  Bronwyn again noticed the red tip of the arrow.

“
Where is he? What have you done?” The young man turned and walked back behind the tree. Bronwyn followed, heart sinking with each step.

Her worst fears were given life when she saw the carcass of her companion hanging upside down from a low branch, Sinjenasta
’s nose almost touching the ground. She ran to the body and felt his soft coat. She couldn’t believe he could be killed so easily; Drakon himself had sent him to her. This couldn’t be happening. Bronwyn looked into his lifeless eyes. Stunned, she stepped back and fell on her bottom. Her triumph of earth magic a moment ago had turned into tragedy. Her failure to bond with the giant cat was sure to affect what she had to do. Were they all now condemned to failure?

The young man sat on the ground opposite the young realmist.
“I truly am sorry. If I had known he was yours I wouldn’t have killed him.”

Bronwyn looked up to yell at the man who had stolen away the future of Talia; her future. Her words stayed in her throat when she saw his tears. He was truly sorry. She could almost believe he felt her pain.

Bronwyn knew she had not known the panther very long, however he was her only link to where she had come from. The knowledge that they were to have bonded gave him a special place in her heart. It was all over now. Would The Circle be able to start again? Bronwyn called out to Drakon. “Where are you? I need you to bring Sinje back.” She stood and repeated her words, screaming this time. “Damn you Drakon, you call yourself a god. Some pathetic god: you couldn’t even keep one of your own alive.”

There was no answer and the young man looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

Bronwyn turned away from the dead panther and stared into the distance. She thought aloud. “What do I do now?”

She honestly had no idea where she should go. If she went back to Vellonia, if she could get back, would she then be able to find her way to the surface.

“Stay here with me. Let me make it up to you Princess.”  The young man stood in front of her and stared into her eyes once again.

They stood so close she could practically feel the warmth emanating from his body. His proximity muddled her thoughts. She put in an extra effort to make sense.
“Why do you keep calling me Princess?”

“
I thought I recognised you. Are you not a princess of Veresia?” She felt relief at those words. Veresia did exist here. It seemed she had just been transported to another place within Talia.

“
I’m not a princess—far from it, in fact. Can you tell me where we are?”

“
You don’t know?”

“
Well, I just asked didn’t I? Which part of Talia are we in?”

“
Talia?”

“
Yes, Talia. The Realm in which Veresia exists.” His lack of comprehension alarmed Bronwyn. Had she travelled to a realm no one knew about?

“
We are in the Sacred Realm. The Realm from which all others were modelled.”

His handsome face was not enough to sooth her anymore. She shouldn’t be here and Sinjenasta shouldn’t be dead. What had they done wrong? Maybe they should have waited longer to bond. Bronwyn decided what she had to do. Even if it meant her death as well, she had to try to get back home. She couldn’t save Talia whilst she existed in this other realm.

“Could you please help me take the panther to the lake?” He could not understand why, but agreed nonetheless. Bronwyn was sickened by the rustling of the grass as they dragged the panther’s corpse through it. The sound on its own was not the problem, just the knowledge of what was making it.

They were both puffing by the time they reached the lake—Sinjenasta was heavy. Bronwyn proceeded to disrobe. She felt she should do everything she had done previously or she may not reach Talia. The young man did not turn away to save her modesty. He stood transfixed, drinking in her beauty.

Bronwyn dove into the ripple-less mirror. It broke her heart in a way she didn’t understand, to know she was leaving this man, a man whom she had only just met. The whole situation was surreal. Bronwyn swam to the edge of the lake and grabbed Sinjenasta’s tail.  She dragged the panther in with her and kept hold of his tail, as he had told her to do earlier that day. “Goodbye.” She didn’t know what else to say.

“
Good bye, Princess.”

Bronwyn relived the pain of converting her lungs to gills. She dragged the panther behind her, the resistance slowing her progress. How long should she swim down before swimming up again? Hoping she would not just return to the newly discovered realm, the realmist swam until, unexpectedly, she touched bottom. There was nowhere to go now but up. She prayed she would return to the underground cave. During the journey to the surface Sinjenasta
’s tail seemed to disintegrate until Bronwyn stopped to check what was happening. The panther was no longer there. Left with a few strands of fur between her fingers, Bronwyn looked around but couldn’t see him anywhere. She had lost him again.

She felt like a failure, salty tears mixing with the warm, fresh water of the lake for the remainder of her ascension.  This time she commenced her transformation before she reached the surface. When she broke through, her lungs gulped musty cave air. She had done something right. When she looked up, the coloured lasers of light shooting around the grotto dazzled her eyes.

Welcome back. Glad you could join me
. Sinjenasta casually licked a gigantic paw.

“
But, but….  You were dead. Is it really you, Sinje?”

As you can see, I
’m not dead. I don’t know what reality you were in, but you spoke to me where I went. I was certainly not dead
.

“
Is it possible we could have gone to two different places?”

Anything
’s possible. In any case, we’re bonded. Can you feel it?

Bronwyn climbed out of the water. She stood and contemplated. She shut her eyes and spun around. Without opening her eyes she stopped, turned to her right, and pointed directly at the large panther.
“I can feel where you are. I can feel that you’re alive.” She opened her eyes and smiled at her newly bonded companion. “I’m so glad you’re alive. I thought we’d failed.”

You thought you had failed
?

“
Yes. But it seems I didn’t.” Bronwyn approached Sinjenasta and embraced him in a large hug. “You’re so soft.”

Stop using me to dry yourself and put some clothes on. We
’d better get moving. There’s still something we have to do for Drakon
.

Bronwyn held onto his tail to go back through the dark tunnels. This time she was in much better spirits. Her head was filled with an image of the handsome stranger in the other realm. Why did the man of her dreams have to exist somewhere else? She couldn’t wait to tell her aunt about her discovery of a new realm—if indeed, that
’s what it was. It may have just been a trick of the lake. If everything she saw was truth, Sinjenasta would be dead. Maybe the stranger was also a figment of the lake’s imagination. That would be a shame.

Bronwyn had the sudden urge to sneeze. It took all of her will to keep quiet. A second sneeze attempted to burst forth. After a while, the urge abated. Bronwyn spoke to her creatura mind to mind.
What is it we have to do for Drakon?

I would rather not say
.

Do you think I would refuse the task if I knew what it was?

You don’t actually have to do anything if you don’t want to. The situation will unfold as the Realms intend
. Sensing she would get no more out of him, she amused herself with daydreams of the stranger whose name she had never asked.

Through the mind link she had with the panther, she was aware they were approaching the place where they had initially dragged themselves from the freezing waters. Bronwyn was slowly grasping the reality of being bonded. She could smell traces of what Sinjenasta could smell. Through his understanding, she knew what it was they smelled.
“So that’s what I smell like to an animal.” There was another stronger smell which raised the hackles on the back of the panther’s neck.

“
What’s that?”

Our prey
.

“
I didn’t know we were hunting anything.”

We are
. He stopped.
The thing we are hunting must be killed. You will probably have a million questions when you see whom I am trying to kill, but keep silent. Either help me, or stay out of it. Drakon has ordered this creature to death, however my attempt may not succeed. If I die, you will feel it in your bones. You will feel pain for weeks, maybe months. Your whole body will ache and your mind will grieve
.