Elaina J. Davidson's Blog, page 368

The King's Challenge #161

TKC 161
Lifting my head, I gaze casually around. The night is dark and our fire is therefore a bright and flickering manipulation of the inkiness we dwell in. Siri allows her scroll to furl and then curls into sleep. Hanna and Joseph start a murmuring conversation. I cannot hear the words, but the low rumble serves to push back the expectancy of the night.
When Kay clambers to his feet, I realise we have all felt the restriction in our surroundings. The whispers from the two Messengers seem to have released us. Kay vanishes into the darkness beyond and soon there is the tell-tale tinkle of another kind of release.
Lowering my head to again hide my face, I play with Lyra’s hair. I know she is aware I use the small action to explain my withdrawal from the others.
Joseph. Is he open to a delve now?
He is, and the Ilfin image comes swiftly. It occurs to me that we have gravitated to each other upon this journey to Arc. Like to like; Ilfin to Ilfin. How uplifting.
My delving for the night will end with Attis. The boy is young, yet wise beyond years. He is a good kid and I will hate to unmask him as something we need to turn our backs on. As Glonu, he would have lived a full life had not the asteroid appeared, but here in Arc he will be the enemy and will be left behind to die. I do not like it. How do we know that every Glonu will become part of the resident beings here? Where is that proof?
Lyra gives a slight hiss and I realise I am pulling her hair. Releasing my hold, I soothe the sensitive area. Then, without further thought, I enter the boy’s mind.
And jerk away instantly.
The Glonu image is a maze, grey-white, an emblem carved into stone.

By all the damn stars!

The King's Challenge #160

TKC 160
The Iflin image is beautiful, and that fills me with joy. It means there is nothing anyone need fear from those with this particular genesis. I hope so anyway.
My inner joy, however, threatens to overcome my outer self. I feel the vibrations ripple over my skin. Lyra lifting her head slightly reveals she feels it as well. Of course she understands why it is happening, and gently squeezes my thigh in support … and warning. No one must become aware of my reaction.
Forcing motionlessness upon myself, I breathe as if I am entering a deeper kind of sleep. The continuing silence surrounding us tells me no one suspects anything. Siri ruffles the parchment as she further unfurls it; she remains unaware also.
I focus next on Lyra and see the triskelion immediately. Lyra and Siri have now established the pattern I seek when delving for Ilfin. Shifting my attention to Horin I see the entire image around him. He is overtly Ilfin and makes no apology for it.
Attis, markedly quiet the last few days, is asleep near Lyra. The two of them spent a few hours talking on the ride towards this rest site, and I wonder now what passed between them. All I know is that Attis seems to have taken on the role of Lyra’s protector.
Suddenly I am wary of the boy’s mind will reveal … and move onto Hanna. Her image is Ilfin. Joseph? I delve there, but nothing comes forth. It means he is blocking my quest, but probably not deliberately. He may be thinking on something else intensively, which creates a barrier for me. I will return to Joseph.
Kay is next. Already I suspect he may be the Glonu among us, based purely on where he comes from, but the Ilfin image swirls inside him. I inhale another slow breath, aware that now I will fully trust the man from the west.

Two missions :)

The King's Challenge #159

TKC 159
Ever after, if there is an after for any of us, I will regard this night at this campfire as the most pivotal time in my life. My name is Damin Mur and I am known as the Marsh Devil, but this night I will become the one who rips masks off. Is there a name for such a creature? Unmasker? Is that a word? Soulslicer? Am I to be known as the Devil Delver?
We are silent after the meal – leftovers from the morning’s rabbit stew – and thus is the crackling from the fire louder than usual. I notice it, and then realise the snapping of burning twigs does not quite cover the terrible sense of expectancy in our surrounds. It feels as if the self-contained world of Arc is waiting, is listening and is judging. Is it judging me? Or will it use what I discover in this silence? Am I the harbinger it needs?
Lyra lies with her head on my lap, her eyes closed. She seems relaxed to the others, but I feel how tense she is … as she is aware of my inner struggle. Siri is curled up on my other side, reading a scroll from Joseph’s personal store in his saddlebags. The Messenger loves reading, and so does my sister.
I glance at her briefly … and understand she is the one who will give to me the Ilfin image. Not only is she relaxed and therefore open, but she will understand why I delve her first if she feels an invasion into her thoughts.
Lowering my chin to my chest, I close my eyes and concentrate. Hopefully the others will think I am in deep thought or dozing where I sit.
Siri’s mind is made of light. The brightness she has inside initially astonishes me. My sister is a Healer indeed, and she walks in goodness. I smile, loving her even more.
Then I see it.
The image. I know it is the one I seek, for never have I seen the like before.
A silvery-blue curved triangle, a leaf at each point and inside, a triple curl design; it shimmers before my mind’s eyes as a mark of benevolence. A triskelion.

