The Blinded Journey Page 15

  The water was painfully cold. He felt numbness and shock simultaneously, just before his head struck a rock in the riverbed and he had a sense of further pain and careening movement as the river waters carried him along.

  And then the water felt firm and stationary in some inexplicable way. His head was lifted up into the air, letting him cough and gasp. He had a momentary, fleeting thought that perhaps he was experiencing what Liza had felt when he’d rescued her from the placid waters of the White River.

  “I’ve got you,” Fontaine’s voice spoke to him in her low, intimate tones. “Don’t struggle, you’re in my element and you will be safe.”

  She began to pull him, and he felt his feet touch the bottom of the riverbed, making him feel secure with the knowledge of the shallowness of the river as his panic passed. He twisted himself and began to walk as Fontaine led him forward.

  “Nicely done,” she murmured. “Perhaps you’re part fish, or even a nymph yourself?” she joked.

  They reached the shore, and Kendel felt hands grabbing and pulling him upward onto dry land, as Fontaine firmly pushed him from behind.

  “You’re all soaked, and your extra clothes in your pack are wet too,” Dwad said as the team moved him away from the edge of the water. “Fontaine, you take the others to the spring with the water they need, while I start a fire to warm our hero up and dry him out.”

  “Ugh, a fire,” Fontaine replied in a dismissive tone. “But I’m sure you’re right that it’s best for him. You do your part, and we’ll be back in an hour. Come along you two,” the nymph spoke to Waxen and Gayl, and Kendel heard their footsteps recede.

  “Sit here and be patient,” Dwad settled Kendel on a log, as he shivered in his chilly clothes. “If we weren’t at the bottom of a canyon you’d be able to sit in the sunlight and warm up, but we can’t do anything about that,” the dwarf made conversation as Kendel listened to him move about their site, breaking wood and preparing a fire.

  Kendel soon heard the sound of crackling flames as a fire started to build, and then he began to feel warmth as the flames grew higher and the fire sustained itself.

  “Now, take off those clothes so we can hang them to dry,” Dwad commanded, and Kendel was soon deprived of his clothing and moved a few inches closer to the fire, where he sat and occasionally turned his left side or his right to the fire to spread the warmth that gradually penetrated deep into his flesh, taking away the chill and shivers he suffered. Then he began to grow drowsy and fell into a stupor as he recovered.

  “Dwad, are my clothes dry yet?” he asked as he recovered and reawakened.

  “They are dry. Would you like to put them on?” Fontaine replied.

  “Fontaine? Where’s Dwad? Can I have my clothes, please?” Kendel was caught off-guard by the reply in the dulcet voice of the nymph.

  “Dwad and the others left while you were asleep. I told them they should travel as far as possible in the daylight, and that you and I would be fine together,” Fontaine reported. “Now, let’s get you dressed, and we’ll carry on.” He suddenly felt her hand on his thigh and he squirmed.

  “Lift your feet so I can get these things on you, or would you rather walk freely without clothes now that there are no others?” the nymph asked.

  “You know, I’m not wearing any clothes,” she pointed out.

  Kendel remembered Gayl’s indignation when Waxen had observed the unclothed nymph.

  “I think I’d like to wear them nonetheless,” Kendel said, and so Fontaine dressed him and helped him to his feet.

  “Let me put this monster out,” the guide said, and Kendel heard a gush of water, then an eruption of steam as the fire was extinguished.

  “Where exactly are we going?” Kendel asked.

  “We are going to the beginning of the river, where it issues from the mouth of a cave in the foothills of the mountains, the Kisatchie Thrusts as they are known now,” Fontaine held his hand and began to walk, pulling him along.

  “Dwad mentioned those,” Kendel said. “He was going to accompany us, wasn’t he?”

  “That was before harpies attacked,” Fontaine explained. “We decided he should protect the humans, especially since you demonstrated that you can take care of us.”

  “What are the Thrusts, these Kisatchie Thrusts?” Kendel asked.

