Gorinthians Page 23

  Terrance stared into her eyes intently. "No. This is not a dream, Lori. I don't know how you were able to leave your universe behind and come here, but this is not a dream, and you are most definitely not on the Earth that you know."

  "If I am not on Earth, then where the hell am I?” Lori demanded in growing exasperation.

  "On a planet in another universe is about as close an answer as I can give you,” Terrance replied wearily. "You need to understand that things work differently here."

  Lori had been mouthing the words 'different universe' silently as if they did not make sense. As Terrance finished, her eyes sharpened on the two of them again. "What do you mean, things work differently here?"

  Lori screamed as Lochnar suddenly appeared out of thin air next to Terrance and Thistledown, staring at her coldly. "He means that you might hurt people accidentally, or even yourself, if you are not careful."

  Lori retreated several paces as Lochnar's deadly gaze bored into her suddenly fear-filled eyes. Terrance could feel Selindria moving toward them from camp, more than likely awakened by all of the screaming. Something seemed to pass between Thistledown and Lochnar before Lochnar turned on his heel and disappeared from sight into the thick sagebrush and cedar trees.

  "Lori," Terrance began in what he hoped was a soothing tone, "the world you knew before is gone. Everyone you knew, your family and friends, are all gone. You are going to have to start a new life here."

  Lori's face had a stubborn look to it, a look that seemed to come naturally to her. "If I really am awake, and I dreamed myself into this world, then I can dream myself back."

  Terrance started shaking his head before she finished, "I don't think it works like that, Lori. When I left Earth, it was just before a nuclear holocaust. I don't think that there is an Earth for you to go back to."

  "But the missiles never landed!” Lori exclaimed in surprise, "They shot them out of the sky before they hit."

  Terrance eyes widened in shock as his entire world changed. He just stood staring at Lori without seeing her as three thousand years of unnecessary life filled his vision. He could still remember vividly the last news feeds on their lab computer of several nuclear missiles dropping from the sky like falling stars and the queasy feeling in his stomach as he saw the end of their world descending upon them.

  Selindria was just arriving out of the brush next to the road and paused as she saw the dumbstruck expression on Terrance’s face mirrored on Thistledown's. "Who is this?” Selindria asked, gesturing at Lori.

  Terrance gave himself a shake, looking around him as if he had forgotten where he was. Selindria had to repeat the question before he finally came to.

  "This is Lori West,” Terrance replied, his eyes still lost in another world. "Lori, this is Selindria."

  The two of them exchanged a few pleasantries, but Terrance did not hear them. Was it chance that had led him to this place three thousand years ago? Or, was there some other force at work that moved them like pieces on a chessboard? Terrance did not like the thought of having no control over his life, especially after three millennia's worth of evidence that had suggested that chance ruled life.

  "Terrance?” Selindria asked tentatively. "Terrance! Snap out of it!"

  Coming back to the present with a start, Terrance looked down at Selindria, who was staring at him in concern. "What is the matter?” she demanded in exasperation. "You have been acting like a goose just walked over your grave."

  "Let's go back to camp,” Terrance said shortly. He looked at Lori. "You are welcome to join us.” He did not add that even if she chose not to, she would join them anyway, but she seemed to understand. Nodding slowly, she followed them as they made their way through the darkness back to their camp.

  When they arrived at the small campsite, the others were all awake and waiting for them, looking curiously at the newcomer as she studied them with equal interest. Terrance reached out with his yar and started the fire in the fire pit, causing Lori to jump in surprise.

  Terrance knew that the others would be able to feel the overpowering resonance that was emanating from Lori as well. It had taken him years to learn how to mask his own resonance. The fire that Terrance had started licked hungrily toward Lori as her uncontrolled yar wandered aimlessly around them, causing the rest of the party to shield themselves from her unintended intrusion.

  Terrance gestured to the rest of the party. "Some introductions are in order. Everyone, this is Lori West. You can just call her Lori.” The others waved or welcomed her with a smile.

