The Season of Passage

  Gary spoke softly. 'But you did make it for him. It was wonderful coffee. He loved it. He loved you.'

  She wiped at her face. 'I'm going to miss him so much.' She put her arms around him. 'Hold me, Gary. Please hold me.'

  They stayed in each other's arms as the night slowly passed. But Lauren didn't sleep. She didn't have to. Her nightmare was finally awake. She lay beside Gary with her scalpel in her hand until the sun came up, listening to the footsteps overhead.

  At the charred remains of Jennifer's private cabin, Terry Hayes knelt and collected wood for his fireplace. It was dark and snowing, and he was cold. He thought it would not be long before the snow covered the ashes left over from the fire, as it had probably already covered Jennifer's freshly dug grave. From identifying her remains, he knew ashes of her body must lie scattered in the wood ashes all around him. He had changed his mind about flowers. He decided that later he would bring some here and plant them. In another season, when it was warm, he thought they might bloom.

  Terry bundled his wood together and walked to his cabin. It was pitch black inside but he made no effort to find the light switch. He went immediately to the fireplace and arranged the singed scraps he had gathered. There was a lighter on top of the bricks, and soon the chill was melting from his limbs before a cracking fire. It was then he saw

  Jennifer's new typewriter on the floor, and the stack of papers beside it.

  Her story.

  The pages were divided into two sections. The first sheets were in a graceful flowing penmanship. Not a word was crossed out or a letter smudged. The second section was neatly typed. She must have finished it sitting where he was now, he thought, working late at night and using the flames for light. It would have been her way.

  Terry took the silver ring from his pocket and set it on the bricks next to the fire. He began to read.

  In the Garden, on the edge of the vast ocean, and the borders of the tall mountains, lived the people of the Sastra, the first and greatest of human beings. Because they were from the beginning, they were untarnished, beautiful and wise, of fair form and kind desire. Their King was Rankar, mightiest of the Sastra, and their Queen, Chaneen, loveliest of the offspring of the gods..."

  BOOKFOUR

  The Curse

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Excerpts from Jennifer Wagner's Story

  Janier awoke from a dark dream to find herself being carried under the surface of Asure. Her hands were bound at her back with metal cords. Hellish faces grinned at her from the shadows. In her first few moments of consciousness, she struggled violently. But they laughed at her and tightened their claws into her skin and she began to bleed. Thinking to conserve her strength, she decided to remain still. She could feel her sword banging against her leg. She did not understand why they let her keep it, unless it was because they feared her so little.

  Janier remembered with guilt her crossing into Asure. With her warriors by her side, she had emerged upon an icy black plain. There she 'd immediately had a change of heart. The enemy was much stronger when it was dark, and seeing the conditions, she attempted to retreat to the desert. Unfortunately, the bridge was gone, and it was then she knew she had been tricked. From seemingly nowhere a rain of poisonous darts fell upon her warriors. She tried invoking the fire, but the Messenger had left her arm, and nothing happened. Her entire company of warriors perished in agony. She was the only one the enemy spared. She did not know why. They had bound her limbs and choked the air from her lungs until she fainted.

  If only she had listened to Chaneen.

  Thinking of her sister, under the dripping teeth and suffocating

  breath of her assailants, Janier lost consciousness again.

  She awoke with a slap in the face. Dizzy and bloody, she rolled on her side and opened her eyes. She was in a vast underground chamber. Pools of lava boiled on her left. They filled the air with a depressing red glow and afoul stench. She tried to stand, but her hands and feet were still bound. She fell forward on hard black stone and banged her head. A throng of watching female Asurians jeered. They sat on rows upon rows of bleachers, that curved upwards and were lost in the dark. They were hideous, with wide snouts, large teeth, scaly hides, and red eyes that shone with excitement.

