Chapter 23

Elara sucked in a sharp breath. Why was she here? Her mouth was suddenly dry, and her throat felt tight. Mother Nightbloom’s eyes, usually kind and caring, pierced her heart. She hated letting this woman down, disappointing the only person she had considered a mother.

She felt a hot tear on her cheek. Her shame lanced through her head, heart, and soul. Sister Eclipse’s look of scorn and derision welled up in her mind. Without even looking at the sister, she knew a frown of disappointment was there, combined with the underlying expectation of failure the older woman had.

Her lips trembled. She forced her shoulders back. Whether self-pity or pride, she would not let her failure define her.

“I was attacked, Mother,” she managed to say. And spelled, and cast out, and tormented with a need to search and return, she wanted to add.

“I was sent from our world,” she motioned to Finn, unable to say what her task in his world was. The geas forbade it.

Finn stepped to her side, grasping her hand.

Mother Nightbloom frowned but then nodded at his steady gaze.

“She was sent to find a powerful man in my world,” he said, taking up her story. “She helped me until we were nearly caught and then brought us back to your realm. She is operating under a geas, we think. She can scarcely speak of it.”

Mother Nightbloom tipped her head and raised an eyebrow. Her gaze returned to Elara once more. She stood silent, contemplating.

“Sister Eclipse, take this man to a guest apartment and see to his needs. I’m sure he would like to clean up from his journey. Master Thorne,” she said without looking at the ranger. “You may stay in the temple as well, unless you have business elsewhere.”

“Thank you, Mother Nightbloom,” he replied in hid deep, soft baritone. “I’ll linger a day for my companion,” he paused, “who got separated on our journey.” He bowed and turned to leave as Sister Eclipse moved to Finn’s side.

Elara kept her gaze on the highest priestess of her order, waiting for a command. The door shut behind her with a muffled thump.

“You’ve had a trial,” Mother Nightbloom said as she moved closer and brushed her fingers against Elara’s cheek.

The touch of gentle care wiping at her tears was too much. A sob ripped from her throat. She fell forward, clinging to her high priestess and crying.

“There, there, Elara. You’re home safe now,” she heard whispered in her ear.

“But I’ve failed, Mother. I insisted I was ready for my trials, despite all the warnings and arguments, and now I’m back over a month late, and have failed. My dreams are over. I’ve let the goddess down. I’ve let my sisters down. I’ve let you down!” She cried out.

Comforting arms hugged her, and she felt a soothing stroke of fingers on her back. “Let’s not speak of failure, daughter. Let’s focus on what’s next. Let’s sit and talk about your adventures.”

Elara let herself be guided to the plush couches set in a neat arrangement to one side of the room. The Mother settled her, then moved to a small tea service along the wall and returned a moment later with steaming cups for them both. She sat and sipped her tea, waiting until Elara had composed herself.

“There are things I can’t say,” she began. Mother nodded, understanding.

“I was captured in Fenward. I was held for two days and then cast out of our world with a spell. I had to find a man of power in that strange world.”

She spilled her story as well as she could, the strange wonders of that world with its masses of people and the hustle and bustle of its cities. She shared her fear of needing to find an evil person who would willingly help the dark mage. Then she spoke of Finn’s quest to expose the corrupt, powerful, evil men and women he thought were hurting his people and imperiling their way of life. She talked of helping him, of chasing and being chased. She shared the realization that Finn was the prey she needed to find. Then she told of their near capture.

“I stopped resisting the pull I was under, Mother. I let it pull us back here, to Alysia. We landed in the wilds of the In-Between and managed to meet Thorne. He guided us back here, insisting, lest the...” She could not speak of the spell.

Mother Nightbloom patted her hand and gave her a weak smile.

“If you were placed under a geas, child, we will help you remove it. Now, tell me more of this world.”

She launched into questions probing Elara and Finn’s story. What time of year was it? What moon phases did she see? How did Finn respond to her magic?

“He did not believe at first,” Elara admitted, “but then did once given proof. It was difficult to reach the goddess from that place, Mother. It was as if she could not hear my prayers, and I could scarcely feel her power. But when I prayed for her to aid me, and concentrated as we are taught, she did.”

Mother Nightbloom smiled. “And when you prayed for her to help you with him, she answered as well, did she not?”

Elara’s eyes widened. Mother Nightbloom smiled more broadly.

“I communed with our goddess, my child. I knew she was watching over you. The difficulty was the differences in time and distance. Finn’s world is alien to us in so many ways. It may be what Malachi, the dark mage who captured you, most wants. That difference has given Finn’s people a unique perspective on the very fabric of our universe.”

Differences in time. Elara latched onto that phrase. “What do you mean?” She asked after repeating the words.