  "You have already met Selindria. The light-haired young woman with the innocent face is Cha'le. Try not to turn your back on her if you can help it.” At that, Cha'le's eyes widened innocently. "The young man next to her is Celdic, my son. The other two young men are Lendel and Jalorm. The dark-haired young woman is Li. I am called Terrance and this is Thistledown. I believe that you already met Lochnar,” Terrance finished dryly, as Lori looked around for Lochnar, who had not returned to camp.

  "I thought that we were meeting up with more people than this,” Li said with a perplexed frown.

  Terrance cleared his throat. "Yes, well, this is somewhat of a surprise for me as well. There are a few things that you should know about Lori. First, she is not one of the people that we had planned on meeting.” He paused for a moment before continuing. "Second, Lori is not from this planet and has no knowledge of yar or anything like that."

  The others stared at Lori as if she was a big puzzle, a puzzle that might blow up in your hands if you were not careful. "How did she get here?” Lendel asked as he looked at her speculatively.

  "She said that she went to sleep and found herself wandering down the road over there,” Terrance replied gesturing toward the road. "She didn't think that Thistledown and I were real when she first saw us. She thought that we were part of a dream that she was having."

  "How do you know that she is from a different world, and not just another part of this one?” Selindria asked shrewdly.

  Terrance let out a long sigh. There were only a small handful of people living that new the truth about his origins. He had tried to keep his past a secret and just become another part of this world. Now, for the first time since he had arrived on this world, he felt a glimmer of hope that he might one day see his own world again.

  "What I am about to tell you is known only to five other people.” Taking a deep breath, Terrance began, "I am not from this world either. I used to be a scientist on a planet called Earth. I had always wanted to learn how to travel through wormholes, how to stop the aging process, heal all of the diseases that plagued our world and countless others. I dabbled in countless fields of study. We had the technology to do these things, but politics always seemed to interfere with the research. When I was still young, I wrote a book that made a lot of money and I was able to fund my own research. My partner and I were working on ways to dispel radiation, an after-effect of some of the current technology of our time that could be very dangerous. Instead of finding a way to neutralize radiation, we stumbled on the secret of wormholes. We were just preparing for our first test, sending a small light transmitter through the gateway on our side, when we heard the war sirens. We turned on an invention called a television, a device that transports images and sound from one place to another, when a person announced that a foreign country had launched several hundred nuclear missiles at our country. A nuclear missile is a weapon that we had created that destroys entire cities, leaving a decay in the air that kills anything living for hundreds of miles around. When we saw the missiles coming out of the sky, we decided that we would chance going through the wormhole without any previous testing, since we would die anyway if we stayed. This world is where we ended up.” Terrance finished with a sigh, remembering the way his elation at their discovery had turned to dismay as the war sirens began wailing.

  The others stared at him silently for some time before Selindria finally cleared her throat. "Who is this partner that you brought with you?
"

  Terrance laughed mirthlessly, "I see that you aren't going to let me leave that part out. His name is Jerard."

  Chapter 19

  Seranova felt her muscles burning in her legs and lower back as she pumped at the pedals of the vessel that she created. They left the dock two days ago, each of them taking turns pedaling while one of them slept in short shifts that left them refreshed, if slightly sandy-eyed. Ferrich had settled down once he had examined every inch of the vessel and understood how it worked. Seranova spent two shifts with him pedaling next to her. She was not certain what was more exhausting: pedaling the water wheel or trying to keep up with all of the questions Ferrich had about her inventions. When he had seen how her bottomless sack worked, he had wanted them to lower him into it so that he could study the insides. He glowered indignantly when she told him that they would do no such thing.

