The Mountains Rise

  It was a half hour’s walk before they reached the place where he had watched the sheep grazing, and the entire trip felt nostalgic to Daniel. The rocks, the bushes, even the old game trails lightly marked by the passage of deer and other animals. He might have been there just yesterday, tending the flock while his father worked in the barn at home.

  His magesight found his father long before their eyes could pick him out. The distance wasn’t that far, but the small scrubby trees and bushes made him difficult to see unless you knew exactly where he was standing. The sheep were spread out on a gentle downslope, cropping the sturdy summer grasses.

  Daniel waved and his father began walking to meet them, his face wrinkling in confusion.

  He’s wondering why his wife his walking under the arm of a strange man, realized Daniel.

  When they were closer, Helen ran forward, “Alan, look! Do you recognize him?”

  “What’s all this about?” said Alan Tennick. “Who is this, Helen?” He was searching Daniel’s face, and recognition was beginning to dawn upon him.

  “It’s our boy, Alan. It’s Daniel! He’s come back to us!” declared Helen, standing between them, unable to contain her emotions.

  Alan stared at his son, examining him and looking past his beard and wild hair. “Daniel? Is that you, boy?”

  “It’s me, Dad,” said Daniel softly as his vision blurred.

  The older man stood still, his body stiff with shock. “You look like you missed the shearing for two years running, and then a bear used your head to wipe his arse. Where have you been?!” He delivered the first sentence in a serious tone, but his voice broke when he got to the question. Rushing forward Alan threw his arms around his son, and soon all three of them were caught up in the moment, a mingling of grief and joy.

  They returned to the house after that, leaving the Tennicks’ new dog, Lacy, to watch the sheep. After they had settled again, the time came to share his story.

  “First, I want to tell you how sorry I am,” he told his parents. “I never intended to leave that day. Things just happened, and after that they kept happening, and everything went out of control. Plus, there were secrets, things I should have told you.”

  “Kate told us some of it,” said his father. “After you were gone, she told us some of the stuff that she didn’t tell none of the others.”

  “What did she tell everyone?”

  Helen spoke up then, “She said Ronnie tried to rape her, and you killed him. Aston Hayes said you attacked them for no reason, but she shamed him into admitting the truth. After they saw the marks on her, nobody believed Aston or Billy.”

  “That’s all she said?” asked Daniel.

  “Nah, there was more, but it was just details,” answered Alan. “She told us about the warden, but some of it was hard to believe.”

  “Whatever else she said, you can believe her,” said Daniel. “I was hiding a lot from you. Kate was always honest, but I lied about everything.”

  “Daniel, she said you killed Ronnie without touching him,” said Helen hesitantly.

  He nodded, “That’s true, but I can do a lot more than that. Will you be alright if I show you a little? Just to help you understand.”

  His parents looked at each other before nodding. “Go ahead, Son,” said Alan.

  He used his aythar to stir the wind in the room, creating a small vortex of air that made the fire in hearth flare and rise in a column of flame. He stopped as he saw his parents’ eyes widening in alarm. “I can do a lot more than that,” he told them. “I can lift things, create walls that aren’t there, or control the air. I can kill with a thought or manipulate people’s emotions. I see without using my eyes, and I can sense things for almost a mile outside our house right now.”

  “When did…” began Helen.

  “It started almost a year before I left,” said Daniel, and then he let the story find his lips, spilling some of the secrets he had never told them. He kept the event that had first awakened his abilities to himself, preferring not to let them know about Brenda. He also refrained from talking about the women he had slept with, although he was sure some rumors must have reached their ears by then. He explained his fear when he thought he was cursed, and how he had hidden his gifts and avoided the detection of the warden.

  “After I killed Ronnie, and then the warden,” said Daniel, “I believed my life was over. I took his horse and rode for the deep woods, thinking the forest gods would take my life as punishment for my sins.”

  “But you’re here now,” said Helen. “That was over five years ago, and you’re here with us again. What happened?”

