The Channel (The Gifted Book 2) (28 page)

She needed a way to calm her thoughts, something to focus on, but what? Her mind drifted to the man with the long, dark hair who facilitated the attack on the camp. She thought about the images of the man the Libraim had shown her. None depicted the scene she'd witnessed the day before.

Who was he? Where did he go? Was he back?
She doubted it. The guards would have noticed.
Right?
She needed to be sure.

She reached out with her mind's eye to check the area around her tent, to see if they had any unwanted company. Everything seemed quiet. As she mentally stood in the middle of the camp, she looked beyond what was obviously there—she looked for the veil. She wasn't sure if it was even possible, mind walking and invoking another aspect of her gift at the same time, but she gave it try.

At first, nothing happened, but then, she started to see little sparkles of light here and there. She focused on the place where the dark-haired man had disappeared. The opening in the veil started to materialize. Her mind drifted towards it, mentally holding the vision of it steady in her mind.

When she looked through the opening, she saw the dark-haired man looking back. Every muscle in her body flinched against her cot in an attempt to duck out of view, but she quickly realized he couldn't see her. He was actually looking right through her.

He was standing in a room with rough sand-colored walls, light and shadows flickering around him. The walls were painted with runes she'd never seen before, not that she would have had an occasion to know them.

In front of him was a table with something carved into its surface that she couldn't make out, but lying amongst the lines on the table was a small crystal.

It was hard to believe that she was looking into a room in the world of shadows.
Was he in a museum? Was this a room he created?

She watched as he turned his head to look at something outside her view. He was talking to someone, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. That was strange. Lanne had always been able to hear her in the world of shadows.

She watched his lips. She wasn't one to read lips, not usually, but she could swear she saw him say the word 'prisoners.'

The dark-haired man reached for the crystal, and the room disappeared, replaced by a parking lot.

A parking lot? What just happened? How did he do that?

Rhea needed to know where that room was, but how? She peered into the parking lot but could only see rows of empty spaces.

She remembered the other opening inside the camp borders; maybe she could tell where they were by looking there. She mentally returned to the camp and located the opening she'd seen the previous day. She peered through into the world of shadows and tried to see anything that would tell her where the man with the long dark hair was located.

She watched as a single page from a newspaper floated on the breezes, flowing down a dark alley. A small gust pushed the page closer to her, bringing it to rest a few feet from the opening in front of her. She tried to make out the name of the paper, but couldn't. It was too far away.

Frustrated, she opened her eyes and broke her mental exploration. She needed to know where that opening came out, where that room was located. She got up, threw on her clothes and stepped out into the camp, lit by the light coming from the campfire ten yards away.

The flap to the commander's tent opened. "Is everything all right?" He had been awake thinking about what his queen was going to say about this mysterious and powerful new member of the court when he heard her moving around in her tent.

"Yes, but I could use your help." She stepped closer to him. "I need your men to turn their backs. I don't want them to see what I am about to do."

He raised a brow. "May I ask what you are going to do?"

"I'm going to try and reach through the veil," she whispered, "and pick something up. I don't want a lot of people knowing any more about me than necessary."

He stared into her face, still trying to come to grips with who she was and his own reactions to her in such a short time. He decided her request wasn't too significant, and he might learn more about her. He nodded and walked to each man on guard and told them to stand with their back to the camp until further notice.

When Rhea had her privacy, she stepped to the opening and dropped to her hands and knees. She extended her hand through the veil, reaching her arm as far as it would go without extending more of her body through the opening. The newspaper was out of reach.

She sat back on her heels and considered how far she should go.
What if someone was in the alley? What if they saw her?
She was about to cancel her short mission to retrieve the paper when the wind blew again, lifting the paper and sending it within her grasp.

She leaned forward and reached into the other world again, just in time to snatch the paper, as it took flight on its way past the opening, and quickly pull it through.

She heard a gasp from the commander and couldn't help smiling to herself. He wasn't the only one surprised. She turned to face him. "Thank you. You can release your men now." She stepped past the commander and back into her tent.

She quickly looked at the corners of the paper for its source, hoping it wasn't a page from the Washington Post. She was in luck; it was from the Brookneal Union Star. At least she hoped she was in luck. Was Brookneal a place?

The commander released his men to continue their duty and then stood watching Rhea's tent. If she was truly the prince's daughter, she had a right not to share with him what she had found, but what if she wasn't? He needed to know what was going on.

Rhea was about to pull a map from the bottom of her sack when the commander's voice came through the tent flap. "May I come in?"

"Sure, Commander."

