Chapter 4
A Different Kind of Lesson
As soon as she was in the room, Iris heard the door close. When she turned to look at Ian, he wasn’t behind her anymore.
“Ian?” She turned back around to see him leaning down a little, looking her directly in the eyes. Compared to the way he had behaved when they had first met, this was entirely different. Iris’s mind went back to that first encounter. Actually, it was only after he touched me that he acted differently.
She cocked an eyebrow as she took a step back. If the mystic had hoped to be intimidating, though, it failed as her back hit the door knob. “Ow!” She turned and glared at it for a second, before looking at Ian again.
His smile was wider, and suddenly Iris felt more like a mouse in front of a cat. “I preferred to feel like a hare.”
“What?” Ian’s forehead creased.
Stepping around him, she moved to her usual seat.
“No, no. We shouldn’t be sitting for this.” He grabbed her upper arm.
Immediately, Iris shook off his hand. “What happened to that sweet little boy who only wanted forgiveness?”
“I never acted like a little boy.”
“Could have fooled me. First time experiencing anything like that, I take it.”
Ian scratched his head, a goofy grin on his face. “As far as I know, you are the only mystic with those abilities. Guardians aren’t born with abilities. We are a blank slate until we start protecting mystics. Before that, all we can do is shift.”
“That’s not true.” Iris wasn’t an expert, but she knew that guardians had other innate abilities.
“Our magic is nothing like yours. But we aren’t here to discuss me.” He held out his hands. “You fell into the other realm last night, and it has definitely affected you.”
“How do you know?” Iris frowned because she hadn’t told anyone about that.
He just smiled at her. Annoyed that he was being enigmatic instead of helpful, Iris turned and sat down and looked at him expectantly.
Ian frowned, “We are supposed to be standing up.”
“Caden wasn’t when he read my powers yesterday.”
“And Caden took down a brigade of Unwashed without any help. If I tried that, they would have another pelt for their ceremonies.”
“How will you learn if you don’t try?”
Ian blinked at her for a few moments. “Oh, I see.” He gave her a look of pity. “You are afraid.”
“I am not!” Iris stood up. “I don’t even know what to be afraid of because nobody has told me anything. Caden is full of ominous warnings, and my father could barely look at me, so—”
As she was ranting, Ian stepped forward faster than she could react and grabbed her hands. The moment he touched her, the images began to form in front of her eyes. Iris could no longer feel her body as horrors moved like a parade in front of her eyes. This time, she thought she could hear them calling out to her, their muted voices beckoning her. She turned to try to find the source.
“No, don’t look for them. That’s what they want.”
The voice was close and sounded familiar. “Ian?” Iris tried to find him.
“I am not there with you. I am experiencing what you see with you. We can communicate, but we should not stay long.”
“Why?” It was a stupid question because she had no desire to stay in the wasteland, but she wanted to know more. No one had given her any information she could use. “This place isn’t real, so what does it matter?”
There was a rough laugh, “This place is very real, and while you may not be here now, it can suck you in.”
“Is this what happens to people who can do whatever I can do when they die? Is this imploding?”
“No. I’m afraid that is quite literal. Mystics and druids with your ability cave in on themselves and pull anyone and anything around them into the beyond.”
“They what?”
“I’m not supposed to tell you about it. Just trying to clarify what Caden said.”
“If you are trying to frighten me, it’s working.”
“No, no, no, no. You cannot feel negative emotion here. Caden was right, you are already on the brink. Teetering would probably—nope, never mind. You are doing fine. Just come back to me and I will help you release some of the negative emotions.”
“What do you mean never mind? I’m teetering on what brink?” Iris could feel the rage, frustration, and panic building.
Suddenly she was standing in the study room, and she was very aware that Ian was embracing her. He was stroking her hair. “No, Iris. You cannot do that. Not there. Not in your current state.”
Pushing on his chest, Iris tried to pull away. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”
He looked down at her, confused. “I thought it would help you feel more relaxed.”
“You thought I would want to return to find myself in the arms of an almost complete stranger?” She couldn’t control her voice, and suddenly she was aware of feeling hot. Too hot.
