Coil of Worlds

That evening Lara left the dining hall after scrubbing the dishes in the kitchen. She held her hands at eye level and cringed at the sight. The soap had cracked the skin along her fingertips. After asking and receiving a blank stare, she knew lotion was nonexistent here. With the combination of weapons practice and the astringent soap, the skin on her hands felt chapped and raw. The beginnings of calluses were forming under and around the blisters on the pads of her palms and fingers. The hot water had popped a few of the larger ones, leaving behind open, weeping sores.

She dropped her hands in disgust. Lara turned toward the setting sun and tried to follow the hidden path that led down to the small outcrop of rocks. Because the flora had taken over the rarely traveled path, she lost her way several times, backtracking to a point on the route she recognized.

By the time she reached the pile of stones on the bluff, Lara had walked a couple miles. She hopped from stone to stone until she found the perfect seat to watch the setting sun over the water. She looked down at the crashing waves that tumbled toward the cliffs and the large boulders that rose above the water. She peered over to the right and studied the view, shoving her hair out of her eyes for a better look.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Jutting out from the straight coastline, the cliff’s edge had been serrated into straight, vertical lines, as if a giant comb had brushed through the rock face. Below, where the water met stone, the vertical lines had been smoothed away, leaving a darker color in its place.

She stared into the distance, watching as the water built into gigantic waves. She counted the waves as they came in, scanning the width of the ocean for the beginning ripples farther out from the coastline. The wind brought the sound of the waves crashing up to her from below, and she relaxed back into her stone chair. The bright sun made her squint. It reminded her of a conversation she had had with Tryvor on one of the first days at the school.

When she learned the school was above ground, she’d wondered aloud how the Kurites could handle the sun. Etheme, Audren, and Tryvor had laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. They explained that the Tal’Ai bonds altered the eyes of the human Kurites, allowing them to enjoy the light of the sun without the disadvantage of sensitive eyes. She thought the change interesting, especially since many of the large cats on Earth had eyes adapted for hunting at night. Having human eyes transform into Paka eyes had given her several minutes of perplexity before she decided to list it alongside every other strange thing she’d seen.

Lara sat up from her perch and rested her chin in the palm of both hands. Similar to what Chion had told her, the trainers related how the Kurites were originally born under the sun and sky. They retreated to caves below ground after the last great battle, thus ending the second age and beginning the third.

The fluctuation caused from the magic of that battle had rebounded across all the land claimed by the Kurites, sweeping through the high reaches of the mountains and down into the valleys. Homes and castles turned to rubble; the roads turned into sifting pebbles. The magic had crept across the plains and into the forests, leaving behind a barren landscape that, over time, had turned into a sea made of sand.

Not wanting to forsake the land of their ancestors, the people went below the ground, building cities connected by tunnels. As time passed, something inexplicably strange happened. The magic from above seeped into the ground, affecting the animals, the roots of the long-destroyed trees, and the people.

Over generations, children began to exhibit an ability to see in the dark, their eyes changing to a lighter blue. As the Pakas were sentient beings already filled with latent magic, they were the only ones not affected. Now, the magic resided in the stone walls, even as the Tal’Ai traditions became a thing of the past. Fewer and fewer Tal’Ai formed bonds with each generation. In previous centuries, there were five or six schools located on the edge of the Gais Desert that were used to provide the training this one school now did alone.

Thinking of the Tal’Ai bond inevitably led her thoughts to Chion. During one of her first trips to this world, Lara had met Chion and bonded with him by accident. She tilted her head on its side and laid her cheek down on her knees, wrapping her arms around her knees.

She wondered where Chion was. Against their desires, Chion and Lara had been persuaded to go separate ways. She remembered the heated discussion they had had with Etheme, the High Councilor. After they shared their story about how they met and what they believed the markings on their foreheads meant, Etheme had decided the best course of action was to send Skye and Lara to the Tal’Ai school. Eiren, Skye’s bonded Ai, and Chion were sent on an errand to locate any information regarding the marks in the historical scrolls.

