Call of Descent
Chapter Twenty-Five

“Doesthat mean that you have been inside my head?” Malik asked. It was late in thenight and Malik could sense that Orric was tiring. Malik had a feeling thathaving another presence in Orric’s mind was exerting a lot of strain on him.They had fallen into a sober silence after Reniko nearly plunged to the waterbelow and Malik saw a need to break it now.

“Ofcourse not. It doesn’t exactly work that way. All people feel. The person whois feeling that specific emotion knows it and if the emotion is strong enoughthey can emit waves of it to others. Tordaskan Teoko are very receptive tothese waves; we feel them more acutely than everyone else. Even you can feelthem. I know you do when you ask a fellow human what is upsetting them. Haveyou never wondered why excitement is contagious? A person can emit theirfeelings and even those who don’t prove themselves to be Engagers feel thestrong ones, like you. Most people never think about it that way. As anEngager, distance sometimes doesn’t matter, if the feeling is strong enough.”

“Soif it’s just a matter of feeling someone else’s emotions, how did Reniko get caughtup in your subconscious?”

“Wellthat’s where it gets a little tricky. This connection works differently betweenbeings that both exhibit the trait. It’s hard to explain.”

“Tryme,” Malik said leaning back for a long explanation. Malik could feel Orric’sflight speeding up as he occupied Orric’s thoughts.

“Whentwo people feel the other’s emotions, they are somewhat aware of the contact.It allows us to touch minds if we wish to go deeper than just the feelings.It’s like grabbing someone’s hand: you can reach over and touch them, but youcan’t keep the contact unless they reciprocate. Engaging only works if you areinvited in.”

“Ifthat’s the case, how did Reniko engage your mind?”

“You’renot thinking in the right terms. When dealing with the mind there is no speech.Reniko is my friend, therefore when she touched my mind I showed no barriers.Her touch, as I said, was subtle. I was used to her presence, I didn’t guardagainst it. I didn’t think I had to. Like I said only Engagers can touchanother’s mind. There is no reason to close off your mind when there is no onenearby that can enter it.”

“Sobasically you’re telling me that your mind is like a castle.”

“Idon’t know what you’re getting at,” Orric said.

“Welleither the draw bridge is up or it’s down. When it’s down anyone that has themeans can come in if they are a familiar presence. So say most of the time youhave the drawbridge down but there are sentries checking who comes and goes.When the drawbridge is up, even friends can’t enter. That must mean there is nodrawbridge at all for those who don’t have the ability to engage, all you getis what you can hear people shouting over the wall.”

“Yougrasped that better than I thought you would.”

“Sothat would make Lyss, what, in your mind, a princess? To come and go as shepleases, unchallenged?”

Orrictensed at the metaphor and said nothing. Malik felt uneasy with this strangeand sudden silence.

“Yourespect her that much?” Malik asked.

“LikeI said, I have a connection with her, I can feel her emotions. I know theperson she doesn’t show anyone else. I also never thought it necessary to keepmy wits about me.”

“ATeoko with his guard down, that is a rare sight.”

“Andit may cost Reniko dearly.” This sobered Malik severely and he glanced down atReniko’s still frame.

“She’llbe alright. She’s Lyss for a reason.” Malik said, the smile he offered with hiswords filled with bitterness. Malik looked back at Orric, his silhouette fadingas the clouds hid the light from the moons. I wish I could understand thiswhole connection better. If I had the ability maybe I could delve into Orric’smind and exhume those secrets he has from me. And maybe I could understandReniko a little better. Maybe I could understand how she affects people the wayshe does. Malik shook the thoughts from his head. Why do I care so much?He looked down at Reniko, holding her tightly in hopes that the more tightly hewrapped himself around her the less of her would escape. If only I couldgrasp hold of the only part that needs holding onto. With a sigh ofresignation, Malik got comfortable for the long flight ahead. Holding Reniko inhis arms he was unable to sleep and so instead lay against Orric’s body andlooked up into the sky watching the lights of the stars above wink in and outas the clouds passed overhead. He spent the entire night like that, glancingdown every once in a while to see if there was any change to the still frame heheld in his arms. He finally fell asleep shortly after dawn came and didn’twake until Orric landed and the constant motion suddenly stopped. Another daywas coming to an end when Malik awoke. He was thankful to see that althoughRadalean Lake was still swelling close by they had landed on firm ground. Anendless sea of wheat stretched before them, which was swaying gently in thebreeze. It had not seeded yet and was not very tall and therefore Malik couldsee the farmhouses in the distance that kept watch on the generous food source.We must be close to Crosshatch, Malik thought as he untied both his andReniko’s safety lines. Balancing Reniko’s weight, he gently slid from Orric’sside and landed firmly on the soil below.

