Bertan`s quest - Michelle Tarynne (best beach reads of all time txt) 📗

tasks were completed without a shadow of doubt on his side. The servant of death, Bertan knew all too well.

"Not one member of our line ever thought it possible, that you, the eternal runaway, would even consider, reaching for the Head position, sister. I admit, I did not think you had it in you either…" he said lazily, watching closely as her skin was absorbing the last foamy remnants that started to change into the white liquid form once again. "…And you are already making new Swords out of our dearest enemies." His sneer, invisible to her eyes was clearly heard in his tone.

"Hopefully, he survives," Bertan said, shamelessly leaving her bathing pool in front of his eyes. She checked Genes' skin that started to blaze deep red. She decided, it was the right time to put him on the sofa, the same she had occupied before Ash of the Second Line barged in.

"He is looking strong enough," the Unnamed noted evenly, though he didn't even glance at Genes, "I would never imagine that you like your males young, small, weak, and of the enemy kind. Sister."

"I think we need to agree on few issues right now," she said, annoyed with his unrelenting hostility.

"As you wish, the new Mistress of my Line House. I am to serve you now." There it was, that irritating sneer in his voice again.

"That young lad over there is of our Line House now. I don't want any hints of his past to get past your lips from now on. And stop with that tone, it's unnerving," she demanded, tired with the past that seemed to haunt her at all times when the Unnamed was around.

"As you wish. Sister," he answered, after a long while that took him to compose into an emotionless creature he naturally seemed to be.

"Stop calling me sister," she stressed quite seriously.

"Do you want me to call you The Highest Mother now?" he visibly tensed, and his tone became too cautious all of the sudden. He was staring into her like she was someone new. A new kind of enemy.

"Gods, where did you take that one from? Of course not! I don't ever want to be called Mother by any of you, so be sure to spread this around. Call me The Head of the Line if necessary." She winced, for the remainder of how she had acquired her position would be etched into her own name forever on.

"As you wish."

"I want you to stop calling me sister because we are of no blood relation. I'd hate that reminder of the Mothers deception and lies to follow me around." She noticed with a great dose of satisfaction that he tensed again, narrowing his eyes. Thankfully, he did not even try to comment her statement, or ask her questions she had no answers to. "Be kind to dress the boy in the most reinforced combat robes. I have been invited for a chat in the Ruling House. I need him resistant to any harm from now on." Bertan walked swiftly through the curtained wall into one of her private rooms to change into the most reinforced robes as well.

"What do you want me to do while you are gone?" The Unnamed asked when she entered the main room again, dressed all black with the customary mask veiling her face that revealed only her nervously unfocused eyes, the only sign of how much she was affected.

"Guard the boy with your life while I'm gone," she said quietly, "Guard him especially if I don't come back."

There was a fleeting moment of indecision in her eyes, a clear sign of inner battle. Her body wanted to go in one direction, and it fought the order of her mind to go in the opposite way. The final decision, she was forced to make then, forged the extraordinary change within herself. She was suddenly a protective creature who just found her home-point to always go back to. It was startling to discover that it was not the place, but the people in it. Indecision was soon forgotten, leaving her with only one goal in mind. Stay alive just few moments longer. Stay alive so that he could live too.

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The boats were following a sleepy water-river. Slow and uneventful journey made almost all of the Seekinglander children fall asleep, so none of them noticed when the river disappeared into the underground tunnel. The fall itself wasn't steep or speedy, quite the contrary. Water never stopped its lazy and constant flow, not even when it started to spill into wider and wider body of water that had no visible shoreline in sight. Dark and wet the next cycles went.

Brine yawned and then he yawned some more top the point where his jaw stretched so wide, it started to hurt. Judging by the sounds, he wasn’t the only one yawning at the moment. It was so easy to lose the track of time and space as they followed the unseen current in the absolute darkness. Once the (x?) boats found their way into the underground cave waterway, not the slightest sight of light eased their blind eyes. The children were asleep, but their guides and protectors couldn’t surrender into that much comfort.

At one time, it almost seemed like a dream to Brine. Wasn’t it for the cold water he kept on touching, he would have sworn he was only a spirit in a dead land. Only Fates knew, how many cycles had passed up to the point when he finally heard something that wasn’t his own loud breathing. None of the other boats made any audible sign of their existence. Even their Wicked guide possessed some exceptional ability to swim along the current without being noticed or heard, though it seemed impossible to observe his technique.

Soft breeze danced on the water surface, bringing even more coldness and doubts into Brine's mind. It was just then when he heard one of his siblings moping.

"Brine?" the softest of inquiring whispers brought him back to where and why of the moment.

"Yes Pam?" he whispered back.

"Where are we?" she asked audibly relieved.

"I don’t know," he answered truthfully.

"How much longer are we going to sail here?" Pam asked.

"I don't know," he repeated.

"I have to pee," an embarrassed whisper confessed so quietly, he wasn't even sure if that was what she said.