“Shitshitshitshit.” Ian was muttering and looking around. Finally he shouted, “Caden! I can’t stop her!”
Iris began to see red and black in the room around her. The walls, the ceiling, even the furniture—everything started to shimmer and move like the world did in her visions.
There was a loud noise and commotion, but she could not see what was going on. She felt something cool and soft surround her, a relaxing voice soothing her as a hand stroked her hair. The world stopped shimmering and started to fade into grey. Feeling exhausted, Iris pressed into the coolness against her and closed her eyes.
There was a slight sound coming from somewhere in her room. From the way she felt, Iris knew she was sick. “Father?” Her voice sounded weak, but she was certain that her father was there taking care of her. Too tired to open her eyes, she turned her face to where she thought he was.
There was whispering, but she couldn’t make out what it was. The voices sounded faint, almost unreal.
“Father?” There was a bit of panic in her voice. Then she felt a large hand slip into hers.
“Shh.” Her father was leaning over her, pushing the wet hair out of her face.
“I had an awful nightmare. I think it followed me back, Papa, I still hear the voices.”
She felt the bed press down and knew that her father was sitting near her, just as he had always done. “I don’t want to grow up, Papa. They are waiting for me.”
Arms moved around her, and Iris buried her head in the large shoulder. It smelled different, but that didn’t bother her.
“I’m scared.” It was almost a whimper as she tried to press into him.
It sounded like her father’s breath had caught. He stroked her hair and continued to shush her until she fell back to sleep.
The next time Iris woke, pieces of her memory floated before her eyes. Unsure how much of it was a dream and how much of it was real, she tried to open her eyes to see where she was.
My room. Does that mean that Father just left? Her head turned to the bed and she saw the open letter. Though she felt weak, she reached out for it. Her hand hit the letter, and it fluttered to the floor.
“Here.” The soft voice spoke from somewhere close to the bed, then someone came into her vision. He picked up the letter and held it out to her.
“You aren’t Father.” It was the only thing Iris was certain of as she looked at the stranger.
His expression was pained, but his voice was even, “No, I am not your father. He has not returned yet.”
“Of course not. He just left this morning.”
The man turned to look over his shoulder. Iris tried to follow his sight, but found she could not sit up to see what he was looking at. He then turned back to her and shook his head. “No, it has been almost two weeks.”
Iris tried to sit up. “That’s not possible. He just left after…” Something about his leaving bothered her, but she wasn’t sure what. Feeling frustrated, she looked at the stranger. “I don’t know you. I don’t want you in my bedroom. What are you, a thief? Someone who knows I am ill and is hoping to gain some advantage in the guild by taking me hostage? I’ll tell you right now that—”
The man reached out a hand and gently pressed her down. She wanted to fight, but at his touch, Iris felt better.
Looking into her eyes with his strange yellowish-black eyes, the man shook his head. “I am a guardian. All I want from you is for you to relax and regain your strength. That is all.”
“Why should I believe you?” Despite being incredibly tired, Iris did not want to give up without a fight. “I’m not an idiot. Guardians have white hair.
The man gave her a gentle smile, “A common misconception. Just like mystics with your power are a myth.” With that he stepped back and Iris saw him shift into a beautiful white tiger. He moved close to the bed.
Iris looked at him. Without thinking, she stretched out a hand and placed it on his head. The tiger’s eyes widened a little, but he began to purr as she scratched behind his ear. “A black-haired guardian. You are weird.” She laughed and closed her eyes. She continued to stroke the tiger, and some of the frustration and rage melted away. “You are soft, Mr. Black-Haired Tiger.”
Then she rolled over and fell asleep again.
A woman’s voice woke her the next time. “Iris, it’s time for breakfast.”
The smell of something delicious forced Iris to open her eyes as her stomach growled. “Ms. Paston?”
The laugh was melodic, “No, Iris. It’s me. Callie.”
“Callie?” Iris tried to focus on the woman. “You look like you are my age.”
“A little younger, actually. I am sorry I haven’t been a whole lot of help.”