“Malik,watch over her. I’m going to see if I can bring her back to us. This may take awhile,” Orric said, his voice strained and weary.

“Noneed to talk, Orric, just go to sleep. I’ll do what I can.”

WithMalik’s reassurance, Orric slid instantly into sleep, something that he hadlong been awaiting. Malik was surprised by this; he had never seen Orric fallinto sleep so suddenly or so deeply before. He instantly realized how foolishhe was being. This wasn’t a sleep of rejuvenation. It was a rescue mission.

Reniko,when Orric found her, was not Reniko at all anymore, not in the way that he andMalik knew her. She was barely there, just another presence in his mind slowlybeing absorbed by thoughts that were not her own, but his. She had in allessence become flight. Orric didn’t know how long it had taken to replace her, butit was longer than he would have liked. Her essence was being absorbed by himand what little remained had been stretched thin and had been very hard toreplace. He was relieved to have found her when he had; any more time in hereunguided and she would have been absorbed completely, become nothing more thanbackground noise. As it was, she barely resembled the human he had known. Hetried to confine her, separate his self from her and succeeded only in theextent of forming a dreamlike world around her. She looked strange to him,something between human and Teoko. Instead of arms she had wings and instead ofhuman feet she bore Teoko talons, long and lethal. She seemed content flying inthe world Orric had constructed for her. He came up alongside her trying totouch her essence as little as possible, afraid that any more contact wouldabsorb her completely. This was a delicate situation, one he had never been inbefore. He wished that one of the Teoko elders was here to help guide him.Instead he was left to figure it out for himself. So many things could go wrongand it was Reniko who would suffer. This is all my fault, he thought,which caught the attention of Reniko. She looked over at him curiously, nowsensing his presence as something separate from her.

“Doyou come to enjoy the thermals as well?” she asked smiling.

“Icame here for you,” Orric replied, uneasy with how quickly she had heard histhoughts.

“Iam already had. You seem to be quite comfortable with your flight, what need ofme do you have?” She sounded very unlike herself and this made Orric uneasy.

“Doyou know who you are?” Orric asked.

“Iam what you see. Every being knows who they are.”

Orricgave a sigh. This was going to be very hard on both of them. “What is yourname?”

“Whatuse is a name?” Reniko replied gliding stealthily through the wind.

“Everybeing alive has a name, whether it is one given by someone else or bythemselves. How do you define what you are?”

Thismade Reniko stop and think for a moment, pulling her out of her effortlessflight. “I’ve never thought about a name,” she replied.

“Iknow your name,” Orric said.

“Please,if you know my name, tell it to me so that I can once again enjoy myself.”

Orricshook his head. “That’s too easy.”

“Yourefuse to give me my name? I refuse you the right to fly,” Reniko said, angerflaring from her. This statement puzzled Orric until he realized the extent ofReniko’s control over his subconscious. Suddenly he was no longer flying butfalling, plummeting to the earth below. He no longer had wings; they hadvanished at Reniko’s bidding. This terrified Orric more than he wished toadmit. However, here in this dream world, Reniko knew what Orric felt withouthim having to tell her at all. She slowly glided to his side as he plummeted tothe ground below. He suddenly realized he was no longer in control of thissituation.

“Areyou ready to tell me now?” The creature asked. He couldn’t think of her asReniko any longer, she was something else, something powerful. I have tocontain her, he thought trying to replace a solution to his current problem.It was a new sensation, falling, something Orric had never experienced beforeand hoped never to experience again.

“Willit mean anything if I have to tell you?” Orric asked as he watched the groundgrowing closer and closer.