  Morindessa had just watched him silently most of the time, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Morindessa was not much of a conversationalist, staying silent on the shifts she shared with Seranova. Even pedaling, Morindessa seemed to have a dangerous air about her, as if she were on the verge of leaping from her seat into violent action. Morindessa had relieved Ferrich of his shifts an hour early each time, telling him that she could not sleep. Ferrich was so tired from each shift he did not even argue. He stumbled over to the front of the deck and fell immediately asleep. As far as Seranova could tell, Morindessa was not even slightly tired from the prolonged stress on her legs and abdomen that pedaling continuously produced.

  The sun was sinking on the western horizon as they came in sight of the Southern shore of Lake Magnus. Seranova felt relief well up in her as she saw an end to her forced labor. An hour later, they were close enough to the shore to begin looking for a secluded place to hide their vessel.

  "Over there," Morindessa said, pointing at a small inlet. Large cottonwoods surrounded the inlet, which made a canopy over the small cove. Seranova pulled her steering lever backword, turning the vessel toward the inlet.

  Ferrich woke up at the sound of Morindessa's voice, stretched and then winced at the sore muscles in his legs. "This might be a popular way to travel," Ferrich yawned, "for the first two hours."

  Morindessa laughed softly. "You just need more practice, Ferrich.” Glancing at Seranova slyly, she continued, "I am sure that Seranova can make a cart on wheels that works the same way."

  Seranova tapped her lips thoughtfully, "You know, that's not a bad idea. It probably wouldn't take more than a day or two to build."

  "No, that's quite all right,” Ferrich assured her seriously. "I wouldn't want to waste any more time than we have to."

  "But think of how strong your legs would be,” Morindessa urged him, her eyes sparkling. "You would look like a horse in no time at all."

  "Just the animal I always wanted to be,” Ferrich replied dryly, studying the shoreline where they would land. Turning toward Morindessa, he raised one eyebrow slightly. "Do you really wa- . . . " Ferrich broke off, looking in the distance behind them. "What is that?” he cried, pointing back at the endless-seeming, watery horizon.

  Seranova and Morindessa both rose from their seats to peer behind them where Ferrich was pointing. Seranova could see what looked like a pinprick on the distant horizon. She looked questioningly at Morindessa, whose eyes had gone distant. A moment later, her gaze sharpened.

  "Warship,” she said tersely. "It looks like they aren't going to give up very easily.” Her brow was drawn down in a scowl, an odd look on her normally stoic face. Turning back to Seranova, she sat back in her seat. "We had better hurry. They have the soldiers rowing, so they will probably be here before morning."

  Seranova immediately sat back in her seat and began pedaling. They worked silently as they drifted up into the small channel, a large cover of green tree branches looming over the top of them. The shore looked just as alien at this end of the lake as it did at the village of Laketown, the bank breaking sharply down at the edge to a sheer drop of hundreds of feet. Seranova looked into the water beside her longingly as they navigated around a bend that showed the end of the channel in front of them. She wished they had time for a night here at the lake, where she could do a little exploring.

  Pulling the steering lever sharply backward, Seranova swung the vessel around so the back end was facing the shore behind them. "Pedal the other way now,” she instructed Morindessa, who nodded with understanding and began pedaling backword. A moment later, they thumped into the shore and Ferrich jumped over to the lush, green bank and held the vessel steady for them. Seranova walked to the front of the deck and pulled a large rope out of the bench that lined the front, tying it to a cleat on the back of the vessel.

  "We might as well tie it up," she explained to the others when they looked at her questioningly. "You never know if we might need it again."

  Once Seranova had tied it to a large tree a few feet in to the shore, they began making their way through the thick foliage that surrounded the lake. It was an interesting procession that made its way through the woods. Seranova and Ferrich walked stiffly as the muscles in their legs cried out in protest. Once again, Morindessa seemed unaffected by the endless hours of rigorous pedaling, walking gracefully through the thick brush while she watched every direction at once.

  They continued traveling south, toward the city Morindessa had called Chasel Ri' Aven, moving slowly through the thick undergrowth. They did not talk very much, mostly because Ferrich and Seranova were spending all of their concentration on not becoming tangled in the thick ivy that hung from the cottonwoods all around them. Morindessa called a halt at midday for a short lunch.