  “It’s a name for the foothills of the mountains in the south. The hills are very steep, with many cliffs and knobs and canyons; it’s not a gentle landscape with rolling hills,” Fontaine answered. “The streams there have many waterfalls and rapids – it’s full of energy and beauty!” she enthused.

  “I’m going to miss Dwad,” Kendel sighed.

  “You should; he’s a good being, not given credit because of his appearance and sometimes gruff manners,” the sister answered. “But you and I will get along quite well.”

  They walked on for quite some time after that without further conversation.

  “Kendel, it’s getting dark,” Fontaine told him.

  “Really, I hadn’t noticed,” he grinned as he replied.

  “You must be adjusting to your blindness quite well,” the girl answered. “If you’re able to joke about it.”

  “I hate it,” Kendel said through gritted teeth, revealing the truth of his deep dislike of the disability. “I want to see. I want to see the sky and the river and the hills. I want to see the threats. I want to see Dwad and you.”

  “Perhaps on a future journey, my strong hero,” Fontaine’s hand squeezed his.

  “We should get some sleep. The ground will be rougher tomorrow. The best place to sleep,” she suggested, “will be in the river.”

  “For you, maybe,” Kendel retorted.

  “No, for both of us. There is a way. And we will be well hidden. Harpies and other monsters will have little chance of finding us if our bodies are in the water,” she said. “Both of us. We will be hidden, and able to sleep. Or perhaps you’d rather stay awake all night keeping watch?”

  “How would I sleep in the water?” Kendel asked.

  “I will be your shelter. You can sleep beneath my body, and there will be no problem. You will not drown, and you will not be found,” Fontaine assured him.

  “I don’t understand,” Kendel said plainly. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Come. You’ll understand,” Fontaine pulled him down to the river’s edge.

  “Take your clothes off,” she told him. “They’ll get wet otherwise, and we don’t want to waste time drying them.”

  He shrugged and complied, mostly by passively accepting her help in disrobing him.

  “Hold my hand, and we’ll go to the riverbank,” Fontaine told him. He obeyed and they walked down to the edge of the rippling sounds. “Now,” she took both his hands in hers, and he felt her step down into the river water and pause for a long moment, as her hands seemed to undulate while gripping his.

  “Here, step down now,” she tugged his fingers to cue his move, and he cautiously stepped down into the river. His foot landed on wet sand, without stepping into water.

  “Where’s the water? Is it another step over?” he asked.

  “I will cover you tonight so that you do not bathe in the water of the river. My body will shape itself to keep the river off of you. Just lie down and rest easy, safe from prying eyes,” Fontaine said in a calming tone.

  “Your body can do that?” Kendel asked in confused astonishment.

  “I am a water nymph,” she answered in amusement. “My mother is Afone, the river goddess. This is quite comfortable for me.”

  He didn’t comprehend exactly what would happen, but he trusted his companion, so he cautiously lowered himself to lie down on the cool sand.

  “It will warm up quickly,” Fontaine seemed to sense his thoughts, and then he heard the sound of the flowing water grow louder and flow directly above him, without any of it touching him. The sound was soothing, and Kendel soon fell asleep in his cocoon beneath the water.

  Chapter 21


  The next morning Fontaine and Kendel left their camping spot after breakfast. “Here’s your food,” Fontaine told him as she placed dried fruit in his hand. “I’m going to go get my breakfast and then I’ll be back.”

  “How long will you be gone?” Kendel asked.

  “Just a few minutes. The river is right here,” she said matter-of-factly, as he sat on the riverbank.

  Kendel shrugged and ate the apple slices piled in his hands and waited until Fontaine returned.

  They walked along the riverbank, climbing up over stony piles to reach slightly higher elevations from time to time, as Kendel heard the sound of waterfalls.

  “What did you have for breakfast?” he asked, wanting to have conversation. He was feeling particularly lonely and isolated in his blindness.

