Leslie Moore - Griffin's Shadow

The vision struck at Ashinji’s frozen emotions, releasing them in a dizzying rush.

This baby Jelena cradled in her arms must be the child he had to leave behind a lifetime ago. What terrible sorrow Jelena must have suffered, giving birth to their child, all the while believing him dead! Should not the child they had made together have both of its parents to raise it?

Ashiiinjii!

He turned and moved toward the sound of his name.

Awareness returned slowly, and the unintelligible noises buzzing in his ears resolved into muted voices, discussing his condition.

“Look at his eyes. They’re moving.”

“Yes…I believe you’re right. Gran! Come quickly! I think he’s waking up!”

Ashi, can you hear me?

Mindspeech.

He recognized the voice that had called to him, imploring him to return and not lose himself forever in the gray fog between the worlds.

With tremendous effort, he opened his eyes.

“Ashi, praise the One! You’re awake.”

Ashinji struggled to focus eyes that had seen no use in several days. Gran’s face floated above him, looking pale and haggard, but clearly relieved.

Confusion washed over him. “Wha…what…h…h…happened?” he croaked. He attempted to sit up, but a combination of pain and weakness thwarted him.

“You don’t remember, Ashi?” Gran stroked his cheek. “You’ve been hurt. Stabbed. You’ve been unconscious for days; you very nearly died.”

Stabbed! When?

The last thing he clearly remembered was walking into the weapons shed. After that, things got hazy.

“I…don’t…can’t…” It took a big effort to speak. His tongue felt clumsy and thick, like a chunk of wood in his mouth.

“What’s he saying, Gran?”

That voice belonged to Seijon.

“He’s speaking in Siri-dar, and you would understand if you’d ever made an effort to learn!” Gran’s voice was sharp. “I don’t think he remembers what has happened.”

Ashinji struggled to pull together the fragments of memory that spun like dark motes before his minds’ eye.

I went to the weapons shed to put away some practice equipment… Something…no, someone attacked me there!

Images of a violent confrontation flashed to the surface, then with the abruptness of a dam giving way, all the memories of those terrible few moments, all the rage, the fear, and most of all, the sensation of the knife as it bit deep into his flesh, returned in a rush.

“Ai, Goddess!” he groaned. “L…Leal…st…stabbed me!”

“You do remember,” Gran said. “Ashi, let the memory go for now. Put it out of your mind. There’ll be plenty of time to deal with it later. You need to rest. Sleep, now.”

Sleep…that sounds wonderful. I’ll sleep, yes.

He closed his eyes.

When next he woke, the golden light of late afternoon filled the infirmary. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision and saw Seijon, perched on the foot of the bed, arms wrapped around knees drawn up under his chin, eyes closed. He looked like he was asleep.

“Seijon,” Ashinji whispered. The boy’s eyes flew open and widened with excitement.

“Ashi!” he cried, scrambling to the head of the bed where he flung his arms around Ashinji in a joyful embrace. Ashinji grunted in pain but slowly raised his arms to draw the boy closer.

“I’ve been so scared you’d die and leave me, Ashi,” Seijon mumbled against his neck.

For a few heartbeats, Ashinji felt too overcome to speak. Not until this moment had he realized his depth of feeling for this boy. This was the love between brothers that he had been denied with his own treacherous sibling.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere without you,” he whispered.

“Get off, monkey! You’re hurting him!”

Gran materialized at Ashinji’s bedside, arms sweeping the air before her as if she were attempting to shoo off an especially persistent pest. She glared at Seijon, but Ashinji could see the veiled amusement in her pale eyes.

“No, Gran, he’s not hurting me,” Ashinji lied. Gran cocked her head, disbelief writ plain on her face, but she refrained from comment. Instead, she poked Seijon in the ribs and pointed to the foot of the bed. Reluctantly, the boy loosed his hold and retreated to his former position where he flopped down, cross-legged, chin in hand.

“How are you feeling, Ashi?” Gran inquired, speaking Siri-dar as she always did when there were no humans present.

“Tired…very tired, and sore. Leal obviously did a lot of damage.” Ashinji paused, reluctant to ask the question uppermost in his mind, but he needed to know. “Leal…is he…?”

“Leal is dead,” Gran stated flatly. “And no, you didn’t kill him.” Her lips pressed together in a thin line. “I don’t know the whole truth of the matter, but I believe the mistress had him executed.”

“Shit!” Ashinji muttered.

“In case you’re feeling some sort of misguided guilt, young man, remember that Leal was a sadistic killer who hated our kind and preyed on those too weak to defend themselves.” She glanced pointedly at Seijon.

“I’m not sorry he’s dead, Gran,” Ashinji countered. “I’m just sorry it happened the way it did.”

Gran spent a few moments fussing with his blankets. He lay back and let her, knowing she did it more for her comfort than his. He felt as weak and helpless as a newborn-a sensation he thoroughly disliked.

“Gran, when I was unconscious, I think I dreamed you were calling to me, pleading with me to return. I also dreamed I saw Jelena.”

“Those were not dreams, Ashi. I did call to you. As for you seeing your wife, I’m not surprised. It’s very common for those wandering the plane of spirit to seek out loved ones, especially if there has been a separation on the material plane.”

“I saw her twice. The first time, she was with another man. I could see they had feelings for each other.”

“I’m so sorry,” Gran murmured.

“No, I understand, Gran. Jelena has accepted my death and has moved on with her life. I would want her to do just that. She’s too young to spend the rest of her life alone. It hurt, though…”

He fell silent for a time, eyes closed, meditating on the perversity of his fortunes. “I saw her again,” he continued. “She held a baby-our baby-in her arms.” He smiled. “Seeing my child for the first time…that’s what made me want to come back, Gran.”

As Gran opened her mouth to reply, the infirmary door swung open to admit Magnes. Jelena’s cousin crossed the room in five long strides, a broad grin on his face.

“Ashi, you’re awake! When did this happen?”

“Just a short time ago,” Gran answered. “What brings you back to the yard so soon? It seems like you’ve only just left.”

“I came back to tend Mistress de Guera-she’s down with one of her headaches.” He pulled a chair around to the side of the bed and straddled it. “I’ve got some news,” he said, looking at Gran and lowering his voice. “I’ve set the plan into motion. Your mistress has agreed to finance the mobile clinic for the Eskleipans. Construction will begin within the week. I estimate it’ll take about two weeks total for the entire project, including provisioning.”

“This is very good,” Gran said, nodding enthusiastically, but her expression soon darkened. “Two weeks. Not a lot of time, yet too much, considering the stakes,”

“What are you two talking about?” Ashinji looked puzzled.

“Escape, Ashi,” Gran said. “We’ve been working on a plan while you’ve been sleeping.” Briefly, Magnes related the details.

“I’ll just have to be ready,” Ashinji declared. He paused. “What about Aruk-cho?” He rolled his head to the side, directing the question to Gran. He did not worry the yardmaster would betray them at the last moment; rather, he feared the akuta would extend his assistance to the point where his position at the yard would be jeopardized. The very last thing Ashinji wanted was to see Aruk-cho ruined.