Both Eiren, a small, black paka, and Chion had been unwilling to leave their Ai alone after their near tragic demise. The trial had almost ended with both Skye and Lara’s death. Two days after the trial, both pakas, Skye, and Lara were still shaken at the close call. Eiren was incapable of speaking to anyone but Skye. As such, she had steadfastly refused to leave his side. But the councilor persisted until all four had agreed, though their reluctance was clear.

Etheme believed Lara’s appearance and Skye’s unique situation was not a coincidence. His argument that their bonds were somehow important to the welfare of Kureto persuaded them, though neither Etheme nor his bonded Ai could think of the mysterious purpose. The only avenue open for them to resolve whether the marks were representative of a deeper meaning was to send the pakas to search the aged scrolls.

When Lara mentioned traveling with Chion to the libraries in the Kurite cities, Etheme had shaken his head. Much to her displeasure, both Lara and Skye had to master their magical ability. Until they gained the necessary control, they were vulnerable to its power. Their powers were too strong to not receive the proper training.

Their power, without being trained, could lead to their deaths, and the deaths of others. Without the control she’d learn at the school, Lara’d never be able to enter a city without losing consciousness. As for Skye, he might never discover the magic he held until it flared at a potentially devastating time.

She remembered sharing a look of understanding with Skye. They both feared their abilities. Their personalities abhorred losing control of their bodies, their lives, their futures.

Chion and she both disliked the thought of leaving the other’s side, but it was necessary. If they were ever to figure out whether they had a destined purpose, the time was now.

They hoped the scrolls in the Malkese great library would provide the answers they sought. Otherwise, both Chion and Eiren would be forced to travel to the other cities, scouring the libraries for any hints of the marks.

No one mentioned that the marks might be new, something the world had never seen, for it meant that no amount of reading or searching would assist them with the answers they coveted.

The sky became a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors as the sun sank down past the horizon. She watched as the sky darkened to a deep, bluish purple. When the sun finally set, and the deepening sky made it difficult to see her surroundings, she rose with a groan. Sitting still for so long had stiffened her muscles into granite blocks. Lara spent some time stretching before climbing back up to the path that led to the school. The shadows hid the path, and she stumbled as her toes hit raised rocks.

For some ironic reason, her ability to see below ground didn’t translate to night vision. For as long as she could remember, she’d always had horrible depth perception at night, worse than the average person. Trying to distinguish shadows from the ground was especially difficult this time of day. When she stumbled again, Lara cursed herself for losing track of time. She had wanted to watch the sunset, but getting lost was rather worrisome. No one knew where she was.

Lara lifted her head and scanned the area around her. The trees hid any sign of the school’s direction. In the pale beams of the twin moons peeking through the tree cover, she could make out a small depression in the ground. Crossing her fingers, hoping she was going in the right direction, Lara wound through the trees. She almost screamed when her shirt jerked in the other direction, but chuckled when she saw it snagged on a tree branch. A few seconds spent undoing the sleeve of her shirt, and she was on her way again.

Lara cocked her head when she heard a muffled crunch of leaves off to the right. She froze. Was it an animal? When she heard the sound again, closer this time, she strained to see something move beneath the heavy canopy of leaves. Her right hand crept toward her hip to finger the sword’s pommel, hesitant to draw the weapon until she knew what was out there. She flinched when a shadow separated itself from the trunk of a tree.

A soft voice called out, “What are you doing?”

Lara dropped her hand and scowled, knowing Skye couldn’t see her expression. She waited until Skye was within touching distance before she answered, “I was on my way back to the school. What are you doing out here?”

“I was looking for you.”

Lara’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He was looking for her? Why did he care? Before and during the trial, Lara thought they had forged a tenuous friendship. Thinking the friendship would continue once they began their training, she had been hurt when he rebuffed her at every turn. Apart from the time she spent working during the day and speaking with the two teachers, she rarely spoke.

She’d begun wandering the grounds by herself, trying to gain a certain perspective without the assistance of Chion. With Chion too far away to speak through their bond, loneliness assaulted her on a daily basis. The separation had created a small hole in her psyche where the Tal’Ai bond was located.

