See Chapter One (A) for Disclaimers
Chapter Five
It was decided that the baby's swaddling clothes would dry as they walked. Dar had estimated that at their current pace, they would reach the Varoni the following day. And Tao knew better than to ask his friend if he was looking forward to seeing his sister again.
Besides, there were other things Tao wanted to talk about, but couldn't. Like what he had seen and heard the previous night, while Dar and Aveta were asleep. For so long, he had assumed that Dar was right, that Curupira cared nothing for humans. But Dar had never heard Curupira talking to any human as Tao had the previous night.
When he had fallen asleep, Dar was still awake . . . keeping watch through Sharak's eyes. Tao wasn't entirely certain of Dar's reasoning, since Ruh had already offered to keep watch. But Tao had a feeling his friend wanted to stay awake and think out certain things.
When Tao awakened a few hours later the moon was high overhead. He had shut his eyes, and rolled away from it. Snuggled down under his blanket once more, but he heard an unnervingly familiar voice. Tao had opened one eye to make sure Dar was all right. That was when he saw Curupira kneeling beside his sleeping friend, softly talking with the babe. It had taken all of Tao's self control to keep silent.
Especially when he saw her gently brushing a lock of hair away from Dar's forehead, and kissing his right temple. The tenderness in that simple gesture had nearly stopped Tao's heart, and his mind had reeled with the implications. The Eiron quickly shut his eyes again. Telling Dar was out of the question. Tao knew Curupira would kill him.
"I fear you have the right of it, young Eiron. My daughter would kill you if you were to tell the BeastMaster what you heard last night," a voice at his side murmured. Tao looked around wildly, tripping over a root in the process. But strong arms wrapped around his waist and held him upright.
Of course, it was Pelagia. She shimmered into being, her arms still about his waist, murmuring, "Not to worry, youngling. Dar is listening to the animals, he won't hear us. Have you not realized that I am always with you both, always watching over you?" Tao looked away as she released him and stepped to his side . . . he was still getting used to the goddess.
"I'm simply not accustomed to goddesses showing up whenever I happen to think about something that troubles me, something I can't talk about," he replied. Pelagia smiled in understanding, and Tao added with a sigh, "For that matter, I'm not used to being unable to talk about something."
"I know, and I appreciate your silence. And so you know, when you or Dar concentrate on something like that, I am drawn here. It's difficult to explain, but understand that if you need me, I am here. I am a goddess, I can be in several different places at once," Pelagia answered.
Tao nodded, and the goddess continued, "Now, as to what you heard last night. I know what you heard, and what you saw. I could hear it in your brain. Thankfully, my daughter is only attuned to the minds of the animals . . . otherwise, she would be here now, instead of me." Tao shuddered.
Then he asked softly, "What I heard, what I saw . . . I only know of one interpretation to put on it. And it makes no sense, goddess. It makes no sense whatsoever." Pelagia just smiled, and put her arm around his shoulders as they walked. He had the sense she did it for a special reason.
"Actually, youngling, it does make sense. Remember, I can hear your thoughts, and you've observed in the past that my daughter behaves toward Dar, as your sisters do toward the young men they desire," Pelagia pointed out. Tao nodded, but started to make an observation about the difference.
Before he could, the goddess went on, "It's not so different. You see, Tao, Curi is half human. Because of her father's blood, she was born with her feet backwards, as you have seen. Or rather, the mingling of a blood of a mortal, with that of a god. Because of that, Curi is neither god nor human, an outcast in both worlds."
Tao nodded . . . yes, that made sense. Pelagia continued in a faraway voice, "He was also a Sula. Perhaps that's why I've always been drawn to Dar. He doesn't look like Curi's father, but he does remind me of him. He was a warrior, who died in battle. We were to meet the following morning, and it was then that I would have told him of my child."
"He died without knowing he would have a child?" Tao questioned and Pelagia nodded. The young scholar shook his head, stunned at this terrible twist of fate. He continued, "And the battle, did it come up suddenly? I mean, it wasn't planned . . . oh, I mean . . ." He shook his head . . . Ohhhh, he was getting almost as clumsy as his words as he was with his feet! Fortunately, the goddess seemed to understand exactly what Tao was trying to say.