  His heart ached, but he had already decided not to tell them the full truth. It was bad enough that he couldn’t stay, but if they learned of his torment, the killing, and his ultimate fate—it would be too much for them. “I was taken into the service of Lyralliantha, one of the forest gods. It was she who allowed me to return, briefly, to see you. So that I could apologize for all the wrongs I committed. The clothes I’m wearing are no mistake; I am one of their wardens now.”

  Helen smiled, proud to hear that, and the two of them questioned him for some time about the nature of his life with the forest gods. For much of it he simply gave them the truth, hiding the terrible parts. He let them know he had been forced to live naked for a while, and that the food had been terrible, but he made no mention of the arena or the slavery that was the only existence humans knew living with the She’Har.

  He made no mention of the fact that his life was likely to end shortly after his return.

  Once their questions began to dwindle, Daniel had many of his own, “How is Kate doing?”

  Their eyes met for an instant before his father replied, “Much has happened since you left…”

  “She’s married now,” interrupted Helen, cutting to the heart of the matter.

  Daniel nodded. He had expected that. It had been five years after all. Kate would be twenty one, an age at which most women had already started their families. “Did she marry Seth?”

  Alan resumed talking, giving his wife an irritated look. “Yes, they live in the same house she grew up in. They just had their first child, a boy, last year.”

  For some reason the thought of Kate having children with someone else stung more than the fact of her marrying. Seth was a good man, Daniel knew that, and if it had to be someone else, that was who he would have chosen, but the thought of her having children…

  I’ll never be a father, he thought, glancing at the man he respected more than any other. I’ve probably sired some children, but I’ll never be a true father.

  “What about her mother?” he asked, breaking away from the dark turn of his thoughts.

  “Ahhh…,” said Alan uncomfortably. “She and Kate don’t get along well anymore. Seth’s mother died, and she married his dad. She lives with Owen at the Tolburn place now.”

  Daniel’s jaw dropped, “So Kate married Seth, and then Brenda married Mr. Tolburn?”

  “Well it sounds strange when you say it like that,” admitted his mother, “but things happened at different times.”

  “I don’t think there was anything improper about it,” said Alan, “but Kate took offense anyway.”

  Daniel echoed that sentiment, but he held his tongue. “What happened?”

  “She told her mother she didn’t want to see or hear from her anymore,” answered Helen. “She hasn’t spoken to her in years. Seth and his dad still get along fine, though.”

  “Do you think I should visit them?” he asked. Until that moment he hadn’t given the question any true thought, but now that he knew Kate had married, it struck him that he might be inconsiderate to intrude by reappearing now. Maybe it was better for the dead to stay buried.

  His mother dispelled that notion immediately, “Don’t be silly! Of course you should visit them. They’ll both be relieved to find out you are alive. Don’t overstay your welcome, and don’t even think of trying to rekindle anything, but a visit is s
omething they will definitely be glad of.”

  “Getting back to what you said earlier, Son,” interrupted his father. “You said that you are being allowed to visit briefly. Do you really have to return? Can’t you stay?”

  Daniel glanced down at the floor, uneasy. “I’m sorry, Dad. I do have to return. I’ve only been given a week.”

  “But you can come visit again, right?” insisted his mother, “In the future some time…”

  He swallowed, “Maybe. It could be years…”

  She patted him on the shoulder, “As long as I have something to look forward to, I can wait. I just need to know you’re safe.”

  “I’m safe, Mom,” he answered, trying to get the words past the lump forming in his throat.

  “Is there a girl?” she continued. “Any chance you’ll give us some grandchildren?”

  As she asked he spotted a subtle hint of annoyance in her aura, as if she had left something unspoken, something that obviously irritated her. Perhaps she left out the word ‘legitimate’ when she mentioned grandchildren.

