I lunged at her, sprang to insert myself between them, to protect her… but my hands closed on empty air. The echo of the spell he’d cast resounded in my head like a curse, and I looked around wildly, hoping to see some sign of Avani. But she was gone.
“Where… where did they go? Where did he take her?” I demanded frantically, turning to Rishi, Sharmila, and Chanda, who were all nearly as stunned as I was.
Sharmila shook her head while Chanda turned and smashed her fist into the castle wall in anger. Arthur was speechless with shock, and Dylas was nearly as frantic as I was. However, Rishi remained silent, apparently deep in concentration, oblivious to Dylas’s vociferous swearing and my rants. After a moment, he turned to me and said, “I cannot see. He must have learned of our telepathic link somehow and has blindfolded her.”
“Is she all right? Is he hurting her? Tell me everything—anything!” I demanded, grabbing his shoulders.
“She… she is afraid, but not for herself. She fears for your children… and for you. But fear is not foremost in her heart or mind at the moment.”
“Then what is?” I asked, frustrated by his slow responses.
“Hatred. Seething, black hatred such as I have never before felt in her. If it consumes her, I don’t know what she may do.”
“But where is she? We have to find her!” I pounded my fist into my hand, infuriated by my helplessness.
After a pause, Sharmila spoke. “He can only teleport to places that he knows. Of course, I don’t know for sure where that might be, but I think if he were seeking someplace he could envision quickly and accurately, it would be in or near our village—the places he knows best. But… I don’t think he’d take her back to their house. He might—but as that would be a logical place to start looking for them, I think he’d pick another place. Though he might still stop there first.”
For once, Dylas stepped up as the level-headed, collected one, and putting a hand on my shoulder, he said, “Come on, let’s prepare ourselves, then we’ll hunt them down. Remember, she’s strong—you know just how strong—and we’ll find her no matter what it takes. Now pull yourself together, man. You can’t be going all to pieces now. She needs you—her and your kids.”
I nodded and straightened up, forcing the rising panic back down. I looked at him and took a deep breath. “All right. Sharmila, can you at least take me to your village and to his house? As you said, it’s a logical starting point for my search. After that….”
“After that, we will assist you however we can to find Avani,” she replied calmly, and I looked at her in surprise. “We love her, too, Leon. And while we may be helpless to fight against… against….”
“Against Bhima,” Chanda spat, and Sharmila whirled and stared at her, shocked. “For too long we’ve refused to name him, Sharmila. For too long we’ve strengthened him with our fear. No more. I won’t have it. You may be helpless to fight him, but I will fight him, and I will save her, as she once saved me—or I will die trying.”
“And I won’t rest until she’s safe at home,” Dylas added. “She saved me, too, you know, in more ways than I can say, and I sure as hell won’t abandon her when she needs me most.”
Rishi nodded. “Sharmila and I are not fighters. Would that we were…. But we will do what we can to help you find her—then it will be up to you to save her from him.”
“Then, everyone, prepare yourselves for departure. How quickly can you be ready to go?” I asked Sharmila.
“Teleporting in that manner is a tremendous drain on our resources, and I am still fatigued from my travels to and fro yesterday. I need a little time to restore myself before attempting further teleportation. I think I could be ready in as little as three hours.”
I groaned inwardly, but nodded agreement. “15:00 it is, then. We’ll all meet here. Dylas, let’s go get our gear ready. Chanda, are you armed?” She shook her head, and I suggested she come with us to see if we had anything that worked for her in our stores. First, though, I said I’d need to test her, to determine her skills.
“What types of combat are you trained in?” I asked her as the three of us descended to the storeroom.
“Avani trained me herself,” she said with a proud lift of her chin. “She taught me to use a short sword, a long sword, and a spear, as well as in hand-to-hand combat. I think I’m best with my fists or with a long sword.”
Dylas snorted. “Your fists, huh? Well, we’ll see about that—that’s my specialty. And I gotta say, I can’t see someone as small as you managing a long sword very well. You’re even tinier than Avani!”
She stiffened at his skepticism, and I grinned to myself. I don’t know if he was intentionally rubbing her the wrong way, to try to put her off her game, or if he was just being Dylas—either was equally likely. I tossed her a pair of lightweight gloves and a wooden sword, tossed another set of gloves to Dylas, and grabbed a safety lance. “Let’s get to it, kids. We don’t have time to waste arguing.”