Hisdescent slowed and came to an abrupt halt as his words sunk into the strangecreature.

“Iguess not. Do I at least get hints?” He tried to suppress the smile that wasspreading across his face, at least she still retains her inquisitivenature, he thought as his wings reappeared and they began their flight onceagain.

“DoI look familiar to you?” Orric asked trying not to sound desperate.

“Whyof course, you are Orric of Tordaskar,” she said.

“Doyou remember my traveling companion?”

“Ayoung man, Malik of Tordaskar. Where is he?” she asked glancing nervouslyaround, suddenly aware of the absence of other life.

“Therewas another, a female I traveled with. Do you remember her?”

Thequestion threw her off for a moment and she grinned. “You’re teasing me. I’mthe other traveling companion. Reniko of Earth.” With the name came the beingand Reniko’s face flooded with memories and conscious awareness of herself.Suddenly she no longer harboured wings and taloned feet but became fullyReniko, purely human. No longer capable of flight she began to plunge towardthe earth, letting out a shrill cry of surprise. Orric dove and caught her. Shelanded softly onto his back and she hugged him tightly.

“Whathappened?” Reniko asked still slightly aware of what she had been only momentsbefore. “I’ve never felt so scattered before. Where’s Malik?”

“Malikis safe Reniko. Right now you have to worry about yourself.”

“Idon’t understand. What happened?”

“Iknow this may be hard for you to understand Reniko, but we are not flying rightnow. We are both asleep on solid ground. Malik is caring for us.”

“Thenwhere are we?” Reniko asked confused yet somewhat aware of the truth behindOrric’s words.

“Weare in my mind. I would love it if you would kindly remove your presence fromit.”

“Howdid this happen? I don’t understand.” Orric felt her trembling with fright. Hesuddenly realized they were going to connect again and, unable to stop it,Orric cried out a warning to Reniko.

“Whateverhappens, do not forget who you are. You are Reniko, remember you are Reniko!”Like a wave, the dream was washed away and they were linked, sharing thoughtsand memories. He tried to guide Reniko as she struggled to retain her name andherself. He explained without words Engaging, explained what had happened andwhat was happening. They understood at the same time that Reniko knew what sheneeded to do and just as quickly and silently as it had begun she disengagedand Orric was left alone in his mind. Immediately he shielded his mind and fellinto true sleep glad that Reniko was safe back in her own mind.

Thewhole ordeal threw Reniko into mental chaos. Unable to sleep yet lacking thestrength to wake she stayed suspended in her comatose state, contemplatingeverything that she had experienced. She was disturbed by this newfound talentand not completely understanding how it functioned she wanted to discard thewhole thing, or given time, explore it more fully. Not having the time or theresources to explore Engaging more fully, she resigned to putting it far awayfrom her, banishing it from her mind, blocking all access to that portion ofher mind. With this done she slept deeply.

Malikhad watched the whole ordeal in silence. Not knowing the battle that had ragedbetween Reniko and Orric, he stood over their bodies restlessly annoyed that hewas unable to do something constructive in this situation. At one point, thefarmers from the nearest fields had come to investigate the rather largeforeign body that was lying at the edge of their fields. It had taken longhours of persuasion for them not to go into town and inform the Rük of thepresence of a Teoko so close to town. Lucky for Malik, the farmers had littlecontact with the Rük and found no truth to their lies that the Teoko weredangerous. After having told them thoroughly that Orric would cause no harm andthat he felt a great love for humans, they had asked him about Malik’s travelswith the great lurking presence and were quite satisfied to trust the word of afellow human over the word of the oppressing Rük. Malik had complimented themon their reasoning and had told them that there were not many humans left onVespen that distrusted the Rük. It had led into a conversation about theresistance.

Renikoawoke as the farmers were leaving. It was late in the night and the only lightin the small camp was the fire that burned low near her. Malik’s back wasturned to her and she watched as he bid farewell to the two strange men. Whenhe turned and saw her awake he smiled and yawned.

“Whattime is it?” Reniko asked as she gave a stretch and sat leaning against thestill frame of Orric.

“Late,almost dawn.”

“Howlong has it been since I Engaged Orric?” Reniko asked tensing at the phrase.