  “Well, there was one, a lady named Amarah,” he told her, using the only name that would come to mind. “I think she liked me, but it hasn’t worked out.” It wasn’t hard to act sad when he said her name, although the reason was very different than what he was implying.

  After that he began trying to divert their attention. “Dad, why don’t you let me take the sheep for the rest of the day? I miss my old chores. You and Mom can take care of whatever needs doing, and we can talk some more tonight.”

  “Well, that’s a fine offer Daniel, but Lacy doesn’t know you yet,” Alan said, reminding him of their new dog.

  “Then come introduce me,” returned Daniel. “Can I borrow your instrument, Mom?” He nodded at the cittern hanging on the wall.

  She smiled, “I’m glad you still take your music seriously. I thought I saw a cittern tied to your saddle.”

  “I made that one myself,” he said. “It’s been such a long time it would be nice to compare it to a real cittern. I’m not entirely certain I made a proper instrument.”

  “You made it?” she said, raising her eyebrows. “That takes a lot of woodworking skill. What do they have you do, there in the forest?”

  That is an excellent suggestion, Mom, thank you, he thought to himself. “I stay busy doing carpentry and other woodworking,” he lied, “but I don’t use traditional tools.”

  She frowned, “Then what do you use?”

  He tapped his forehead, “I can shape wood more smoothly with this than with any carpenter’s plane.”

  His father caught up the cittern from the wall as they walked to the door. “I wouldn’t mind seeing that. Didn’t occur to me how practical your abilities might be in some ways.”

  Daniel hugged his mother one more time and followed him outside, “I’ll be glad to help. Just figure out what you need done, and if I can accomplish it, I’ll do it for you. I can probably split wood, shape posts, plane boards, or any other woodwork you need doing.”

  Alan winked, “You shouldn’t have told me that. I’ll keep you busy all week.”

  They chatted amiably all the way back to where Lacy was keeping watch over the sheep. It took several minutes for Alan to introduce his son to the new sheep dog, but like her grandsire, Lacy was very smart, and she caught on quickly. It helped that Daniel had been raised using the same commands that Alan had taught her.

  It was a tossup whether that was more of a benefit to him, or to Lacy, she was an extremely intelligent canine.

  Before his father left, he embraced his son one more time, “It’s good to see you again, Son.”

  “I’ve missed you,” he told his father.

  “You promise you’ll come home? If you vanish it’ll break your mother’s heart,” said Alan Tennick with a thick voice.

  “I’m home, Dad, for a week. I won’t disappear before then, and I’ll say good-bye when I do. I promise,” he answered solemnly.

  “See that you do,” said his father, wiping his nose again.

  Chapter 37

  After his father had gone, Daniel began moving the sheep. The pasture they were in still had plenty of excellent grazing, but it wasn’t the one he wanted. He couldn’t see Kate’s house from there. Not that he had any intention of going to see her, but still, he wanted to be as close as possible.

  An hour’s work, with Lacy’s expert assistance, and the sheep were on the lower southern slope, the one that was closest to the Sayer house. Daniel’s eyes were still knowledgeable enough to see that it had already been grazed recently, but there was enough forage remaining to keep the sheep happy.

  Settling into what had once been his favorite spot, Daniel put his back against a smooth boulder and began to play. His mother’s cittern felt warm and comfortable under his fingers, like an old friend. The bronze strings were more responsive than the horse-hair strings on his own instrument, producing a louder note with greater clarity.

  Maybe I’ll have time to get some strings before I return.

  He played for half an hour, but despite his location, he kept his eyes away from the Sayer house, preferring to see it in his memory. In that place, within his heart, Catherine Sayer sang and walked, forever young and carefree. She listened from her porch, keeping quiet to hear the faint strains of his cittern in the distance, and sometimes, if he was lucky, she joined him for a picnic.

  She only brought you a lunch once, noted his more analytical side. Shut up, retorted his inner dreamer.

