Chapter 29

Part 4

Mark had to sidle sideways down the hall, where he stared for minutes at the spot on the floor where Talia had lay curled and crying. Then he considered Dalia’s door. Finally he delicately grasped the doorknob between thumb and fingertip, turned it, and slowly swung the door open. He went to one knee and stared within a few minutes, then closed the door and awkwardly returned to his chair, still deep in thought.

Unnerved a bit by this display, Yazadril turned to Theramin. “I think I should make my home a bit more comfortable for my soon-to-be son-in-law. Perhaps you could raise the ceiling in this room to three meters, enlarge the balcony doors, and double the area of the balcony?”

“Certainly.” Theramin nodded, looking about “I’ll cast it now, and it should be finished in about half an hour. And I’ll raise the balcony railing a by a third as well, though it still won’t be very safe for one of his height if he gets a few ales in him.”

“Thank you. I’m sure he’ll be careful.”

Talia sat patiently with Mark, perched on the arm of his chair, waiting for his thoughts to run their course.

Nemia waited for that as well, her basket of barbering supplies in hand, sensing something was amiss, and missing Dalia with all her heart.

Gradually catching this mood, Dilimon and Hilsith ceased preparing to take their leave, then Yazadril, and finally Theramin when he finished casting his spell, all stood silently watching Mark, none of them sure why.

The moment was broken when Alilia bustled out of the kitchen. “I have made tea, and cast the thousands of invitations, and arranged for the feast, though that took some doing…” she stated briskly before noticing the silent scene. “What is it?” she asked.

“I’m not sure.” Mark admitted, his eyes still unfocused in deep thought. “I keep thinking about the Reading, and it sure seems that there’s something subtly wrong about it all… I mean, I know I’m no expert on elves or anything, and I sure don’t want to seem insensitive to your loss, but still… The way everyone acted doesn’t quite ring true. Every little event in it seems subtly wrong…

“The first one. Three times before, when Talia thought someone was her destined love, Dalia had waited until Talia knew one way or another, before Dalia approached the fellow herself. Yet this time, when Talia was sure, Dalia would not wait. Not that unusual, perhaps, yet unusual enough that Talia was surprised by it. And Dalia had to know that Talia would be hurt by it. Would she really do that normally?

“The second one. I realize that you elves are more, uh, uninhibited, than my people, and Dalia and Bezedil were both young, very attractive, and I think a bit more promiscuous than the norm, even for elves. And that Bezedil thought that Dalia was his destined love. Still, they met, exchanged barely a dozen words, and bedded each other barely a minute after they met! Doesn’t that seem unusual to you?

“The third one. It makes sense that Talia was hurt by what they did. Yet you are not a sexually monogamous people, and as Dalia pointed out, Bezedil was obviously no virgin. Talia knew that she was Bezedil’s destined love, and she had to know that under normal circumstances he would soon realize it as well, and then they would be together. So it makes sense that Talia was hurt, but it doesn’t seem right that she was so completely devastated by it as she was.

“The fourth one. I can see how a human who is completely distraught might suicide by jumping from a high place, for our lives are short, and once we’re falling, there’s nothing we can do about it anyway. But for an elf to throw away thousands of years of life by doing so seems incredible! And once you’re falling, I mean really falling, no matter who you are, the survival instinct should be undeniable! It seems impossible to me that anyone could choose to not save themselves then, if they had the means available, by flying or healing or disappearing or something! Yazadril has said that a few elves have committed suicide, but how many of them did it by jumping from a high place? Not many, I’d bet, or none.

“And the fifth one, and this is what really made me think that there was something wrong. Why did Dalia jump?!! After she did, it makes a little sense that Bezedil did, because he thought he’d lost his destined love. It makes even more sense that Talia jumped, because she had lost her twin sister, and her destined love. But Dalia must have known that Talia and Bezedil were destined lovers! It shouldn’t have shocked her or hurt her that much to see them together! I know she was very pleased with Bezedil’s love-making, and perhaps in that one hour she had even fallen in love with him a little. But even from the little I saw of her, it seems impossible that Dalia would commit suicide for so little provocation! That for every second of that fall, she could continue to choose to let herself impact and die because she had been jilted by her new lover!”

There was a long silence, broken by Alilia. “What are you implying?!” she grimly demanded, tears streaming down as she was forced to re-live yesterday’s horror.

Mark, still deep in thought, took no offense. “I don’t know. It’s like everyone was somewhat drunk, just enough to make them more emotional. Could you all have been drugged? Or perhaps bewitched in some way?”

The rest were all shaken by the possibility.

Talia gave a choked laugh. “Perhaps we are all cursed!” she bitterly surmised.

There was another long silence.

“I think you jest, my daughter, yet perhaps you should not!” Yazadril stated grimly, his brows knotted in anger. “Mark has raised some valid points, though we could not see it because we were too close to the situation. Combine them with Alilia’s earlier observations about major repercussions from these events, and the possibility of some kind of covert interference becomes all too real!

“By all the silent gods! Dalia’s death by youthful foolishness is horrible enough! If someone has maliciously caused her death or contributed to it, whether it was by drug or spell or curse, I swear it will not remain hidden from me!

“All of you, please stay exactly where you are! If there is evidence, it has likely been much disturbed already, no need to make it worse!”

With a flurry of hummed notes and gestures, Yazadril began casting and loosing many different information-seeking and analyzing spells, one after the other, for six minutes or more. Then they all waited silently, watching him closely, while he concentrated fiercely.

“There… is something…” he murmured. “But it is faint… So old and faint…”

He concentrated until he was shaking from it, then struck his fists to his forehead in frustration. “Blazing source above, I will not be denied!” he cried. “Alilia, give me power! As much as you can without burning me out!”

Alilia sternly stepped to him, grasped his head with both hands, pressed her own forehead hard against his, and began pouring power into him. He also grasped her head in his hands and held it tight to his.

Mark had to look away from the brightness they were generating, though he was only seeing Yazadril’s half of it.

Yazadril shook harder and harder, until he was shuddering head to toe and fell to one knee. Alilia released him, but he would not release her in return. “Almost there!” he quaveringly growled, and held on for another four seconds.

“Have it!” he hoarsely cried, and Nemia helped Alilia support him as he slowly collapsed to the floor, panting and shaking.

They waited while he recovered, until Alilia’s patience ran out. “Out with it if you can, Yazadril! What did you find?!”

Yazadril sat up, wincing and gasping, and waved her to silence. Finally he spoke, sounding completely dejected. “Talia was right. We were cursed. You and I, Alilia, we two specifically were cursed, over one hundred and twenty years ago. By a human wizard, who at that time was located some three thousand kilometers to the east, and about a hundred and fifty kilometers north. The Empire of Thon, or the Kingdom of Yazzak. Not a very powerful curse, for even I could have put more power into one, but that’s what made it so hard to trace. No doubt our foe was pleased enough with it. And, it was eventually effective.

“Our children were murdered, Alilia, for we were cursed that our children would slay one another. I could learn no more, though I was desperate to learn the identity of the caster.”