Prophecy, Child of Earth (69 page)

The stalagmites at the edge of the field ranged from tiny stakes up to Rhapsody's knee to the largest ones that came up to her shoulder. In the depths they were vastly taller, some towering higher than the cottage would have been had it resided on the bottom. As the light from Daystar Clarion touched these formations they took on a magical quality, a soft, glittering beauty that was further enhanced by the encroaching darkness at the edge of the light. They gleamed for a moment as the sword hovered overhead, then slipped back into the inky black of the deep.

Ashe had been right again; with Kirsdarke Rhapsody could breath easily beneath the surface. She kicked to dive even farther down, following his lead. In this part of the lake the formations took on a lacier appearance, rather than the solid heft of the stalagmites at the field's edge. The multicolored rocks became thin and wispy, with fragile extensions reaching out like ghostly arms in the darkness.

In places the frail-looking structures bent from the weight of the water above them, resembling domes and arches. It made the stalagmite field look like a city formed from frosting and spun sugar, a resplendent realm for the dark fish that swam between the rocks, skittering away when the light touched them.

As they passed over a large structure of intertwined green and azure rock threads, a glint of silver caught Rhapsody's eye. She signaled to Ashe, who nodded and dove to retrieve it from the floor of the lake. She followed him down into the enormous underwater basilica, born of dripping water and time, and looked around her in wonder. The upper expanses reached into the lake above her at a height that seemed similar to that of a real basilica, taking her artificial breath away. The sheer size of it astounded her, the thought of this hidden realm, this underwater land lying beneath the surface high above, as well as the thousand feet of dome above that, secreted within the hidden meadow of Kraldurge. It seemed a shame that such exquisite beauty existed, unseen and unappreciated.

Her contemplation was interrupted by a strong arm wrapping around her back.

She turned to see Ashe hovering beside her, his floating hair gleaming in the circle of light. He looked up at the towering formations above them and smiled, nodding as she grinned in response. He leaned near and kissed her, holding the sword as far from their sides as possible. Then he gestured toward the surface.

Reluctantly Rhapsody nodded as well, and swam behind him as they slowly ascended to the air, following the slant of the water as it grew more shallow. They had not gone anywhere near the deepest part of the lake; she could only imagine what treasures were hiding down there in the constant night.

As they retrieved their clothes from the shore, Rhapsody looked at Ashe and smiled. "What did you find down there?" she asked, pointing to the metal object in his hand. He held it out for her inspection. Rhapsody gasped, then burst into laughter. It was the trowel she had been digging with in the meadow when she and Achmed had first discovered Elysian, though it was almost unrecognizable with the coating of pearlescent rockthreads that had attached themselves to it.

'You've seen this before?"

'Yes," Rhapsody said, shaking the sand from her clothes. "It's the reason we found this place. I was planting seeds of heartsease in the meadow above to drive away some of the mournful sadness that hung in the air there, and the ground just swallowed the trowel. I could almost swear I heard it belch. It must have fallen into the lake through one of the holes in the firmament that let in the light."

'That's one for the museum," Ashe commented. He looked at her as she wrapped herself in one of the drying cloths they had left on the lakeshore. Her wet hair was gleaming in the dim light that filtered from above, making her look like a sea nymph smiling at him. He took her in his arms.

'Shall I read more to you from those maps we were looking at earlier?"

Rhapsody sighed. "No, I think we had best get supper started. I was hoping to go back to the Cauldron tonight and spend the evening with Jo. I have a gift I've been waiting to give her for a while. She seems sad lately, and I haven't seen her alone in a very long time. Would that be all right?"

No. Stay. Mine
, whispered the dragon urgently.
My treasure. Don't <>hare
.

"That's fine," he said, squelching the insistent inner voice. "I'll walk you there. Are you planning to stay all night?"

'I'll see how she feels," Rhapsody answered, toweling off her hair. "If things go well, then yes. Maybe she and I can get back to where we left off before—"

'Before I came into the picture and spoiled things."

She glared at him. "Don't finish my sentences unless you know what I am going to say. And that, by the way, wasn't it. Before things changed. Jo is a big girl. I told her what you said to me on the road about the difference in your ages and your life expectancies before I called you back here. She seemed to be fine about it. If anything, it's me who had spoiled things by being selfish and not paying more attention to her. I've just found it so hard to leave Elysian, and you, to go back to the Cauldron." She shuddered involuntarily.