We hurried back out to the courtyard, but finding it still swarming with agitated townsfolk, we quickly exited through the gates before we could be stalled by concerned friends. There was a small clearing just west of the town gates, and that was where we headed.
I told Dylas to wait to the side while I started, and told Chanda to choose her weapon. I gave her just a brief instant to make up her mind, than attacked her with my lance.
“Hey, wait!” she yelled in protest, jumping out of the way of my weapon. “I wasn’t ready yet!”
“Do you think your enemy will give you time to plan your best course of action? Do you think he’ll stand patiently and let you have that advantage?” I shouted, whirling and sweeping my lance low, knocking her feet out from under her. “No! He’ll take every advantage he can get, and deny you whatever he may! You need to think fast and act faster—now on your feet!”
She scrambled up and crammed the gloves into her belt, then she gripped her practice sword, facing me with flashing eyes. My lips curved into a mirthless grin, and I said, “You finally ready? You think you can take me? Then come and get me… if you can!”
She lunged at me, swinging her practice sword. I jumped to the side, using my lance as a pole to vault past her, then jerking it free from the soft earth, I swung it around, catching her in the back of her head and sending her sprawling. She jumped up and spun around, seething, then crouched and leapt into the air, a feeble imitation of one of Avani’s moves. I quickly raised my lance and used it to block her blow and to shove her away, knocking her onto her back.
I leaned against my lance and looked down at her in amusement, saying, “You say Avani trained you? I find that rather difficult to believe.” I looked over to Dylas and nodded, and he strolled over, pulling his gloves on.
Chanda jumped up, throwing her practice sword to the side as she, too, pulled out her gloves. “And why is that?” she snarled as she lunged at us, attempting to knock us both down at once.
We jumped easily aside, avoiding her fist, then I whirled around, striking her in the back with my lance. “Because…” I said as she staggered under my blow.
Dylas dove in and knocked her feet out from under her with a sweeping kick. “…Avani…” he said, continuing my words.
Then I swept my lance beneath her, catching her up and flinging her into the air, while Dylas caught her by her legs midair and flung her down onto the ground.
Standing over her as she lay panting, sweat dripping into her eyes as she stared at us in disbelief, we said as with one voice, “…trained us.”
We helped her to her feet, still stunned and humiliated by her rapid trouncing. “I-I…” she stammered, her face red.
I patted her on the back. “Don’t sweat it, Chanda. Dylas and I are among the best in Norad, probably second only to Avani herself. And she trained you when she was just a kid, and still in training herself. She’s come a long ways since you last saw her. But… you’d better plan to sit this fight out. I don’t know what… what was his name? Her so-called husband—what he’s capable of, but from the sound of it, he’s someone to be reckoned with. I don’t want you to put yourself—or anyone else—at risk. So I’ll leave you to take care of Avani while I deal with what’s-his-name.”
“You mean while we deal with him,” Dylas said, scowling at me.
“We’ll see,” I said, then turned and headed back to town.
I decided to bring Baldur with us. I knew that if there was any hope of tracking her scent, he would be our best chance at success. My sense of smell was greatly enhanced, but it still paled in comparison to his. After some thought, I also decided to bring the foxes. They might be able to sense her in ways that no one else could, as they were creatures of spirit rather than flesh.
By 15:00, we were gathered together and ready to depart. Arthur offered to accompany us, but I declined—I had no idea what dangers might lie ahead, and I was not willing to have a Prince’s death on my conscience if things went badly.
Looking at Chanda, Sharmila said, “All right, we’ll teleport directly to Bhima’s house, just outside the front door. Are we agreed?” Chanda and Rishi nodded, and Sharmila gave her assignments. “Leon, I’ll take you. Chanda, you take Dylas. Rishi, since Avani’s wolf seems to have taken a liking to you, please take him with you. Leon, your foxes must be on your person or mine, or they will be left behind.” I looked at her in surprise, and she smiled. “Yes, I can sense them—I am a seer, after all.”
Dylas and I put on our armor and grabbed our weapons. Chanda grabbed Dylas’s arm, Rishi held on to Baldur’s collar, and Sharmila linked her arm with mine, holding Sano in her free arm while I held Uno. In unison, the three Ventuani cried out “Vrajati!” and all went black.