Lara absently rubbed her chest. She hadn’t realized the constant presence of the other Ai was necessary for her well-being. If she was honest, she was depressed, and becoming more so as the days dragged on.

Mentally shaking herself for getting lost in thought, she tried to find something to say to fill the void. But the only thing she could think of was to ask, “Why?”

When she saw the dark outline of his brows lower, she expanded her question, “Why now? Why are you looking for me? Why do you care?”

She almost rolled her eyes when he ignored her questions. So, it was business as usual. Skye had become quite taciturn over the last several weeks, making it impossible to read his thoughts from his facial expressions. After the first week of indifference on his part, she’d grown tired of trying to converse with him. When he just stood there, Lara turned away from him, feeling slighted yet again.

Lara stepped away from him with the intention of following the trail back to her bed. She was exhausted. He irritated her in his stoic attempt to reduce her to nothing but a nuisance. Skye didn’t make a sound, but his large, calloused hand gripped her upper arm, bringing her to a screeching halt. She glared up at him.

“What is your problem? If you don’t want to talk to me, fine, but don’t expect me to stay around you.” His hand reflexively tightened on her arm at her words. She demanded through gritted teeth, “Let me go. Now.”

Stepping in closer to her, he gentled his grip, though he didn’t let go. Skye said softly, “I wondered why you avoid me.”

Uncomfortable with how close he was to her, she tried to step sideways, putting space between them. His casual strength held her where she stood. Her heart sped up. How well did she know Skye? Who was he really? As she raised her eyes to look up at him, Lara noticed, all at once, how big the man was. He was so tall he blocked out what little light pierced the tree cover. All she saw was a dark shadow—a man-shaped silhouette.

Would he hurt her? She didn’t know the answer, and her fear grew.

He shook her a little in an attempt to get her to answer. “Tell me, why have you avoided me?”

The question startled her, making her stop thinking of ways to escape as Lara stared up into his face. She retorted, “You think I have avoided you? Are you serious?” She scoffed in disbelief. “I quit talking to you because you wouldn’t even look at me. You ignored every attempt at conversation. Why in the world would I want to talk to someone who acts like I don’t exist?”

At last Skye released her. The sudden loss of pressure had her falling backward before she regained her footing. He ran his hand through his loose hair.

“You are a strange woman.” His honest befuddlement had her snickering in response.

Still curious as to why he was in the woods, she asked again, “Why did you want to find me?”

She heard him sigh before answering, “I haven’t seen you since dinner. You vanished. It made me curious.” He shrugged. “I tracked you to the trail and followed it.”

Lara frowned at him, then she looked behind her. She pointed to where he came out of the trees. “If you were following the trail, what were you doing over there?”

A deep chuckle filled the small clearing where they stood. “I believe you lost the trail. This,” he pointed down to where they stood, “is not the trail.”

She peered down at the ground below her feet and then around. Suspicious, she asked, “Are you playing a trick on me?”

His chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh, something she hadn’t heard since the day they heard the outcome of their trial. Lara almost smiled in return, except she didn’t like being laughed at. She crossed her arms.

His dark features shook with his amusement. He said, “No, this isn’t. You made a wrong turn a while back. I was tracking you. I saw your shirt at a break in the trees, so instead of going around this copse of trees, I went through them.”

He drew up beside her and pushed her forward with a hand on her back. “Come. I’ll take us back to the main grounds.” He was silent for a moment before he asked, “I’m curious. You could see well in the tunnels?”

She nodded her head. “Of course.”

“And you can’t see your way in the dark now?”

Somehow sensing his glee despite the neutral tone, she glared at him. Just her luck, her shin met a fallen tree branch. She let loose an epithet. It was so unfair. She leaned over to rub the spot.

“That answers my question.”

“Happy?” she asked in a voice laden with sarcasm.

Again, the man ignored her question for one of his own. “I was under the impression your world was also underground. I assumed you’d be able to see at night. What is your world like?”