“Thisis the second night since you fell unconscious on Orric. What happened, Lyss?Why isn’t Orric awake yet?”

“I’mnot sure exactly, I only know what Orric showed me. I wasn’t me for a long timein there. Orric contained me and broke the contact, but he showed me what I wasdoing, what I was involved in, but it’s not something I can express in words. Alot of it I didn’t understand. It had a lot to do with the Teoko and I don’tquite understand everything that they do. They are quite different from humans.All I know is that what I did was very dangerous and Orric helped me to replacethat place inside me and lock it away.”

“Sowhat does that mean? You can talk with Orric in a way that I can’t and he toldyou never to use that power again? That doesn’t sound like Orric. I thought hewould explain to you how to control it, how to contain it, so that you can useit properly. Are you sure that’s what he told you?”

“Well,you obviously know him well enough without sharing this link. No he told me howto use it, I just can’t.” Reniko looked away from Malik embarrassed.

“It’salright to be scared of something new Reniko, but don’t deny it all together.You were born with this gift, you just didn’t know it.”

“Youdon’t know what it was like in there!” Reniko yelled.

“Don’tpester her, Malik.” At the sound of Orric’s deep voice the two of them stoppedtheir argument and Malik made his way closer to the Teoko. Reniko lookedabashed, frightened even, and when Orric met her eyes, she backed away fromhim. Orric himself flinched. Malik saw the whole thing and he too shared thefright they felt. Orric was scared of Reniko and that made Malik uneasy. Orricwas scared of nothing, not even the female Rük that could kill him with onesmall dart. He didn’t, however, understand why Reniko shared the terror thatOrric felt. Did she in fact feel the actual fear he felt toward her, or was ither own fear she felt?

“What’sgoing on?” Malik shouted into the still night air.

Thenext comment was not, however, directed at him, but at Reniko. “Do not fear thepower you held over me, young one, learn from it, put it to good use.”

Powerover him?Malik glanced at Reniko who was now standing, tears in her eyes.

“I’msorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t know.” she shook slightly, hugging herself yetstill looking directly at Orric. As terrified as she was, she wouldn’t runaway. Malik watched the conversation in confusion, unable to replace words toconvey the rising questions in his mind.

“Don’tlock yourself so tightly, Reniko. It’s like there is a dark hole where yourpresence used to be. I don’t want that.”

“Idon’t know if I could keep myself together otherwise,” Reniko replied stillshaking.

Orriclooked disheartened by this, but just sighed and nodded.

“Whenwe get to Tordaskar, I’ll take you to see the Teoko elders. They will help you.You have my word.”

Takeher to see the Teoko elders. Malik couldn’t believe what he washearing. No human had ever been taken to see the Teoko elders, it just didn’thappen. The only Teoko that Malik had ever seen were Orric, his mate Variss,and Orric’s son Lorri. He had never been to the Teoko’s home even thoughTordaskar shared a border with it. They had their secrets and were powerfulenough to keep them. Malik had always wanted to go to Orric’s home, but Orrichad made it clear that that was a request he could not fulfil. This isdifferent. Orric knows it and so do I. Reniko has a talent that only the Teokohave ever displayed. Even if humans aren’t to enter the Teoko home, they willhave to make an exception. If they don’t, by what I can tell, Reniko’s a lotbetter at this Engaging thing than Orric is and that could mean trouble for theTeoko if she doesn’t learn to control and use it properly.

“Ican’t,” Reniko said.

“Iwon’t force you, Reniko,” Orric said. Malik could see the worry on the Teoko’sface, worry that if he pushed her too hard too fast she would break, and thatwas a risk not only to Reniko but to Orric as well. Well if he can’t push, Iwill.

Malikstepped forward directly in front of Reniko, his face stern. “Reniko, so helpme, you are going to see the Teoko elders if I have to drag you there. Don’tyou understand that if you don’t go, if you stay like you are, you’re hurtingyourself? Not to mention what would happen if you did lose control again, youcould kill Orric. Kill him. I know you don’t want that, so what’s wrong withyou? You wanted me to move on and accept that the goddess is mortal, this is nodifferent. Accept this. Accept that you need to control it. I’m not asking youto embrace it or like it, just accept it.”