"I know what you mean, young one. And yes, it was an unexpected battle. He died in my arms, on the battlefield. And to this day, I wonder if that is what caused Curupira's anger. She's always been such an angry child. And she never forgave her father for abandoning her. Yes, she has always been like this, even when she was a small girl," Pelagia said, answering Tao's next question.
The scholar swallowed hard. Things were starting to make sense for him now. Pelagia went on, "My father felt guilty that Curi would grow up without a father, and as an outcast in both worlds. He spoiled her, I'm afraid, and I felt so guilty about my part . . . I let him."
"So, when Curupira lashes out at Dar . . . she's really lashing out at her father?" Tao questioned and the goddess nodded sadly. It was unfair, of course . . . Tao's loyalty to his friend demanded acknowledgment of that. But he could
also understand the demon's anger and grief.
"Just so. For ten thousand years, Curupira was just an imperious, spoiled brat . . . I can say that, I'm her mother. It wasn't until the Sula tribe was wiped out that . . . well, that shook her. But the greatest shock was to come," Pelagia observed with a touch of sadness in her voice.
"She fell in love with Dar," Tao murmured and Pelagia nodded. The young scholar continued, "And she had no idea how to handle it. She had never been in love before, probably didn't even realize at first what she was feeling. That's why she's so cruel to him. Vicious, even."
"Yes. She was often impatient with Ril, because Dar was first with him. Even before the animals, even before the rest of the tribe. I think you realized that from the memory play as well. Ril left the field of battle, to save Dar. And Curupira was often impatient with that . . . she was angry that he didn't put her animals first," Pelagia admitted.
Tao could see that, but he couldn't help asking, "But why, Pelagia? Would she expect the same thing from the animals?" To his surprise, instead of looking angry, the goddess was obviously delighted with his question. Then again, Pelagia was different, in all ways.
"Very good, Tao! And that's what I told her. Ruh would not abandon his cubs, why should Ril? But to continue . . . she was often impatient with Dar's father. She cared for him, I think . . . wept after he died. But until Dar, she had never been in love. And it terrified her," Pelagia answered.
"It terrifies me . . . I can only imagine what it did to her," Tao murmured. But while he could accept Curupira had been trying to protect her animals, Dar was his friend. That meant more to him. Tao looked at Pelagia and asked, "Will she ever tell him?"
"I'm glad you asked that question, youngling. You can never tell him . . . not just because my daughter would kill you. But it's Curi's secret to tell. And I must warn you. Each time Curupira has allowed her guard to drop with Dar, she becomes very angry with him afterward," Pelagia advised.
"She's angry with herself for allowing her guard to drop, allowing herself to fall in love with Dar," Tao murmured. Yes, he understood far better than the guardian spirit could ever imagine. The goddess nodded, and Tao continued, "I won't tell him. He wouldn't believe me."
The goddess chuckled and replied, "You'd be surprised what Dar believes. I must go. I issued a warning to the Sorceress, and I'm afraid she disregarded it. So doing, she pulled my father into a situation where he wanted to remain neutral. I'm trusting you to take care of Dar, young Tao."
"I will, goddess. You have my word," Tao promised. The goddess smiled at him again, kissed his forehead, and then disappeared. The young scholar sighed. What did he do now? Forget what he had seen? Or just pretend it was a dream? The second option seemed much more feasible.
It became a moot point, for Dar turned suddenly and said, "You are still back there . . . I wondered. You became silent suddenly." Tao barely managed to stop before running full tilt into his friend . . . but he did stop. Dar looked at him, concerned, and asked, "Tao? Are you all right?"
Tao blinked and Dar continued, "You've barely said two words for the last five minutes. Is everything all right?" Aveta was cooing, although in Tao's experience, babies didn't usually start cooing for another few months. Tao grinned. Then again, Aveta was a girl-child, and Tao knew quite well that females of all ages liked Dar.
"Fine, fine, just thinking about those three we left back there," Tao answered. Which was a lie, but it was better than the alternative. The young scholar laughed and added, "I don't know about you, but having that lass as a sister would definitely keep me in line!"