  “Some mussels, some crayfish, a couple of fishes, and some water lilies,” Fontaine answered. “It was a good meal for being so impromptu.”

  Kendel considered the inventory of items as they climbed.

  “We’re turning here,” Fontaine told him an hour later, and she led him away from the sounds of the river on a firm and level stretch of ground. “You can walk freely; there aren’t any obstructions.”

  “Are we out of the hills?” Kendel asked as he walked along, still holding Fontaine’s cool hand while their stride lengthened and quickened.

  “No, we’re on a remnant of an old road, going around an ancient graveyard,” the nymph answered. “It would be disrespectful to trod on the graves of the ancient heroes who once made Impiraght the place where humans and other races found beauty and harmony by living together.”

  “When was that? What happened?” Kendel asked, intrigued by the portrayal of the society.

  “It was long ago, back in the beginning days of the world,” Fontaine answered gently. “Before the Dons set out on their quest to spread pain and chaos for their own advantage.”

  Kendel recognized a part of the answer, one that resonated and aligned with the myth that Genniae had spoken of once. He pondered the story as they continued to walk, in a world where they were surrounded by the noises of the forest without the sounds of the river.

  Their path turned, and left the ancient road, so that they resumed a slower pace as they passed through the forest and curved back to the river.

  They traveled for the remainder of the day, following the river as it slowly climbed the increasing elevation of the hills. The tone of the water flow grew higher in pitch as the size of the river diminished. Then they reached a point when the sound changed completely. There was only the sound of a waterfall, and Fontaine stopped.

  “Kendel dear, this is the end of our journey together. It’s nightfall now as well. If you want to go on with your next steps, you may do so, or we can spend the night here resting, and you can start fresh in the morning,” the nymph advised in a voice that had a hint of something Kendel couldn’t interpret.

  “What happens?” he asked, taken aback. He had known that Fontaine was leading him to a place as ordered by Shaiss, but he hadn’t anticipated that she might not be going on with him, or that another guide would not be present and ready to lead him on.

  “I do not know what happens for you, but I am sure that you will make the best of it,” Fontaine answered. “You are strong and resource and a man of good heart,” the nymph answered.

  “Where are we? Where do I go?” he asked.

  “This is the birthplace of the river. It issues forth from a cave in the hillside and flows away from here. You are to enter the cave; where it will take you, I cannot say. The rivers of the underworld are not mine to know,” she told him. “I’m afraid I do not know anything else, but I am sure you will find your way to whatever the great goddess has in mind for you.”

  Kendel was silent as he tried to consider what to do. The thought of going on without a guide was terrifying in his state of blindness. But he hated to waste time when he could be making progress towards whatever Shaiss intended to be his next stop.

  “Can we go to the mouth of the cave and spend the night there?” he asked, hoping that in some way it would count as additional progress without actually leaving him alone.

  “Of course,” Fontaine was quickly agreeable, and she led him up over large rocks and along a narrow trail, to a spot where he could feel moist, cool air, and the sound of the waterfall seemed immediately accessible.

  “This is the spot, and there is a shelf of stone we can sit on right here,” she gently pressed him back onto a damp stone seat.

  Kendel sat and focused, letting his consciousness leave his body again for the first time. He was curious about the cave and what might await him within it. It would be dark, which would not bother him at least, he told himself.

  He felt Fontaine beside him, before his spirit even began to depart. She was serene and unflappable he sensed, and patient. She was nonhuman; he felt something in the resonance of her spirit that could be described that way, different from the people he had sensed. She was not as robust or vigorous in some sense.

  And there above her, he sensed something more, leading him to extend his consciousness up into the air above her to follow his awareness.

  And then he recoiled and shouted.

  “There is evil above you, Fontaine! Run!” he shouted.

  “What is it, Kendel?” Fontaine asked in confusion.

  He fumbled with his hands and gripped the girl by the arm. “There is a monster, something very evil, just above us. Get in the water! Save yourself. I’m going in the cave!” he said, and gave Fontaine’s arm a tug forward, moving her towards the waterfall they sat above.