Renikolooked at Malik horrified. “Kill him. I could kill him.” She wasn’t talking toMalik, instead she whispered the words softly to herself, a revelation of howserious this situation was. Malik looked at Orric who stood by watchful butsilent. He confirmed the truth of Malik’s words and at that moment Malik hatedbeing right.

“Ithink we all need to get some rest,” Malik said. That was a mess, hethought as he stoked the small fire before him and curled up in the blanketsthat he had laid out before the farmers had arrived. Reniko mimicked hismovements, crawling back into the blankets she had been in earlier. However,instead of remaining by Orric’s side, she moved to the opposite side of thefire. Malik felt terrible. He wasn’t sure if what he had said had made thingsworse or better. The uneasiness that both Reniko and Orric felt toward oneanother was palpable and there wasn’t a thing Malik could do to change it, atleast not tonight.

Hewatched Reniko until she slid into an uneasy sleep. She fought it off, visiblyscared that if she slept truly she would cause harm to Orric, or herself. Whenshe was safely asleep without causing harm to either her or Orric, Malik gaveone last stretch and he too settled into sleep. Orric’s voice caused him toawaken from his half asleep state and he sat up to listen more alertly to hiscompanion.

“Thankyou, Malik. I was scared for her,” Orric said.

“Idon’t understand what happened, but I do know that both your life and hers werein danger. Why didn’t you force her? What happened?”

“Sheis unusually strong, she has a raw talent. I lost control for a while. When shecame to herself, I think what she had done terrified her. It terrified herbecause it terrified me as well. Thank you. I think she will listen to you.”

Maliklooked at Orric then at Reniko, this small woman held so much hidden power inher, deadly with a sword and now deadly with Engaging. “She had control of yourmind?” Malik asked suddenly.

“Ina sense, yes. But at the same time, my mind had control of her. She was justable to use its influence to her will. She wasn’t Reniko in there, she was purelyan entity of flight. She was able to nudge my mind into the direction shechose. I could keep my thoughts, but I couldn’t control where they weredirected. I knew who I was, but I couldn’t control what I did. She had my mind,but my body was dead to her.”

“So,it’s the same as a sword. I mean for Reniko. She’s like a child that has pickedup a sword. Of course they can use it, but they don’t know how, and because ofthat they can hurt themselves and others. They can use it for good or bad. It’sno different from any other weapon or thought or action. It’s just how you useit. I wouldn’t worry too much, Orric. She’ll come around and we already knowthat she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. If she keeps that thought in mind nothingwill happen.”

“Youare a very wise human, Malik.”

“Notreally, just perceptive.” The two shared a solemn smile and closed their eyesaccepting sleep.

Reniko,who had also awoken to the sound of Orric’s voice shifted slightly in hercovers. A child with a sword? I made the decision once, and I can do itagain. Malik’s right, it’s the same as what Dertrik always told me, “A personis always a weapon, they choose every moment whether to stay in their sheath orjoin in a fight”. This is just another part of me that I can choose to unsheatheor shield. I don’t need to be afraid as long as I make the right decision.With a smile of relief on her face Reniko slipped into a dreamless sleep, nowready to face this newfound talent.

Morningcame and passed as the small group slept on. It wasn’t until the sun hadreached midday that any of them awoke from their dreams. Reniko was the firstto awaken, having been the one that had had the most sleep, and to keep hermind off the events of the previous days she slipped into routine and began herwarm-up. When Malik finally awoke and saw that Reniko seemed content and readyto train him, he joined in, and the two of them began to spar. Even withReniko’s broken concentration, Malik was unable to best her. Smiling, shecalled for a halt and the two of them broke fast together. Orric sat nearby,silent, having woken to the first sound of wood hitting wood. Reniko cast anuneasy glance in his direction, but tried to ward it off by giving him aplaintive smile. Orric returned it, his more genuine. Malik noticed and let outhis breath in relief. They seem to be on the mend.

“Sohow far away is Crosshatch?” Reniko asked as she helped herself to another bowlof the steaming porridge.

