Journey To Light: Part I of the High Duties of Pacia Page 14
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“The entire Dallis family is pure Kêltikæn. Most of them even have freckles. I was nothing like them or anyone else they had ever seen and yet Ena and Niall, my Ma and Pa, took me into their home and treated me the same as their other children. I will always think of them as my parents,” she said when the story was finished. “They named me Graice for the meaning of that word in Kêltikæn and Nínjìng because that was carved on the ship wreckage. I learned to read when I was three using books my parents owned and I started at the local school soon after. When I was six, a traveling Sistére discovered me. I spent a lot of time in Sistérian schools after that but I go back to Kêltikæ to visit as often as I can.”
“Your family must be good people,” said Holder.
“Yes. They went to a lot of trouble to find out who I was but never succeeded. Later the Sistéria also searched for information about me without success. Holder, have you ever seen any people from Žhìn?”
“Once in Niazport.”
“The first Žhìnian ships found the way to East of the Sea when I was twelve and for the first time people on this side of the world learned what people from Žhìn looked like. Nobody had recognized my appearance before then. Even after that, however, I remained a mystery. None of the Žhìnians who came knew about a lost baby or a ship named Nínjìng and could not explain how someone like me existed,” Graice explained. “Had you guessed that I may have come from Žhìn?”
“Yes. I saw a woman who looked like you getting off one of those embassy ships at the Niazport docks. I don’t mean exactly like you. She had short hair and was older than you are.”
“When was this?” Graice asked.
“Eight years ago. She was one of the Žhìnian ambassadors to the Concordia,” Holder answered. Then he sighed and added, “I wish I could tell you where I was born.”
“I hope you can some day,” Graice replied. Then she told him, “Ever since I was a child, every member of the Sistéria has told me constantly that I’m special. Sometimes I get annoyed about that, but it’s true that I have more talent than other Sistéres.”
“Talent at what?”
“Do you remember those three men in Matik? Did they seem frightened of me?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know why?”
“No.”
“I have an effect on people. All Sistéres do to some extent, especially those who wear red sashes with our robes. Some people think it’s a trick and others say that we’re witches, but neither is true. It’s difficult to explain how or even what I do, but I’m able to adjust the emotions of others. And I don’t just frighten people with my effect; I can make folks feel happy if I want to or amplify their consciences until they feel guilty about their wrongdoings. I also can read facial expressions and other attributes,” she said. There was no point in explaining an Aura to him now. “That makes me very good at detecting whether or not someone is telling the truth and at guessing their thoughts.”
“Can Sybille do the same things?” Holder asked.
“Yes, but not as well as I can. Holder, I need to say something about you now. The first time I met you I realized I had no effect on you at all. I can’t change your mood, not even to cheer you up, and I can’t suggest that you do something you don’t want to do.”
“You know this because you tried and it didn’t work.” Holder was not asking a question.
“You noticed? I thought you knew nothing about Sistéres.”
“I didn’t but I pay attention.”
“I see. Well, I also have almost no success at all when I try to read your expressions.”
“Almost?”
“Occasionally I’ve picked up very small things, undoubtedly because you don’t mind me seeing them,” she explained. “Let me give you an example, Holder. Do you know why you’re sitting facing the north?”
“Actually this is north-northeast,” he said correcting her orientation slightly. In the starlight, she could see his arm as he pointed straight in front of himself. “It’s just a direction. The wagon and campfire are behind us and I’ve already seen those.”
“The Pàçian Mountains are that way, aren’t they?”
“Yes, and so is Amity Pass where the High Road goes through them.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t just random chance that you decided to climb up here, Holder. There’s a reason why you watch in that direction.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I can detect the existence of the motivation, but I can’t see anything about the reason itself. Do you know what it is?”
“No.”
“Then it must be something lost in your memory,” Graice said. “The fact that my talent doesn’t have an effect on you is significant, Holder. Sybille says she met a few people on her travels years ago who seemed immune to her ability, but you’re the only one I’ve been unable to influence. You’re a very special person even if we don’t know who you are.”
“Maybe everyone where I come from is special.”
“Whether that’s true or not, it’s important to discovery your identity,” said Graice and she paused a moment to let that sink in. “I may be able to help you remember.”
His head snapped toward her. “How?”
“I have a technique which has helped other people. Your case is unique, of course, but I think there’s a chance that I can aid you too. The process starts by inducing you into a state much like a dream.”
“You just said your talent doesn’t work on me.”
“I can’t do anything against your will, Holder. I can help only if you cooperate and open yourself to let me into your mind,” Graice said. “You would need to trust me and believe that I want to help you.”
“I do.”
She almost gasped at the suddenness of his reply. “How can you be sure so soon?”
“Do you think you’re the only one who can detect something about a person’s character at first sight?”