  He then reached out with his hands and found the stone wall next to him and stumbled forward for just two steps, until he found the mouth of the cave and stumbled to his left as he entered the subterranean space. There was water flowing against his feet and ankles, but no higher.

  He heard a snarling sound outside the cave, and then the evil energy dropped down, transmitting its anger and frustration at failing to achieve a perfect ambush.

  “Kendel!” he heard Fontaine shriek, and he whirled around. Without thought he called forth the energies, the blue and then the green, and he extended his consciousness towards the water below.

  The evil entity was creating fire and heat, literally steaming Fontaine to death.

  Kendel directed the green energy toward the monster and focused on chilling the heat, protecting Fontaine from the dangerous energy of the adversary. The chilling energy struck the monster and cooled it, while distracting its attention from Fontaine. He didn’t know how he was creating the chill, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

  Kendel felt a swirl of stimuli that overwhelmed him. He felt Fontaine fleeing, and he felt the monster suffering from the attack. He felt the rebound of some of the energy bouncing back at him, striking him and creating unendurably painful cold. His awareness overloaded with the multiple inputs and impacts, leaving him disoriented and confused.

  He turned himself away from the sound of the waterfall and began to stagger forward, away from the monster outside the cave. He hoped he had given Fontaine the window she needed to escape, for he knew he could do no more.

  Kendel hurried his steps and heard the sound of the waterfall recede. His consciousness was no longer extended – he didn’t have the energy to try to discern the world around him. And he was in pain, numbness and pain like frostbite affecting every inch of his body. He didn’t know where he was going, or what he faced; he only knew he needed to escape the danger outside the cave by continuing to move.

  He felt the atmosphere inside the cave change after an unknown length of time. He felt a stodginess that was not physical, but a thickening of the spiritual universe it seemed, and it grew cloying and resistant, making it harder for him to maintain his consciousness as he took each step, his pacing slowing down.

  Just as he prepared to cease the effort and fall to his knees in the water to rest, he experienced a flash of green light within his blind eye
s, making him shout in surprise and rush forward as the flash of light faded, and the viscosity of the universe evaporated. He continued to move for an unknown length of time until he eventually felt the air grow warmer and he smelled the scents of growing things from the world outside the cave.

  There was no longer water running in the cave, he realized. He put a hand out and felt the dry stone wall, then continued to stumble forward until he felt nothing like cave around him, and the cave wall curved around to the right, and his next step forward sent him painfully tumbling down an uneven flight of steps to land on a flat platform.

  Chapter 22

  “Are you okay?” a girl’s voice asked.

  “At least he’s alive,” a man’s voice chimed in.

  Kendel heard the voices, and he tried to rouse himself to comprehend what was said. The language was spoken with an accent, one that seemed familiar yet required him to pause momentarily to translate in his mind.

  “I’m okay,” he answered. His head hurt, but the painful frostbite from his attack on the monster was gone at least.

  “You’ve got a cut on your head; you’re bleeding,” the girl said. “We’ve got a first aid kit. Let us put some Neosporin on the cut and we can bandage it for you.”

  Kendel felt his heart start to pound with anxiety as he heard the words. They were the words of his own world.

  “Here, take my hand and we’ll sit you up,” the man offered.

  Kendel lifted his right hand and extended it into the air above him. He didn’t make contact, and swung the hand around, trying to find the offered help.

  “Can’t you see?” the man asked, and then his hand grabbed Kendel’s and pulled him upward.

  “Sorry, no, I can’t see,” Kendel answered.

  “Oh,” the girl exclaimed softly. “Your eyes are so brilliant, and you can’t see? What are you doing out here all alone?” she asked.

  Kendel felt something wipe across his temple, and he lifted a hand to feel a cloth brushing dirt away from the cut in his hairline.

  “If you’re blind, how did you get out here? Who brought you here?” the man asked.