  Playing on the hillside, hoping she would hear, and imagining her visits; those were the subjects of his fantasies for the past five years. When life had become too much for him, when the darkness of his tiny room had closed in, it was there that he had retreated within his mind. He felt the wind caress his face while the soft notes of the cittern danced across the meadow.

  Some part of his mind saw her approaching, carefully walking up the steep game trail that led from the river, but he never faltered in his playing. With each step she drew nearer, and he felt his heartstrings winding tighter, gaining tension.

  His eyes remained closed. Daniel knew he would lose his concentration if he saw her in the afternoon sunlight. It had a tendency to set her hair afire with red and gold highlights. Instead he waited, until she stood no more than twenty feet away.

  As the last notes drifted from his fingers, he lifted his head and gazed on her. The woman who stood there was older, taller, more worn, than the one he remembered. The sun still caught fire in her hair, though. She watched him with still, quiet eyes that were hidden in shadow. He couldn’t see their color, but he felt them on him.

  He stared back at her, not trusting himself to speak.

  Eventually she relented and moved closer, sitting down close beside him. She left no space between them, taking his hand in hers before resting her head on his shoulder. They sat that way without speaking for what seemed like an hour, but the sun told Daniel it was only a few minutes.

  “You aren’t dead,” said Catherine Sayer.

  “Somehow I’ve survived,” he answered. ‘Til now.

  “I waited a long time, Daniel.”

  “You shouldn’t have,” he returned, “I couldn’t come back.”

  “You’re here now,” she observed.

  He sighed, “Only for a few days, a week at best. I won’t be able to come again.”

  She turned her head, putting her cheek against his chest and inhaling. Her free hand rose to explore his beard. “You smell terrible,” she noted.

  He chuffed at that, not trusting himself to laugh. “No one cares much about that in the deep woods.”

  “I’m married now.”

  “My parents told me,” he said softly. “They said your son is a year old.”

  “His name is Aaron,” she answered. “Aaron Tolburn.”

  “I’m happy for you—and for Seth.”

  Her face was hidden by a shadow, but he felt her smile, “I love him, I love both of them, Daniel. Being a
mother has changed me. I’m not the girl you once knew, but she’s still here, inside. I like who I’ve become, but I haven’t forgotten who I was.”

  “I’ve changed too,” he replied, but his tone was less joyful.

  Her fingers traced the line on the outside of his left arm, sending involuntary shivers up his spine. “How did you get this?” she asked.

  “I did that to myself,” he confessed. “I needed it to help me stay alive.”

  “What did you find in the deep woods?”

  Daniel closed his mouth, thinking. “People,” he said at last. “Humans, like us, but different. My abilities are normal there.”

  Kate sighed, “So you found a place you belong?”

  He understood then what she wanted. She wanted comfort. She wanted to know that he was alright, that he wasn’t suffering. Just like his parents, she still loved him, and she wanted to find reassurance that he was prospering. He hadn’t meant to lie to her, but at that moment he discovered he couldn’t do otherwise.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you find love? Is there someone waiting for you?”

  A vision of Lyralliantha flashed in his mind, and he couldn’t help but compare the coldness of his relationship with her to the warmth of just a moment with Kate. It made him painfully aware of the void that had replaced his heart. The memory of Amarah’s dead body followed, and his chest tightened.

  “Yes,” he said, “There’s a woman waiting for me.”

  “Is she beautiful?”

  He paused, “She is. More beautiful than any woman has a right to be, with hair that reminds me of the moon on a river.” A cold moon, he thought, your hair reminds me of the warm sun on a spring day.

  “I still love you, Daniel,” she told him suddenly. “But, I can’t, I won’t betray my marriage.”

  “I don’t want you to, Cat. Seth’s a good man, and he was a good friend to me.”

  He felt her relax slightly, “I’m glad. I wondered if you thought you might steal a night’s pleasure from me.”

  “I wouldn’t want to betray my promises either,” he said, half-lying.

  “Tell me about your life there. What are the people like? Are the forest gods real?”