  Amidst the shouts, Janier heard a deep chuckle. It was the Asurian King, Kratine. He sat on a black throne, wearing a gold corset about his midsection and a purple cloak over his shoulders. A heavy crown laden with jewels topped his big head. He clung to his illusion of human form, a fair handsomeness that reminded her of Rankar. Yet his eyes were unmasked, and that made Janier tremble to look upon them. They were empty black holes that led into nothingness. As she struggled to her feet, he stood from his throne and slowly approached her. He continued to chuckle as he reached into her belt and withdrew her bloodstained sword.

  He smiled. I see you brought the fire.'

  For a moment he held the blade at her throat. Then he broke the sword over his knee and tossed the pieces into the nearby volcanic pit. The lava flared briefly with yellow flame, and then settled back into its sober red glow.

  'So we meet again, Janier,' Kratine said. 'You come to my land, after all.' He bowed. I am honored.'

  Janier tested her cords. They were strong, tightly fastened. She was not going to break free. She was surprised to feel Chaneen 's ring still on her finger.

  'You will get nothing from me, Kratine,' she said. 'Best you kill me now and save your time.'

  Kratine stepped back as if surprised. 'Kill you? I have no intention

  of killing you. I intend for you to return home. Yes, that is what I intend.'

  'You lie.'

  'Lie, my Princess? Why would I lie to you? Surely you accuse me falsely.'

  I will not be tricked,' she said defiantly.

  'Are you so eager to die?' Kratine glanced at the boiling mud. I would regret destroying such a beautiful woman. Truly, I would.' He moved closer, and she could feel his breath in her face. 'But I'm sure I won't have to, for you are going to perform me a valuable service. Yes, you, Princess Janier. You are going to be my emissary, to your exalted Queen. I want to offer Chaneen a truce.'

  'After you promised the same to Rankar?' Janier said bitterly. 'And then murdered so many of the Sastra? Chaneen will not believe you.'

  'But you have to believe me, Janier. You have no choice but to be my emissary.' He paused. 'Come. We are reasonable beings. I have few warriors left. Your own army is gone. The killing has helped neither of us.'

  Janier glanced at the watching throng. 'You appear to have sufficient force left to overrun the Garden.'

  'That is where you are wrong. You did not wield the fire. Only your sister's invocation could have brought the Messenger. I know Chaneen still waits in your Garden. I have no desire to face her.'

  'Where is Rankar? Where is Tier?'

  'Your King is dead.'

  'That was your purpose from the beginning. To lure him here.'

  'Need I refresh your memory? Rankar volunteered to come here. I originally had no intention of bringing him to my land. He surprised me with his request.'

  'Why did you kill him?'

  Kratine chuckled. 'A silly question.'

  'What did you want the couple for?'

  'For reasons that will become clear to you soon.'

  'Where is Tier? Did you kill him, too?'

  Kratine stepped behind her back. She could feel his eyes on her body. 'You are my captive. Is it fair that I have to answer all your questions? Don't you want to hear the conditions of the truce 1 am proposing?'

  Janier stood straight. 'I am listening.'

  Kratine touched her hair. His fingers felt like claws, as indeed they actually were. 'You are like your sister, Janier, very beautiful.'

  'List your conditions.'

  Kratine took a step away from her back. 'Of course. First, Chaneen must swear an oath never to invade my land.'

  'You know she would never do that, 'Janier said.

  'Then it is
a simple request.'

  'You try to deceive me. You said your people could not survive in Asure. Now you say you are content with what you have?'

  'You twist my words. I did not say I am content.' Kratine walked back to his throne. On the right side of the black seat were three huge brown oval eggs. He selected one and returned to her side. 'Do you know what this is?' he asked.

  'Yes. The chamber in which your unborn grow.'

  'Very good, Janier. I hold an Asurian child on the verge of birth. Unfortunately, this infant can't survive in this land, as you have pointed out. Indeed, this child is about to die.' Kratine cracked the top off the egg, and a horrible stench assailed Janier's nose. The Asurian King dug inside the shell and removed a squirming miniature of the monsters that watched from the stands. Careful not to spill the fluid inside the shell, Kratine set down the egg and carried the struggling infant to the edge of the lava pool.

  'What are you doing?' she cried.