“Halfa day. We could travel there this afternoon and hole up in an inn, or we couldstay here until tomorrow and leave at first light. It really doesn’t mattereither way,” Malik said.

“Well,it would be nice to have a bed to sleep on. And I would hate to waste the restof this day just sitting around here,” Reniko spoke.

“MayI offer a suggestion?” Orric piped in.

“Ofcourse, your opinion is always valued, Orric,” Malik said.

“Ithink you should spend as little time in Crosshatch as possible. The town isoverrun with Rük and those in charge here are worse than other places. You won’tsee many women in town and for good reason: the Rük have kidnapped most of themand those that could, fled to the farms. Reniko would not be safe there. And asit is, they have other reasons for wanting her if what that hologram said wastrue.”

“Wonderful,”Malik muttered.

“Haveyou never been here before Malik?” Reniko asked.

“Orrichas, sort of, but not me, no. This causes a problem. I can’t carry all thesupplies we need myself and Orric can’t help me.”

Orricfelt silent and Reniko looked in his direction. He was seething with unbridledanger. “This is madness! If only the Rük hadn’t destroyed Mountain Side, wewouldn’t be in this trouble.” Old wounds made fresh, he clawed the groundbitterly.

“Well,we can’t change the past, no use looking to it now. As long as they don’t seeme, we’ll be all right. I’ll just keep my hood on--it’s not like they can seethrough fabric. We’ll be very careful. If all else fails, we have our weapons,”Reniko said with gravity.

“Ireally wish there was a way around this. If only Radalean was closer. It’sclose enough to the Lake that the Rük avoid it.”

“Iwas going to head to Porsshash, but this was the fastest landing spot,” Orricsaid.

Renikolooked at Orric. “I’m really sorry.”

“Weboth are. What is done is done. I’m not worried about it, Lyss, you should notbe either.”

Renikonodded and spoke again, “I could always wait outside of town.”

“That’snot a bad idea,” Malik said brightly. “In fact, I think that will work justfine. That is, as long as you stay put.”

“Areyou saying that I can’t?” Reniko asked.

“I’msaying that trouble seems to replace you no matter where you are. I was merelysuggesting that when you see trouble coming, that you have the sense to leaveit alone.”

“Dependson the trouble.”

Maliksighed and turned to Orric. “Maybe you and Reniko should just go to CrosshatchForest and I’ll manage what I can on my own.”

Renikoglared at Malik. “I can only do what I can do. I won’t promise anything, but Iwill try very hard to stay out of trouble. Is that good enough for you?”

“Ifthat’s all I can get, then yes.” Turning to Orric he finished, “We’ll need abit of time to gather supplies. Once we are prepared we’ll start toward theA’barra Mountains. Give us three days and come join us again.”

“I’llscout out the road to the A’barra Mountains. That should give you enough time.I’ll see you then. Good luck. Oh and Reniko, if you two get into any trouble –”Orric hesitated and Reniko tensed.

“Let’shope it doesn’t come to that,” Reniko whispered with less fear than the nightbefore. Orric nodded and took to the air.

“Keepyourself out of trouble, Orric,” Malik shouted as the hulking figure became aspeck in the sky.

“Wellwe should be off as well,” Reniko said as she began packing up the remains ofthe small camp, tossing piles of dirt onto the cooking fire.

“Doyou even know how to keep still?” Malik asked joining Reniko by the remains ofthe cooking fire.

“I’vekept still most of my life. I don’t like being patient when I don’t have to.”

“Sobe it. I think if we leave now, we can be at the outskirts of Crosshatch beforesunset.”

“Malik,”Reniko said suddenly causing Malik to stop his motions and look in herdirection. She was kneeling over her pack, her back to him. “I just wanted totell you that you were right, about everything last night. I’ll accept it. Ihave to. Thank you for making me see that.”

“Justreturning the favor,” Malik said smiling.

Renikoturned and looked at her companion, a smile breaking over her face. “So we’reeven?”

“Fornow.”

“Ibet that’ll change shortly,” Reniko said, packing the last of her bedding intoher pack.

Malikpuzzled over the statement and decided that he couldn’t figure out what shemeant by that. “What exactly does that mean?” he asked as he, too, finishedpacking his things away.

Renikojust grinned.