'I don't think being happy qualifies as being selfish all the time, Rhapsody.

You've had some terrible things happen to you in your life. Maybe it's about time things got better for you."

She grinned and reached up to kiss him. "Funny; I think I gave the same speech to you a few days ago."

'Well, I'm not above stealing words if they convey the right message." He kissed her again, and tried to contain the longing in his eyes as she turned to go into the house. "I'll be there in a minute," he called to her.

Rhapsody turned back and smiled at him. "I'll be waiting upstairs. It's summer; I suppose supper can be delayed for a little while." She doffed her drying cloth teasingly, then walked into the house, leaving the door open for him.

Ashe sighed, feeling the warmth that always crept through him when she smiled. He took a deep breath, trying to recall the pain he had carried for so many years, and was unable to. She had cast it out, and filled his soul with a sweetness that was almost tangible. If only it could stay this way.

At the outskirts of his senses the dragon noticed something silver, glinting in the hazy afternoon light. Ashe walked to the edge of the water and looked down. There on the beach amid the rocks and sand was the tiny silver button he had thrown into the lake the morning he had finally let Emily go. He bent to pick it up.

It was still shiny, unmarred by its ordeal, glimmering up at him in his hand. For the first time seeing it brought no tears to his eyes, and no pain to his heart. Emily was a happy memory now, something with which he had come to terms. He could keep her in the back of his heart, tucked away in his memory. He was happy, as he knew she would have wanted him to be.

cXhapsody crept down the cold gray hall, watching furtively for any Bolg that might have wandered into the inner sanctum. It had been a while since she had spent the night in the Cauldron, and she was unsure as to the timing of the changing of the watch, the excuse the Bolg sentries had used in the Past to steal a peek into Achmed's private rooms.

She was dressed in a long blue nightshirt, covered with a hooded robe, and was carrying an enormous basket of sweetmeats from the bazaar in Sepulvarta, a peace offering to Jo, who had seemed distant and testy of late. With any luck, Jo would be alone and open to the idea of a late night chat. Rhapsody shifted the huge hamper to one arm, bracing it against her shoulder, and knocked.

After a few moments the door opened slowly, and Jo looked out from be hind it.

Rhapsody swallowed at the sight of her—she was thinner, with a dullness in her expression and her skin; her straw-colored hair was darker and without its usual shine. She stared past Rhapsody.

'Yes?"

'Jo, are you all right?" Rhapsody asked, concern knotting her stomach and rising into her throat. "You don't look like you feel well."

'I'm fine," she said tersely; then she looked down at Rhapsody. "What do you want?"

'Ah—well, I thought you might, I thought we could have kind of a girls' night again," Rhapsody said awkwardly. "I've missed you, Jo; I've missed our talks and spending time together. If you're not up to it, though, I understand." Her voice trailed off self-consciously.

Jo stared at her for a moment, then her gaze relaxed. "Sure," she said, opening the door wider. "Come in."

Rhapsody handed her the basket. "This is for you. I know how you love bonbons. There was a wonderful confectioner in Sepulvarta who had all kinds of sweets and dried fruits—" She stopped in shock. Jo's formerly messy quarters, once full of carefully scattered possessions to provide hiding places for her most prized valuables, were neat as Rhapsody's own. And the hundreds of small candles Rhapsody had given her were nowhere in sight. In their place was a single lantern, casting a dim light and filling the room with a noxious smell.

Jo took the basket to her bed and sat down, cross-legged, and began sifting through its contents. Rhapsody pulled the jug of spiced mead from the basket and filled the two small cups she had tucked into her robe pockets, leaving one for Jo on her bedside table and taking one with her to the pile of pillows across the room.

She settled into them and took a sip, hoping the warm liquid would ease the conversation that for the first time seemed so labored. It had always been a comfort- bringer with Oelendra.

'So, what's been going on up here?"