  'I'm making a small sacrifice to emphasize my point.' He lowered the kicking infant slowly into the mud. There came a shrill scream as the creature's feet were seared off. Kratine, however, was patient. He took his time killing the creature. Finally he returned to her side. 'You see now how willing I am to sacrifice my own in order to reach a truce?' he said.

  Janier saw nothing of the kind from his act, only that she didn't want

  to be lowered into the boiling mud. For the first time in her life, fear dominated her thoughts. She decided to feign cooperation in the hope of escape.

  I will carry your message to my sister,' she said. 'What are your other conditions?'

  Kratine nodded. 'Ah, a change of heart. That is good. But what I have to say next is difficult. I admire you, Janier. You have spirit. You are a great warrior. None could doubt your abilities. But you have brought great misery to my people. Even Rankar did not inflict the fire so often and so mercilessly. You had my warriors on the run. They were clearly defeated. Only a small number escaped across my bridge. You knew there were too few of my warriors left to harm your people. Yet you pushed forward and crossed my bridge with the intention of killing the last of the Asurians. That was not necessary. That was evil.' Janier held her wrath in check. 'You attacked us first.'

  'We attacked out of need, so we could live. We have little water here, and what little we do have, we are forced to hoard underground. Naturally we tried to invade your Garden. But you came here to kill for the sake of killing. Again, I say to you, that was evil.'

  Anger overshadowed Janier's caution. 'I have seen the way your people fight. They torture their captives. They drink their blood.'

  'They drink because they are thirsty from lack of water.'

  'In our mountains, there was muck water, 'Janier said.

  Kratine ran a sharp finger over the top of her breasts. 'Does it make us evil, to enjoy our duty?' Janier could think of nothing to say. Kratine continued. 'Did Chaneen tell you to cross over into my land?'

  'You were telling me of your conditions.'

  'She told you not to go,' Kratine said. 'Is that not so? Speak! Admit that you were wrong. Admit that you violated your own Queen's orders.'

  'Of what use is such an admission to you?'

  Kratines voice softened. 'I merely wish for you to be able to return to your sister with a clear conscience.'

  'What are the conditions of your truce?' she repeated.

  'Just the one I mentioned. Chaneen must promise not to invade my lands. She has a good heart. I will believe her if she promises. I respect sincerity, Janier. That is the only other condition that 1 have. You must return to your home and sincerely express my views. Do you understand?'

  'Yes.'

  'Very good. I am pleased that you do. If you didn't, I would send another emissary, and then I would have no reason to keep you alive. Still, I do have plenty of reason to put you to death, don't I? Answer me truthfully.'

  Janier was becoming confused. He held out freedom one moment, and then took it away. He made her feel worse than him. He was evil, there was no question of that, but had she also been at fault? His blank eyes taunted her, the scream of the dying Asurian plagued her.

  'You have another of my people?' she asked warily.

  'But of course,' Kratine said. 'Should I send for him? He could go in your stead, and you could stay here with me. Do you think that would be best, Janier?'

  'Who is this one?'

  Kratine spoke with pride. 'A great warrior. The leader of your forces.'

  'Tier?'

  ' 'Yes. That is his name. Oh, I had forgotten. He is your husband. I understand your excitement. That is good. Should I send for him? He could be my emissary, I'm sure. He is very devoted.'

  'Devoted?' she began.

  Kratine leaned close and smiled. 'You were about to say that your husband could not be devoted to me. Is that not so, Princess?'

  'Yes,' she whispered.

  'Well, you are wrong!' His wrath hit her like a physical blow and she cringed. 'You see, he is mine now. Mine!' Kratine grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her to the edge of the boiling mud. He held her face close to the lava and she had to close her eyes to keep from going blind. The heat was unbearable. 'I broke his will, Janier! I

  tortured him. You humans can only take so much pain, and I gave him a great deal.'

  'Stop it!'

  'Stop? I'm just beginning. Would you like to see him?'

  She nodded weakly. Kratine pulled back her head and spoke with sudden gentleness in her ear. 'Do you love him?' he asked.

