Chapter 5

Me-la-ni

The sun was setting, and the trees cast their long shadows over the forest floor as I glanced out over the woods. I’d been lucky that my powers were still strong enough to travel, and I had at least managed to take us here. My head was reeling from the effort it had taken after healing you, and I knew I had to rest soon if I wouldn’t collapse, but there wasn’t time. I glanced at you. You still stood where we’d landed, watching me. I recognised that gaze, the same one I’d seen resting on me countless times all those centuries ago, when we had last journeyed together. I knew what it meant, how could I not? But it wasn’t right to act on it. I pushed it away, as I had done so many times before.

“They should be here soon”, I said.

I hobbled over to you and slumped down on the ground.

“Who are we waiting for?”, you asked.

I knew the Warrior in you wanted to assess the situation, and I couldn’t deny you your wish. I opened my mouth to answer when a bright light slowly formed among the trees some distance away.

“You’ll soon see”, I said, and struggled up to standing.

I waddled over in the direction of the light, and then halted. It grew until I had to shield my eyes, then slowly faded and in its place, three people were standing. So all of them had come, I thought. I raised my hand to my forehead in a greeting and stumbled over to them.

“Me-la-ni”, the older man smiled. “I’m sorry that we need to meet in such circumstances.”

He also lifted his hand to his forehead and I bowed. The elderly woman next to him stepped up and put her arms around me in a feather-light hug, stroking my hair.

“My love.”

I must have been more exhausted than I thought, because her motherly touch almost made me cry, and I sniffled into her shoulder.

“It will be alright”, she whispered.

She let me go with a smile only millennia of wisdom could summon, and I turned to the last of the three. We had met before, albeit in a different setting. He was young, almost the same age as me, and looked at me with a face that was trying hard to contain his emotions.

“Me-la-ni”, he said stiffly.

I nodded curtly in response, and raised my hand to my forehead, mirroring his movement. The older man, Joshua, said,

“Is Se-le-ni with you?”

I turned to him and nodded. I could see relief on his face as I said it, and I gestured at the direction of our original landing spot. They all followed me, and as we arrived, you greeted them and the young man said,

“You should have found a better landing place.”

“There wasn’t much time to consider it”, I replied.

He frowned, but this was not the place for an argument, and so he stayed quiet.

“We’ll do with what we have”, Ka-ma-la, the older woman, intervened softly.

“What do you know?”, Joshua asked and turned to me.

I told them about everything that had happened ever since we set out on our journey. The absence of the Seed, the building dreamt by magic and its collapse, and how we’d travelled here. He nodded, and the further I told, the deeper the frown became between his eyes. As I finished, he said,

“Something isn’t right.”

I nodded.

“I know, but I don’t know what.”

You opened your mouth, glanced around for a moment and then said,

“Si-ri and Bo-lo-to said they would meet us in the building.”

It was the first time you’d uttered the names of the people who had set out this rebellion.

“Do you know where they are?”, Joshua asked.

You shook your head. Ka-ma-la put a hand on Joshua’s arm.

“Do you think…?”

He sighed.

“I don’t know…”

I didn’t know what she was referring to, but I had a suspicion that something had been brewing out of my awareness for longer than I’d thought.

“How long ago since they contacted you, Se-le-ni?”, Joshua asked you.

“Some months ago.”

He nodded and stared out over the dark forest. I could see his lips moving soundlessly, a clear sign I had come to recognise as thinking.

“We can’t stay here”, he said after a while, and turned to us.

“I can’t travel again, my powers aren’t strong enough”, I said.

“I can do it”, Ka-ma-la said.

Joshua nodded, and she reached out to take hold of his sleeve. We formed a circle, each holding the clothes of the one next to us. It was a long time since I’d felt the force of her, but as it whirled around us, I felt home for the first time in centuries. I didn’t have time to ponder it, though, as the ground beneath my feet disappeared and we travelled. It was odd to be a passenger, but I felt strangely comforted to know another Healer was in charge, for once. Once I felt the solid ground underneath my feet again, I opened my eyes and saw we were standing in a cottage.

“This should do”, Ka-ma-la said as she let go of Joshua’s sleeve.

You stumbled, and then straightened out.

“It isn’t safe”, you whispered.

I never had time to ask you what you meant when a door to the other room opened.

“So you came…”

Three people stepped out from the room, faces I hadn’t seen in centuries, but that now brought a chill up my spine. They were armed, even though they were supposed to belong to our race, and fight for our cause. Bo-lo-to, the one who must have dreamt the magic building, said,

“It took longer than we thought for you to find us. You’re getting rusty, Me-la-ni.”

I glanced at Joshua.

“Explain yourself”, he said.

“Old man, what is there to explain? The Masters of the Universe are gathering again, and we won’t be able to stop them this time. Better to join them, than spilling blood as we did in the last war.”

Ka-ma-la said,

“Have you even considered this?”

“Oh, Mother, we have thought long and hard and come to our conclusion.”

I stared at them and noticed the movement to my side too late. You stepped into the middle of the room, your sword drawn and ready to strike.

“Se-la-ni”, Joshua warned.

You didn’t blink nor acknowledged his words. Bo-lo-to raised his hand, and sneered.

“It was long since I fought another warrior your strength.”