Benefits of Reading

The King's Challenge #158

TKC 158
“Trust, Damin?” Lyra says. She pauses there before glancing at Siri. “Give us a moment, please.”
Siri sends me a look I do not have the wherewithal to decipher, and prods her mount forward, leaving me with Lyra in a cocoon of silence.
“You are the revered lady,” I say eventually after trying to avoid Lyra’s expectant gaze. “They trust you and therefore you are effective …”
“Stop there, my husband,” she sighs. “Let us be real. How long will that trust remain when folk understand Arc is a trap? I led everyone into slavery.”
I stare at her, understanding how coiled she is inside, twisted with guilt. “No one knew what awaited here, my love. You cannot assume this burden.”
“But I have and so have you.”
Closing me eyes, I nod. Of course I have. I too led them here.
“Damin, now we do what we can to save as many as we are able to,” Lyra says quietly. “Together. As long as we trust each other, we can do this.”
Drawing in a breath, I open my eyes. “By condemning people because an ancient bloodline now determines their fate? It does not feel right, Lyra.”
“No, it is wrong however we dress it up.”
I jerk to her. “Is there another way?”
She lowers her head. “I hope so.” Swallowing, she then gazes directly into my eyes, her blue and green orbs bright in the sunshine. “Meanwhile we prepare. We do what we must.”
“We sniff for the Glonu among us,” I growl. “In the event there is no other hope of escape. Fine. I will do it at camp tonight. I will delve for the images that set us forever apart.”
“I do not like it either,” Lyra whispers.

I lean in then and draw her into my arms, the horses jostling each other under us. “We are in this together and that is what is important.”

Latitudinarian and Nullifidian

The King's Challenge #157

TKC 157

I realise I need to determine the difference between Ilfin and Glonu as soon as possible. To do so amid the crowd waiting for us on the mountains will cause panic.
How?
The best way is to probe a known Ilfin and a known Glonu … here, away from the rim and those approaching troubles. Ha. Easier said than done indeed. Any Glonu among us will not admit to it and then submit to a probe. He or she will be signing a death warrant.
Lyra has slowed to allow Siri and me to catch up. As we fall in on each side of her, she murmurs, “I wish this burden may be given to another, Damin.”
Reaching out, I take her hand. “I do not hate you and I am sorry I spoke those words.”
“You hate the situation.” Lyra squeezes my hand before taking to the reins again.
I nod, and say no more.
On Lyra’s other side, Siri starts talking and she soon has both of us staring at her.
“Potentially, there are three Glonu with us. Kay, Hanna and Joseph. I think we understand that the rest of us are Ilfin. You, Damin, need a declared Glonu to find your control image and that will not happen for you. My suggestion is to probe all of us without stating distinction. Find the similarities and differences, if any exist, and then keep what you discover close. Do not tell even one among us who is what.”
Lyra lowers her head. “It will cause distrust.”
“Only if Damin reveals anything. He must keep even his expression neutral,” Siri says. “If there is a Glonu with us, he or she is unaware of it … and must then remain unaware.”
“I will be the one no one will trust,” I snarl at my sister.

Social Media explained with Coffee

The King's Challenge #155 and #156

TKC 155 and 156
Siri corners me as we nudge our horses into motion. Swinging into my path, she forces me to stop.
“We need to talk. Let the others get ahead,” she states.
I love my sister, but I know her also. She is usually sweet, but can be stubborn and insistent. Cross her when she has something she feels needs doing and you will pay for days. I know this from experience. When we were younger and I displeased her, she would deliberately drop my food during serving for days … until I apologised.
Thus, here and now, I do as she says. She will probably rope Hanna in and I will not be fed for days.
“I know what you are thinking,” she says.
Quirking an eyebrow, I say, “Really?”
“Right now you think about your stomach,” she grins.
Laughing, I throw my hands in the air. “And I thought I was the Delver!”
Siri eyes me. “Yes, funny that.”
Instantly I swallow my mirth and eye her right back. “Meaning?”
“You never told me.”
“You did not reveal your healing powers,” I rebut.
“I never hid anything, Damin. I merely thought I had an affinity to animals. You, though, knewwhat you could do and said not a word.”
I knee Forest into a slow walk and Siri falls in beside me. The others are a distance ahead of us. “Siri, there’s ten years between us. When I discovered I could hear thoughts you were not even two years old yet. I didn’t not tell you; I simply thought of you as too young.”
“Granted, but when you absconded five years ago I was already heading to my sixteenth birthday.” She lifts both eyebrows and gives me the Siri glare, the one able to strip skin from the boys back home.
“Dad told me to keep it close,” I admit. “He said trouble was coming and it was better that no one knew of my ability.”
Slowly she nods. “The night he died he told me the same, yes.”
I close my eyes as defence against that particular agony. Two months after I left Grenmassin, our father was trampled by the horses in the corral when a lightning bolt struck inside the enclosure. We have not discussed his death, as we have not spoken of how alone Siri must have felt after.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
Her lips tighten. “Never mind that, Damin. It is in the past. And I am sorry as well, for what was said or not said is now also behind us; bringing it up does not help us.”
“What is it, then?” I frown.
“Are you comfortable with your ability?”
“No.”
Again she nods slowly. “But you know how to control it?”
Releasing a breath, I say, “For the most part. What is your point?”
“I am not sure yet. Can you, for example, be specific when searching for an answer?”
“Siri, what? Do you want to know if I probe for whether a person is Glonu or Ilfin that the answer is specific?”
Shrugging, she stares ahead. “I think so. I also wonder, though, if you will receive more than you can accept and …”
“It does not work like that,” I interrupt. “I do not hear thoughts as words; I see emotions as images. Only with Lyra am I able to hear all and I have taught myself to shut it off. She deserves her privacy and I think I do not want to know everything.”
“You prefer the old-fashioned method of discovery?” she laughs.
“With Lyra, absolutely.”
Siri stares at me, realising I do not desire levity in this. “Fine. Emotions as images, Damin? How will that help you tell a Glonu from an Ilfin?”

I glare at my sister. “You assume I will do this.” Jerking away then, I add, “Genetics alter our hidden emotions. I have to use that.”