Before I could even gasp in shock, I was blinking in the brilliant sunshine of a tropical afternoon. Before me was a good-sized stone house with large glass windows and a door painted crimson. A metal roof with a wide overhang shaded the windows from the intense sun. All around us was nothing but deep, dense forest and lush fields.
It took me a moment to get my bearings, then I raced up the stone steps to the door and flung it open. Bolting inside, the others following close behind, I shouted Avani’s name. There was no reply, though—not a sound. I tore through the rooms, hoping to find her there, but the house was empty.
Sharmila caught up to me, and pulled me back down the stairs and outside. “She’s not here, Leon.”
Numbly, I nodded. “I… I know. I would have caught her scent if she’d been here recently. But I hoped that maybe I was mistaken, that I just somehow overlooked it—there are many smells here that I don’t recognize, and I thought perhaps…. But no.”
We left the house, closing the door behind us. I sank down next to Baldur, and spoke to him. “Well, boy, how about it? Can you find Avani? Where is she, boy? Find her!”
He whimpered and snuffled around, but it was clear that he caught no trace of her scent, and soon he looked at me uncertainly, not knowing where to begin.
I sat on the stone steps and put my head in my hands, thinking. Remembering something a teacher had once said to me, centuries ago, I muttered, “If you wish to know the future, look instead to the past. In order to see with clarity where you are going, you must know where you have been.”
Chanda exclaimed, startled, and we all looked at her. “I… I have an idea. What you just said—about the past and the future—it reminded me of something. Something Avani told me once.”
I jumped up eagerly. “What is it? What do you remember?”
“She… she said that there was a… I guess it was more of a huge rock than a mountain, really, and that there were the ruins of some ancient temple or castle or something on top, and a long stairway carved into the side of the rock. She and Sundara used to go there sometimes, until Bhima followed them there one day. They never returned after that. But I wonder… I mean, that sounds like something he’d do, doesn’t it? Take her off to someplace that used to be special to her and… and….”
“Yes, that sounds like a good place to look. Have you been there? Can you take us there?” Sharmila asked.
Chanda slowly shook her head. “No… but she pointed it out to me—you can see it from quite a ways away. I went to the base once, but I didn’t climb the stairs.”
“Then you at least can get us that far, right?” I asked, hopefully.
“Yes, but….”
“But what?” I demanded, impatient at her hesitation.
“Well, just to warn you… it’s a very, very long stairway. I don’t mean we shouldn’t go! I’m just warning you, you’ll be out of breath when you reach the top. So… be careful. You don’t know what will be waiting for you when you get there. And I don’t think your wolf will fit—the stairway is too narrow. He’ll have to wait at the bottom, or else stay in the village, though I don’t know who would take him.”
“If I tell him to stay, he’ll stay. Let’s go!” We all gathered around Chanda, holding onto her as she placed a hand on Baldur’s neck. Again she incanted the spell, and again all went black for a moment. Then we found ourselves standing before a large rock.
‘Large rock’ is, of course, an understatement, like saying Mount Maya is a hill, or the ocean is a pool of water. It towered above us, a massive column of rock, so large that the entire town of Selphia—including Dragon Lake—could easily have fit on top and still had room to spare. It rose as tall as a mountain, and several paces away from where I stood, I saw narrow stairs carved into the side of the rock, winding their way upward. I ran for the bottom step, instructing Baldur to stay put as I raced off, the others close behind.
I ran up the first several stairs, but a sudden cry from Rishi forced me to turn back. “What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked him impatiently, frowning as I hurried back.
He had collapsed on a stone step, sunk to his knees, his head gripped in his hands as he doubled over. Tears ran down his cheeks and he moaned as if in agony. As she knelt next to him, supporting him, Sharmila looked up at me in dismay. “It’s… he’s been maintaining a link with Avani all this time, in the hope of finding out where she is.”
“Yes? Has he learned something? What is it?” I asked as I stared at them in confusion.
“It’s… it’s Bhima. He… he’s….” She shook her head and looked at me with tear-filled eyes, and I realized with horror what she was trying to say.
Even as we spoke, he was raping my wife.