  'Yes.'

  Kratine was sympathetic. 'He was your lover. A fortunate man. I will bring him to you. Oh, look, Janier, he is already here. He is descending from above.'

  Suspended from two metal chains, Tier was being lowered toward the pool of lava. They brought him to a halt only a dozen feet from where she stood, and she could see how his battered head hung unmoving on his lacerated chest. Both his arms had been cruelly broken; his jagged bones sliced through the skin at the elbows. His entire body was caked with dried blood. Janier could see no sigh of breathing, and she began to weep.

  'He's dead,' she said.

  Kratine sighed. 'It is sad. Yet such is the fate of many courageous warriors.'

  Janier bowed her head. 'We did not want to hurt anyone. We only wanted to be left alone.' She glanced up again. Her husband's eyes were half open; the sockets had rolled back into his head. 'Oh, Tier!'

  Kratine led her to where she had been standing before. 'It is a hard universe,' he said. 'Survival is earned at a price. We of Asure know this. We are much older than the Sastra, and have greater experience and wisdom in these matters. I sympathize with your sorrow. Why not return him to Chaneen and let her mend his injuries with the power of her touch? You could stay in his place, as payment for the sins committed against Asure.'

  Janier shook her head, trying not to look at her husband. 'Chaneen can't bring back the dead.'

  'A pity. But perhaps he could still go as my messenger. I could record the conditions of my truce on a scroll, and attach it to his body, and

  return him to your Garden. At least then he would have a decent burial. Come, I have asked you before. Should I send you or him as my emissary?'

  The thought of leaving Tier's body with Kratine was repulsive to Janier. Yet she knew she had to escape. She had to return to Chaneen and tell her of this atrocity. Perhaps then her sister would summon all her powers and lay waste to Asure.

  I will present your wishes to my Queen,' she said.

  'Excellent. You are a spirited young woman. You can present my position forcefully. You will do that, won't you? This is important to me, that you are sincere, that you have an open heart. You have opened your heart to me, haven't you?'

  Janier nodded, giving any answer that would lead to freedom. I will explain everything to my sister that you have said.'

  'You are a good child.' Kratine stepped behind her once more and

  began to loosen the metal cords that bound
her wrists. 'Now I will set

  you free and you can be on your way. Yes, soon you will be home, and

  walking in your fair Garden. Oh! What is this? A ring. Is this

  Chaneen's ring?'

  'Yes, 'Janier said.

  'How is it that you are wearing your sister's ring?'

  'She gave it to me before I went into battle.'

  'Why?'

  I don't know why.'

  'How touching,' Kratine said, finishing with her cords. Blood flowed back into her hands and she was able to move her fingers. 'How beautiful. But you understand, of course, that you must remove it now. Now that you are mine.'

  I don't understand,' she stuttered. Standing before her tormentor, the ring seemed the only link she had left to her sister. She desperately wanted to hold on to it. Kratine slid his big head around the side of her cheek.

  'What did you say?' he asked quietly.

  'I prefer to keep the ring.' She shrugged. 'It is only a small thing.'

  'A small thing,' he repeated, with satisfaction in his voice. 'That is true. But you are my emissary now, and it is the small things that matter the most to me. You did agree to represent me, am I correct?'

  'Yes.'

  'Then remove the ring. Throw it in the mud. Be rid of this small thing.'

  Janier shook her head faintly. Kratine moved his ear close to her mouth.

  I didn't quite hear that,' he said. When she didn't respond, he took her chin and forced her to look in his eyes. They shone like flat black mirrors, and in them it seemed she saw her own soul; she saw it as empty as his eyes. 'Tell me again,' he said.

  'Chaneen gave the ring to me,' she whispered.

  'So?'

  'She is my Queen, my sister.'

  'Then you think to deceive me!' He shoved her to the floor where she struck her head for the second time. Once more the crowd jeered. Blood trickled from her head onto her gown. Kratine stepped forward and towered over her. He was furious. 'You try to trick me. You have not opened your heart.' Janier trembled. 'No.'