Dar laughed as well, answering, "That's why I think we should find her again sometime, and take her to Mira. My sister would kill me for giving her a fourteen year old daughter, but Atalla needs someone like Mira in her life." Tao cocked his head to one side as he joined his friend.
"I don't know about that," the young man answered, "if your nephew lives, he would be about twelve now. Not much younger than Atalla." Dar nodded, flinching at the mention of his nephew and namesake. Tao continued, "It is possible that he lives. Marinde told me that they simply awoke one morning, and he wasn't in his bed."
"I know. But my sister has been wounded enough . . . I'll not have her hopes raised, only to see them shattered," Dar answered, unconsciously echoing his sister's own words, at least according to Marinde.
"I know that. But you know yourself, from our encounters with the Sorceress, that things are not always what they appear to be. So . . . your nephew may still be alive. I don't know where he would be . . . but we can't rule it out," Tao observed and Dar nodded.
"Agreed. But if he is alive, he wouldn't remember my sister. That's assuming the Terrons didn't catch him and sell him into slavery into one of their . . . allies," he replied, with more than a touch of bitterness in his voice. Tao swallowed hard, hearing the pain behind the bitterness in his friend's tone. And he remembered something.
Once, shortly after they first met, Dar had asked Tao what the Terrons would do to Kyra. Tao had specified a few possibilities, and Dar had asked if she would be killed. Tao had answered there were worse things than death. Remembering that conversation now, Tao regretted that statement. But at the time, he had wanted to answer Dar's questions honestly.
He said now, "But at least he would be alive, Dar. While he's alive, there's still hope." His friend looked at him with a haunted expression, and Tao realized he had put his foot in his mouth yet again. Kyra, the young scholar thought with a mental sigh, who is somewhere between life and death, in the mind crystal of a sorcerer.
Tao had been gathering the last of their belongings, preparing for their journey back to the Mydlands with Dar and Kyra, when he had heard Dar cry out, "Kyra . . . no!" Tao had run in the direction of his friend's voice, not really paying attention to where he was going.
By the time Tao reached Dar, who was staring up at the sky with a numbed expression, the pink created by the spell of the Sorceress was just beginning to give way to the blue sky. He hadn't seen what happened to Kyra . . . but he quickly learned from his shocked friend what Dar had seen through Sharak's eyes. Kyra was lost to them. For now.
Tao told his friend now, "I don't know how we can get Kyra back, but we won't stop trying. And since your sister is a Healer, she may know of a way to free Kyra." Dar frowned, and Tao admitted, "I don't know how that's possible. But I've learned the hard way not to underestimate any child of the Sula. Especially not the children of Ril."
Dar grinned and replied, "Well, we have far to travel today. I still have some milk left from this morning. That's one thing I still don't understand, Tao. How did it get there?" Tao thought of the conversation he had just held with Pelagia. And he knew, beyond any doubt, that it had been the mother goddess who had provided the milk for Aveta.
However, he only shrugged. Pelagia probably wanted Dar to figure it out on his own. Instead, Tao replied, "Strange things happen, you know that, Dar. And aren't you glad we have a map for your sister's village? As much as you enjoy getting lost, that would not be a good thing with a baby. That wouldn't be good for a baby." Dar just rolled his eyes, but Tao could see him trying not to smile.
Seeking to distract himself from his troubling conversation with Pelagia, Tao gently teased his friend, "And don't call the maps 'lines.' Those lines, as you call them, have saved us both, as you well know!" Dar looked at him indignantly, and Tao immediately questioned the tack he had chosen to distract himself.
"I only said that because you called me 'short-sighted.' I may not have your education, Tao, but . . ." he began, then stopped. Tao almost ran into him a second time, and Dar shook his head, murmuring, "That's strange. That's very, very strange. Almost as if . . ." He closed his eyes, and Tao stepped closer to him instinctively, to catch Dar and the baby, if it was necessary.
But Dar remained upright, and after a few moments, he said, "Take the baby. Something's wrong up ahead, and I need to make sure it's safe." Tao willingly took the precious bundle from his friend's arms, cradling Aveta protectively against his body, and Dar murmured, "Ruh, stay with them." Ruh growled in response, and Dar crept away from them. Tao hated it when he did things like this . . .
~*~*~*~
(Continued)
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