Twisting her foot to make certain she could put weight on it, Lara sighed. “No, you are right. I can see very well in the tunnels. And before you ask, I’ve no idea why. Although there are tunnels on Earth, we require light to see. But my people tend to live above ground, somewhat similar to this.” She waved her hands to encompass the area and the sky. She rubbed the palms of her hands over her eyes before continuing, “I never could judge distances at night. My vision goes all weird on me.”

Skye grunted, leading her back to the trail with a nudge here and there. “Audren told me you have mastered the imagery for your magic.”

“Yeah, Tryvor made me wade into the pond first.” Hearing her obvious disgruntlement, he grunted, though he sounded more amused than anything.

“My power, if I have any, hasn’t shown itself. I am beginning to fear it will not.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the right, bringing her attention to the small boulder in front of her.

“I doubt Etheme would lie about something this important. If I have a power—and remember I’m from another world, then surely you have one, too.”

“Perhaps you are right; except, I am fast running out of patience.” He grabbed her shoulder to stop her in her tracks. “Step over the branch.”

Following his instruction, she gave a short, self-deprecating sigh. “I would have gotten myself completely lost. Thanks for coming and finding me.” There was a short, companionable silence before she asked the man striding beside her, “Do you miss her?”

He didn’t answer her right away, but the silence didn’t feel awkward, so she didn’t rush to fill the emptiness. After a while, he answered, “Yes, I miss her. Without her presence, I am feeling the loss of my homeland most acutely. Do you?”

“There’s no doubt. I feel both the loss and lost at the same time.” After a moment, she admitted, “I’m homesick, too. My family and friends, of course, but it’s the small things I miss the most.”

“What do you mean?”

She smiled a little, knowing he wouldn’t understand. “There are so many things that I’m not sure I can list them all.” He snorted at the statement, but she ignored him, “Let’s see. I miss private showers the most.” She shivered at the delicious thought.

“Showers. I recall you mentioning this word before. But why private?”

“It’s the only way to take a relaxing shower. My culture is really different from here. Women and men don’t bathe together in public baths. There aren’t any public baths. Bathing is a private, individualized activity. I’m really uncomfortable bathing in the nude in front of men and women.”

She somehow knew Skye smiled at her words. “My culture is not a mirror of Kureto. We have public baths. But there are separate baths for men and women. It is taboo for the two to bathe together.”

“That’s why you looked so relieved when I didn’t join you in the bath with Audren and Tryvor.”

The only acknowledgement he gave was a soft snort. “I was disturbed, at first, at the practice of pakas entering the baths along with humans.”

She said with a laugh, easily following his thought, “All that hair.”

He gripped her upper arm to stop her from falling over in a pile of wind-milling arms.

She murmured, “Thanks.”

More at ease with the tall warrior next to her, she asked, “Why didn’t you speak to me before?” Lara was glad her voice wasn’t filled with self-pity but instead sounded curious.

Almost as if he struggled putting his answer into words, Skye said in short, thoughtful spurts, “Pyran is a kingdom in which the men are held separate from women. Women are meant to be sheltered, protected from the public’s eyes.”

She shuddered at the picture his words created. “So, the women don’t have any power?”

“They hold power, but it is behind the walls of the home. To me, the Kurite society is calamity. With women holding seats of power and wielding weapons like any man. It is inconceivable to me.”

“Is that why you didn’t talk to me?”

With a gentle hand on her shoulder, Lara was pulled to a stop so that he could face her. Staring down at her with an expression she couldn’t quite define, he admitted in a low voice, “I have never spoken to a woman, except to those that reside in the Houses.”

Confused, she parroted, “Houses?”

Though she couldn’t see the blush that stole across his face, Lara did observe Skye’s sudden shifting. Of course. Stupid, Lara. She was so incredibly slow.

“Nevermind,” she muttered in rush.

Skye lifted his hand to her mouth, silencing her before she could say anything further. At first, she thought he was too embarrassed to discuss how he otherwise passed the time. But when the tall Pyranni swiveled his head to peer into the darkness around them, Lara knew something had caught his attention.