Trying to sit up, Iris looked at her. “You made me food, and I feel like I am starving.”
Callie put the tray down and moved over to help Iris. Placing a couple of pillows behind her back, Callie moved back to the tray. “Actually, I didn’t make this.”
“It smells exotic, though. You don’t look like you come from here.”
“Um,” Callie sat in a chair near the bed, a chair that Iris knew belonged in a different room, “how much do you remember, Iris?”
Iris’s mind sluggishly went over the last memories, “The queen talked father into taking a trip, and I think he is gone, but I don’t know for sure. I don’t remember much since my last lesson. Was it my last lesson?” Iris looked at her with confusion written all over her face.
Callie looked away as if asking for help. After a moment, she looked at Iris again, “He left two weeks ago.”
“Then it’s already time for him to come back? What about the shop? I have to—” Iris shoved the tray back at Callie and tried to get out of bed.
A firm voice from somewhere in the room stopped her. “The shop is fine, Iris. You need to rest.”
Iris looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. There was a blurry figure over near the door. Some strange memories floated through her mind. “Caden?”
“Yes.”
Iris relaxed a little. “The shop is okay?”
“Yes, we have been helping your new employee with managing it. We have had to cut back the hours, but it seems to have made things sell quicker. There will be plenty for you to do when you are healed.”
Iris gave a faint laugh, “That sounds about right. Whenever we don’t have time to be open twelve hours, we get more business. I thought we should take advantage of that, but Father wanted to keep things easier for our customers. Now that I’m older, I see his point.”
“He has always been a good man.”
“Do you know my father?” She tried to focus on the man.
“I knew only about his reputation for a long time. After I returned to Solona and helped Callie get a job, I got to know him in person.”
“So are you Callie’s guardian?”
“Yes, I am Callie’s guardian.” His eyes moved to Callie, and a strange thought floated through her mind. He loves her. As soon as it went through her mind, Iris said it, “You love her.”
“Yes, I do.” Caden didn’t make any attempt to hide it. “I have loved her for a very long time.”
“Then why are you here? I don’t need a guardian.”
Caden took a deep breath, giving Iris the impression that he was thinking about his answer. Finally, he said, “I am here because I am needed.”
A voice outside of the room called for Caden. Iris looked at the door, “Who else is here?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just rest for now. Excuse me.” With that Caden opened the door and left.
Iris looked at Callie, “That means you must be a mystic.”
“Yes, I am.”
“You look like you come from somewhere else.”
“I do. I lived in Sumaria for a long time.”
“That must have been horrible.” Iris closed her eyes.
“No, no, not yet. You need to eat.”
“Eat?” Iris opened her eyes. “Is there food?” Her stomach growled as if to emphasize the question.
“Yes, Caden made you something.”
Iris took the tray and began to eat. “My head feels like it is full of cotton.”
“I think because you used your powers. I know how it feels, though. The first time I used magic without help, Caden was bleeding out on the floor. It nearly killed me, but it saved his life.”
“Oh,” Iris put her utensil down, “he loves you because you saved him.”
Callie moved her head from side to side, “Actually, that made him very mad at me.”
Iris nodded, “That would. He doesn’t want anyone to die in his protection, or outside of his protection. He’s a good guardian. The best.”
Callie smiled and looked at the door, “Yes, I am a very, very lucky woman.”
Iris nodded vigorously, then ate a bite of bread. “He is very sexy, but scary.”
Callie laughed, “I know what you mean. He never scared me when we were running away from the Unwashed in Sumaria, but when Ian pushed you too far, even I was scared of Caden’s reaction. He’s refused to leave you alone ever since. This is the first time he has left your room since you nearly died.”
Iris blinked a few times, “Who is Ian?”
Callie’s expression was of shock, then sadness. “He is another guardian who is here. He has been …” her voice trailed off. “He is very sorry for what happened to you. I admit I did not know much about him before two weeks ago, but I know that he was top of his class, a real prodigy. His father took care of your mother, and I think that made him feel like—”
Iris knocked the tray on the floor. “His father what?”