"Me too," Coope sighed after a weighty pause, "And I'm hungry, " he added, "How much longer are we going to be here?"

"I don’t know," Brine sighed once again when answering.

"What are we to do now?" Pam whined.

"There is some food in the pack mom gave you," he paused," And if you have to relieve yourselves, just… um… pee into the water. Just take some of the water to drink before it's still clean enough to drink," he paused again trying to put some sort of strategy into their actions, "Though I'm not sure if that water is safe to drink in the first place," he muttered more to himself. "Just wait a moment."

Brine took his time to gather the scraps of courage he still had. He hated the darkness, and he was scared of the dark water even more.

"Ehm," he coughed loudly, "Is this water safe to drink?" his question hung in the air, echoing over and over again.

"It should be," a raspy and quite rumbling whisper answered unexpectedly close to Brine, "Though not much longer judging by your issue here."

"By the Gods!" Brine exclaimed into the echoes as he shuddered while his heart suddenly found his chest too small. "Warn me next time," he whispered.

"Why?" the Wicked Guide chuckled.

"Cos it's dark and quiet," Brine said, "You scared the life out of me like nothing and no one before," he admitted though he was dangerously close to being ashamed, "I'm not even sure if we are still all together," Brine voiced his biggest fear.

"We are here, but I had the same impression," Brine's Commander said testily. He was few boats away judging by the way the sound of his voice trembled. "It's spooky in here."

"Yeah, and kids just woke up and want to relieve themselves." Brine sighed, knowing the time of silence was over.

“But Brine, how am I going to do it? I'm a girl!" Pam whined in a loud whisper, fully awake and aware.

"Don't do anything yet. First, drink some…" Brine started to explain his plan.

"And wait till I get to the front boat," their Wicked Guide said while audibly swimming away from their vessel, "Girls can just sit on the edge of the boat at the back end, it has the right curve and is wide enough, and it won't trip over. Just have someone hold your feet, so you don't fall, " he said a little louder. His voice was so deep and raspy the echo didn’t wake up for him.

"Eww. I don’t want to fall into…" Pam started to whine again.

"Come on Pam; it's just water." Coope scoffed at his little sister.

"I can't swim!" she almost shrieked.

"I mean your pee, it's just water. Don't eww it," Coope sighed, "Anyway I'm going to be. First, cos water is water… Still, I don’t want to have wet pants," he laughed and got up to get to the edge of the boat.

"But everyone will hear it!" Pam started to laugh too.

"I won't be the only one to do it," Coope said grimly. Few other young voices agreed. The thought of being heard was so horrifying none of the boys moved.

"Gods, the children…" the Wicked guide groaned, "I will be splashing very loud for a few moments, so better hurry up. If the almost-grownups could do the same, if would be more comfortable for the little ones. " he said just before making deafening noise that was intensified and multiplied by the echoes. Brine took his cue and started to make some noise with the so far useless nav-bar he was holding throughout the whole journey.

"Just be sure to relieve yourself to the outside of the boats," Brine's Commander said only half seriously. That one remark caused an unexplainable wave of laughter in each and every boat.

"Why? We just love to sit in our own pee…" Coope said grimly. Laughter roared for so long everyone managed to relieve their needs.

Silence ringed within their ears once again. Not for long, though.

"I'm hungry," Pam said.

"I told you, it's in the backpack mom gave you," Brine frowned.

"I can't eat it," she said stubbornly.

"Why?"

"I can't eat something I can't see."

"Why?"

"I don’t know. I just can't." her whispers were getting stronger. Everyone knew Pam thrived when she was having any sort of dispute or argument.

"Try," Brine sought to convince her.

"But I don’t want to!" she whined.

"Fine, then be hungry, " Coope said while he rummaged through the backpack their mom packed for them.

"Coope! Don't you dare to eat everything." Pam said frantically.

"You don’t want it anyway," he said mighty surprised.

"I never said I didn’t want it. I said I couldn’t help it when I can't see what I eat, I can’t eat" she paused, "MISTER WICKED!" she yelled, and everyone went silent and immobile.

"Pam!" Brine gasped.

"What?"

"It's not nice to call anyone like that," he tried to explain the polite ways to his wild little sister.

"Why? Even High Vaala calls him the Wicked." Pam sniffed.

"It's ok," the rumbling voice answered next to Brine again, "I know what they call me," he laughed, "Just trust the child to say it to my face."

"I'm sorry if you don't like it, " Pam apologized, "I just never heard your other name."

"My what?" the Wicked Guide was taken aback.

"Your other name. Real name. What is it?" she inquired insistently.

"Mars. My name is Mars. " their Guide said after a stretched out silence, "Though I don’t even remember anyone saying it out loud," he confessed silently.

"I'm Pam. Nice to meet you, Mars," she said.

"Same here," a choir of voices from all the boats shared their greetings.

"So, Pam. What did you want to ask me?" Guide Mars asked her, once the echoes subsided, and it