  Morindessa began rummaging around in her pockets. "I can never find my flint when I need it,” she muttered distractedly. "You would think that I-" She broke off with a small frown on her face, pulling out a small rectangular object. She stared at it so intently that Seranova finally asked the question, "What is it?"

  "Nothing,” she replied with a start, looking up to see Seranova and Ferrich watching her curiously. "It's nothing,” she repeated, though she did not seem convinced. Her eyes were still distant as her lips turned down into a frown of concentration. "We need to keep moving. We will eat on the way."

  Seranova shared a look with Ferrich. She knew he was thinking the same thing, What isn't she telling us? Morindessa put everything back in the pack and tossed each of them some dried meat and cheese. They began making their way through the difficult undergrowth once more, while trying to eat at the same time.

  A few hours later, they came to a road that had fallen into disuse, with weeds growing as tall as their waist. It was better than traveling through the woods however, so Seranova did not complain.

  "Where do you think we are?” Ferrich asked Morindessa, looking up and down the road.

  Morindessa shrugged, "Some woodcutter’s track I would imagine." She began walking to the east. "The main road should be this way."

  They followed her down the weed-choked road, talking occasionally now that they were out of the thick forest. Trees lined the road to either side, preventing them from seeing anything but the road in front of them. The sun was disappearing in and out of the cloudy sky, casting flickering shadows across the road.

  "Morindessa," Ferrich began, his forehead creased in thought, "I have been meaning to ask you about a few things."

  Morindessa glanced at him warily, "What kind of things?” She absently brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her soft boots made almost no sound as she walked beside Ferrich on the weed-choked ground.

  Ferrich was silent for a moment, as if he were unsure where to begin. "Most of the people that we have met so far seem to know you,” he said finally, unwilling to voice the entire question.

  Morindessa looked slightly relieved at the question. Seranova wondered what she thought he was going to ask. "My name is fairly well known in most parts,” Morindessa replied carefully. "I run a business that is a little shady. Sometimes there are people that do
really bad things to other people. The people they do it to usually have friends who want retribution. I offer my services to bring the offenders to justice, without getting involved with tedious trials that will see the guilty party live without punishment."

  Ferrich had slowed down. "You mean you are an assassin,” he said slowly, recognition finally dawning in his eyes.

  "Assassin is such an ugly word,” Morindessa protested lightly. "Couldn't we just say that I am a judge or magistrate?"

  "Usually the judge doesn't perform the trial, sentence and execution,” Seranova commented dryly.

  "You are the one that Captain Kerns hired to take care of Duke Chaucer!” Ferrich exclaimed, goggling at her as if she had grown another head.

  "Do you see how much nicer that sounds?” Morindessa asked, turning to Seranova, "Take care of. It almost sounds like I am helping the sick."

  "I can't believe I didn't recognize your name.” Ferrich stood in the road, shaking his head. "For some reason I always thought you were a man."

  Seranova laughed, "You really must spend all your time at that Arcane Arts place if you haven't heard of Morindessa. The fact she is a woman is her most prominent trait."

  "Did you want to meet Kerns or have you just taken root?” Morindessa asked archly, moving forward once more. With a start, Ferrich began to follow, staring at Morindessa as if he was seeing her for the first time, the whole time muttering to himself too low for either of them to hear.

  "I have a few questions for you now, Ferrich,” Morindessa said, without turning around. "I know they don't teach you very much at the university, but I thought you were one of the more advanced students?” She finished on a questioning note, looking over her shoulder at him to make sure he had heard her.

  "I am the best student there,” Ferrich replied stiffly.

  "I am curious as to why you never use your yar,” Morindessa asked. The weeds in front of her suddenly laid flat to form a trail and then stood up straight once the small group had passed, completely hiding any evidence of their passing.