Callie was startled, and immediately began to clean up the mess. “He—he—”
Caden burst through the door. His eyes immediately went to Iris. “Ian, now.” There was an urgency to his voice.
Seconds later, a dark-haired man appeared in the room. Iris began to scramble away from him as he moved rapidly toward her. He stopped and turned to look at Caden.
Caden’s voice was soothing, “It’s okay, Iris. He’s not an assassin. He is a guardian.”
Iris felt her heart start to slow down and her breathing was a little less rapid. The man moved slowly toward her bed.
“It’s okay, Iris. It’s okay.” He shifted and moved toward her.
As the tiger neared the bed, Iris stretched out her hand. She felt a smile spread across her face as her hand touched his head. “You are soft.” She began to scratch his ear, and suddenly Iris got a sense of déjà vu. “I’ve done this before.”
The tiger looked at her and nodded his head.
Iris lay down on her side and moved to the edge of the bed. Her hand continued to stroke the tiger’s head. He sat beside her bed until she fell asleep.
The next time Iris woke, there were loud noises coming from downstairs. Some strange memories floated through her mind. She was certain of three things. First, everything she remembered had happened, no matter how much it seemed like a dream. Second, there should not be that many people in her house. Third, something had gone wrong with her father’s trip.
She sat up and threw the covers off.
“No, no. You should not be getting up. You need more rest.”
“Something is wrong with my father. I cannot stay in bed while he is in trouble.”
There was silence, then a figure detached from the shadows. “How do you know?”
“Your reaction is enough to tell me I am right.”
“You don’t even know what is going on.”
“I know that I have to do something.”
“You are in no state to help anyone.” He stepped into the light.
Iris looked at him, then turned toward her dresser, “You can’t stop me.”
“If I don’t stop you, Caden will.”
“So you admit you can’t stop me.”
“I am just telling you that there is no way you are getting out of here and putting yourself in danger while Caden is in charge.”
“He isn’t in charge, Ian. I am.”
The man looked shocked for a moment. “You know who I am?”
“Of course. I’m not delirious anymore.”
“Really, you could have fooled me. If you want to prove you are alright, get back in bed and stop pretending you are in any state to be moving around.”
“You know, Ian, I grew up in this house. I have some very fond memories of doing things I knew were wrong. I have several stashes around here that only I know about. Would you like to see some of them?”
“What are you talking about?”
Iris lifted up a panel in the wall. “Here’s one. I used to put books in here to read at night because I didn’t want to go to bed.” She pulled something out, but it was not books. “And over here,” she moved away from the wall and toward a corner of the room, “this one is clever.” She climbed up on the chair and shakily reached toward the ceiling.
Ian instinctively put his hands up as if he were going to catch her. “Iris, I don’t think you are in a state where you should be—”
“Ah, there.” A small bag fell out of the ceiling. “I used to store candies up there. My dad didn’t know I could reach up there, so it was perfect for sneaking snacks with my nightly activities. I used to love to draw at night in the dark. The moon can be very beautiful, and when the clouds cover it…” she moved to the window and looked up at the cloudy sky, the voices downstairs easier to hear. “When the clouds covered it, I imagined the light shapes as animals moving across the sky, their lives fleeting and beautiful.”
She could hear snatches of conversation from the open window downstairs. She recognized the voice of the queen and Caden talking about an attack near the shores of Anilin, a country that was usually neutral.
Iris leaned out the window. “I remember wondering what the wide world was like. When I was younger, I wondered if I would ever be interested in leaving my home and Father to learn more about the world at large. As a mystic and the daughter of a well-respected merchant, I would be forced to travel with a large group, and that always made it seem unappealing.” She turned and looked at Ian. “Do you know what I mean?”
He shook his head, “I have travelled to many places ever since I was young. I never had to wonder.”
Iris smiled at him, then looked at the window. “Well, I suppose that means you were lucky back when you were young. I wasn’t. But then,” she looked at him again, “everyone’s luck changes at some point.”
With that, she quickly ducked through the window and slid out of sight before Ian could fully process what had happened.