'Nothing." Jo unpacked the basket systematically, cursorily examining its contents, setting her preferences aside. Rhapsody took another drink, wondering what had happened to the eagerness, the excitement Jo usually exhibited, unable to keep from diving into presents like these, leaving pieces scattered all around. "The usual, you know; putting down rebellions, capturing and subduing villages, training the army. Nothing interesting." She selected a paper cone of sugared grapes, and threw Rhapsody a packet of sulfured apricots.

Rhapsody watched Jo pop a few into her mouth, noting that she had avoided all of the sweeter confections she normally gobbled down.
Maybe she's just growing
up
, she thought, trying to banish the apprehension that was making the hairs on the back of her neck tingle, and the moment the idea occurred, she relaxed. Of course.

Jo was just maturing; she was human, and she was at the age of change. The thought both comforted her and made her sad.

'I was thinking that maybe you and I need a holiday," she said, pulling the black ribbon from her hair and running her fingers through the glistening tresses. "You know, maybe a journey to some interesting places, just the two of us. What do you think?"

Jo popped another grape into her mouth. "Dunno. How would Ashe feel about it?"

'He's got things to do, too," Rhapsody answered, feeling her eyes drop under Jo's intense gaze. "I'm sure he'll keep busy. Besides, he knows I want to spend time with you."

Jo said nothing, but stretched herself out on the bed, tucking her arms under her head.

'Would you like me to play something for you, Jo? I brought my lark's flute,"

Rhapsody asked, still casting around for a comfortable conversation. "If you want."

Jo's voice was noncommittal.

Rhapsody pulled out the tiny instrument and began a soft melody, aimless and wandering, without repetition. She caught notes from the songs of the forest and the open meadow, soothing and mellifluous. She could see Jo begin to relax, the tight expression on her face ease somewhat. Matching the movement of the shadows from the lantern light, she wove a soothing air that hovered in the room and let it lightly come to rest on her sister.

As soon as Jo seemed comfortable Rhapsody began weaving a suggestion into the song; a subtle hint that she should be forthcoming about whatever was bothering her. She loved Jo far too much to use her music to enchant her or to force her to reveal anything against her will; the tune was just a wordless encouragement. "Rhapsody?" "Yes?"

'Can I ask you something?"

Rhapsody sat forward on the pillows, a look of delight on her face. "Oh, Jo, of course you can, anything," she said earnestly. "Haven't you always been able to?

What do you want to know?"

Jo sat up on the bed and leveled a steady look at her. "Are you going to marry Ashe?"

'No," Rhapsody said. The lantern light flickered across her face, revealing no sadness.

'Why not?"

'We haven't even discussed it. Lots of reasons. He's royalty; I'm a peasant."

'Peasant? I thought you were the Duchess of Elysian."

Rhapsody lobbed a pillow at Jo's head, enjoying the return of their old camaraderie. "All right, I'm Firbolg royalty. Which, by the way, equates to something
beneath
Cymrian peasantry."

'Snobs," said Jo. "Hang them and their stuck-up pretensions." She downed the mead in her glass, then refilled it from the jug. Rhapsody held out her own glass, and Jo poured.

'Can I ask you something else?" Jo looked at her intently.

'Of course."

'When you lost your virginity, did it hurt?"

'No."

'You're lucky."

'Why, Jo?" Rhapsody asked, her stomach turning to ice suddenly. "Are you—are you all right?"

Jo shrugged.

Rhapsody searched her face, concern washing over her like a cold ocean wave.

"What are you saying, Jo? You're not a virgin anymore?"

Jo looked at the wall. "No. And it still hurts. I haven't really felt right since."

Rhapsody came to her, sat on the bed and drew the taller girl into her arms. She stroked her hair and kissed her forehead tenderly, rocking slightly to comfort her and to avoid letting Jo see the look of anxiety on her own face. "What do you mean you don't feel right? Tell me what's wrong."

Jo said nothing. Rhapsody pulled back gingerly and looked into her face; as Jo tried to turn away she gently rested her palm on Jo's cheek and looked into her eyes.

'Tell me, Jo. I'll help you, whatever it is."

Jo watched her for a long time, still not speaking, and Rhapsody made note of her haggard appearance, the graying of her skin, the loss of weight in her face and hands. Finally she said, "I can't keep anything down. My stomach feels strange all the time. My whole body aches. Everything hurts."