“You began your trials only twenty days ago, on Elysia. You have not yet failed, even though you should not have returned to the temple this soon,” she added.

Finn followed Sister Eclipse from the room. The stern-faced sister walked with the same grace Elara always had, as if deigning to touch the earth with her toes. Finn knew her steps would be silent. Her dark gown was flattering, shimmering with a hint of starlight in silver flecks within the fabric. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, accentuating her long neck. In fact, she could be Elara’s older sister in many regards, half-sister at least. She was attractive.

Finn shook his head and concentrated on the path they tread. They turned right from the high priestess’s room, then down the passageway, then up a broad, spiral stair to the next floor, then left, continuing further away from the center of the temple where Elara remained.

They stopped at another wooden door, a silver plaque on its face with words Finn could not decipher. He focused on the shapes and hoped it was different enough from any other door that he could find it again. Sister Eclipse opened the door, stood aside, and motioned Finn inside.

The room was not as large or ornate as the priestess’s chambers had been, but it was larger than Finn expected. The walls were adorned with intricate lunar motifs in soft shades of silver, blue, and white, creating an atmosphere of calm and serenity. A bed was in a far corner, covered with rich dark fabrics and plush pillows. A simple desk and chair balanced the room, along with a pair of comfortable looking chairs. A doorway was set in the far wall.

“Baths are through there,” Sister Eclipse said as she followed his gaze.

Finn nodded, not knowing the social norms of reply or thanks in this world. “Thank you, Sister. What of my pack and other belongings?”

The priestess nodded. “I’ll have them sent up.”

“Thank you. And is there a place I could get some food, perhaps?”

Sister Eclipse cocked her head. “Get cleaned up,” she commanded, “and I’ll return with your pack. Then I can take you to the common dining hall, and you can tell me more of your world and your time with Acolyte Elara as we eat.”

Finn swallowed hard. He did not know or understand the politics of this world, and that frightened him. He was a pawn here, he feared. He forced a smile.

“That is greatly appreciated, Sister,” he said with a small bow to her.

Once she left, he stepped through into the room’s bath. A deep tub, almost a pool, was set in the floor, adorned with colored tiles in a repeating pattern. Steam rose from the surface and towels sat ready on a bench nearby the steps descending into the pool. The sound of gently running water could be heard in the walls behind what was obviously their version of indoor plumbing. Buckets and sponges were visible along one wall.

Finn hurriedly stripped, took care of his bodily needs in the archaic water closet, and then filled a bucket with hot water from the inlet tap on the pool before scrubbing the dirt of the road from his body. Once relatively clean, he stepped down and into the hot water of the soaking pool. A ledge was situated perfectly to keep his head above water when seated. He leaned back, letting the warmth soak into him.

“Master Finn,” he heard as Sister Eclipse returned. She stepped into the bathing chamber and smiled for the first time since meeting him. “I see you are nearly clean, sir,” she said with a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

“I’ve brought your pack. I’ll wait out here until you are ready.”

Finn nodded and waited until she stepped out before rising, grabbing a towel and climbing the steps from the pool. After months of living closely with Elara, the thought of another attractive woman spending time with him was enticing. If Elara was acting on her geas, did he dare flirt with Sister Eclipse? Did he want to?

He dried himself and then pulled on the same leather pants he had worn for the day. They had loosened some during their trek and now felt quite comfortable on him. Leif, their missing companion, had told him they would loosen and soften with wear. The moccasins, with limited arch support, were another matter. Those he wished would grow harder, at least on the soles. He walked into the main room a few moments later and crossed to his pack to retrieve one of the local shirts Elara had purchased for him.

He noticed Sister Eclipse watching him. Was it curiosity or hunger, he wondered. She frowned. Out of habit, he had grabbed his phone from his messenger bag.

“What’s that?” She asked.

Finn blushed. It’s not like he could answer a call here. “It’s a device from my world. I’m usually carrying it. I guess I don’t need it here,” he finished.

“What does it do?” Sister Eclipse asked, rising from the chair she had perched on and coming closer to him.

“It can be used to talk to another over a long distance,” Finn said as he turned it on. He was surprised to see the battery indicated fully charged. It looked like the quantum tap he had fiddled around with to connect to an infinite power source worked even in this strange world.

“My people use them to access information, communicate, take pictures, order food, summon transportation, play music, watch movies, and even play games,” he said.

He glanced at the network indicator. How was it possible for him to still show a signal? No wireless carrier worked in these worlds.

“I don’t know what many of those things mean,” she said, frowning again.

“I’ll show you,” Finn said as he raised the phone and snapped a photo of her. “Look,” he said as he pulled the image up on the screen.