This time she couldn’t suppress her gasp. Was he reading her? Could any man be capable of such a thing, especially one who had lost his memory? Before Graice could respond, Holder asked a question.
“How long will this take?”
“I don’t know exactly. More than one attempt, certainly, and there’s no guarantee it will work.”
“If there’s any chance at all, I want to try this,” Holder insisted. “These dreams, as you call them, how long do they last?”
“Just a few minutes each, but first you’ll need to drink an elixir that will put you in a receptive frame of mind and which will make you sleep for an hour.”
“Are you sure just an hour?”
“Yes, no longer than that. Do you mean you’re ready to start now? You can take some time to think about this.”
“I don’t need time. I’m ready but I need to wake up afterwards to stand guard tonight.”
“You need regular sleep too. You haven’t closed your eyes much since we left Matik,” she told him. “Ignacio and I can take turns staying awake.”
“But . . .”
“We don’t need to be expert guards, Holder. We’ll wake you up if anything happens. If you want to do this, don’t argue with me now.” Graice’s tone of voice would have stopped arguments anywhere East of the Sea except with Holder, but he agreed with her for reasons of his own.
“Can we start now?”
“Will you help me climb down the slope?”
“Yes.”
When they returned to the campsite, Graice asked Holder to wait for her in his tent and for Ignacio to bring her a specific bag from the wagon. Then she told Sybille what had happened.
“I never suspected that he would agree so soon,” said Sybille.
“Neither did I but he’s ready. For all of his calm demeanor, he’s eager – or perhaps I should say desperate – to do anything that might help him remember his past life.”
“You haven’t had much time to prepare, Graice. Are you ready?”
“Of course I am.”
“You know that I still don’t approve of this.”
“And you know no one can stop me from trying,” Graice said. “Not even Madrére Sybille Sabidora herself.”
Sybille glared back and said, “And no one else can speak to me as you do.”
“You’ve always told me that I’m exceptional, Madrére. More than anything else, I’m a person of your own creation.” Graice knew that Sybille wanted to say more about the impulsiveness of young people and the value of experience, but Ignacio returned at that moment with the leather bag the Sistére had requested. Graice took the bag but said to Ignacio, “Please give us some privacy. Madrére Sybille and I haven’t finished our conversation.”
“Of course,” Ignacio replied and he moved to a discreet distance away from them. Graice turned back to Sybille.
“I realized before we left Avont House that you were hiding something from me about this trip, Madrére. I let you keep your secret out of respect and love for you, but I can see it’s about me. I’m the reason for this journey. There is no point in concealing it from me any longer.”
“Let me explain . . .” Sybille tried to say but Graice cut her short.
“You’ve foreseen something. Admit it. I deserve to know what your vision told you.”
“Calling it a vision is exaggerating,” said the wisest and strongest Madrére in the Sistéria to the young woman whose talent exceeded any ever known. “All I know is that I have never felt anything as compellingly as this in all my life. You must reach our destination and you will accomplish something truly amazing.”
“Obviously Lucidus is not our final destination.”
“Correct; it’s only a stepping stone.”
“Perhaps helping Holder to remember his past is part of this amazing thing you expect from me, Madrére.”
“I don’t know, Graice. Maybe it is but that can’t be all. The truth is I never saw or felt Holder in any of my foresight. He was a surprise to me when you brought him to the Way-House in Matik. Since my vision occurred before then, he cannot be the entire answer. There is something else to be done, something only you can achieve.”
“Well, I’m going to help him anyway, starting now.” With that, Graice opened the bag and took out a flask and a small metal cup as she turned towards Holder’s tent.
“I should be in the tent with you,” Sybille said. “You’ll be unconscious along with him and you may need help recovering if something goes wrong.”
For a brief instant Graice’s Aura flared in challenge but she immediately calmed herself. “Forgive me, Mother. You’re right but please wait until Holder is asleep before entering.” Sybille nodded agreement and Graice walked to the tent, lifted the flap, and went inside.
Holder sat on the buffoe skin which covered the ground inside the tent and Graice took a seat beside him. “Drink this,” she said as she poured a thimble-full of clear liquid from the flask into the cup. “If you have any questions first . . .”
Before she could finish her sentence, Holder took the cup and threw the elixir down his throat. It had a sharp taste, half sweet and half bitter. He asked, “What next?”
“Lie down on your back with your arms at your sides,” she told him. When he did, she lay down beside him. “Is this position all right with you, Holder?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” he replied as he yawned.
“I do need to touch you. Would you mind if I placed my hand on top of yours?”
“Um . . . no. Go ahead . . .” he mumbled. Then his eyes closed.
“Are you still awake?” Graice asked softly a moment later. When he didn’t reply, she placed her small hand on his large one and then closed her own eyes.