He stepped through the flap. "May I ask what you found?"

"It's a newspaper from the other world. I want to know where in the world of shadows our troublemaker is located." She pulled a map from her sack and laid it out on the cot. Based on where they entered Luxatra and the distance they had traveled, she estimated their location, and found Brookneal. She sighed with relief.

She looked up at the commander and placed her finger on the small dot on the map. "It would appear we are located here assuming the paper wasn't dropped someplace else."

It was one thing to be told there was another world and have faith that it was real, but to look upon a large sheet of paper filled with colorful lines and words written in a language he'd never seen before was overwhelming.

The small dot on the map didn't make sense to Rhea. What in Brookneal would have a room with what looked like ancient runes painted on the walls and torches burning?

Commander Nauylor reached for the page from the newspaper. "May I?"

"Sure." Rhea waited for his reaction, knowing there would be one. One side of the page was covered with ads for cell phones and computers, and the other was a full-page spread for a race at the International Speedway.

He stared at the side with the tech ads and then flipped it over. His arms jerked slightly at the picture of the cars on the track. When he finally pulled his eyes from the paper, Rhea could swear he was a couple shades lighter.

"Are you all right?"

"It's true then? I went along with you before but ... but it's really true. What am I looking at?"

Rhea stood next to him and pointed to the various images and text on the page. "This talks about a race coming up at the International Speedway. These are cars ... um ... horseless wagons. They have engines that make the wheels turn, and they can move at great speeds." She paused to see if he understood.

His wide eyes met hers. "And this is where you're from?"

"I'm from here. I was raised in that world."

He turned the paper over. "And what are these?"

Rhea pointed at the various technology ads. "This is an ad for a new cell phone and these are ads for computers."

His expression said he wanted to know more. "And?"

Rhea chuckled. Never in her life did she imagine having to explain those things that were standard fixtures in today's world. "A cell phone is a device we use to communicate. Instead of writing a message on a piece of parchment and using a bird or a courier, we phone the person we want to talk to.

"If I had a phone and you had a phone, I could push some numbers on my phone and your phone would ring announcing my call. When you answered, we could hear each other's voices as if we were standing next to each other."

He stared at the images on the page. "Magic."

Rhea shook her head. "No, technology."

"And what does this say?" He pointed at an ad at the bottom of the page.

"These are ads selling computers. Computers are ... How do I say this? They are machines with a brain. They have many uses, but the simplest task would be to imagine writing a message without a stylus or parchment. Each letter that you can write is a button, and when you push the button, the letter appears in the window of the computer."

He looked at Rhea like she was crazy.

She shrugged. "Yeah, you have to see it to understand." She gently took the paper from his hands and folded it, placing it and the map in her bag. She waited for him to say something, but he had a blank look on his face. "How are you doing?"

His eyes drifted to her. "I'm not sure. It's all so hard to believe."

"Trust me, I know. I've known of this world my entire life but to actually be here …" She shook her head. "It's all new to me. It's been quite an experience learning about my gift and adjusting to this world. I'm used to many conveniences, and here in Luxatra, I feel like I've stepped back in time. Aside from the
magical
gifts some Luxatrans have, the world of shadows was once the same as Luxatra. Cell phones, computers, cars, and other technologies didn't always exist."

Daen's voice penetrated the tent walls. "Rhea, can I come in?"

"Sure. Did we wake you?"

"Not really." Daen looked at the commander and then at Rhea. "Is everything all right?"

She looked at the commander to see if he wanted to answer, but he just nodded. "The commander has just been introduced to technology and cars."

Daen raised a brow in question.

"I pulled a newspaper through one of the veil openings to see where we are. It was covered in ads for cell phones and the International Speedway race coming up." She smiled at the commander. "He's taking it quite well."

Daen laughed to himself. "Speedway, huh? I watched a race there once. Amazing stuff."

The commander gave Daen a puzzled look. "But ..."

"It's a long story. Let's just say I spent some time there and have only recently returned."

"And Randell? Has he been there?" the commander asked.

"He was born there," Rhea explained. "He's only part Luxatran."

The commander lowered his voice. "Does Prince Taulin know about ... What did you call it? Technology?"

Daen shook his head. "We haven't told him. I think it's safe to say he's never seen a newspaper or heard of cell phones and cars."

The corner of Commander Nauylor's lips turned up in a grin.

Daen cleared his throat. "Commander, may I have a word with Rhea?"

"Yes, of course." As he stepped from the tent he added, "Cook should have breakfast ready soon. You're welcome to join us."

Rhea nodded. "Thank you, Commander."

Daen and Rhea sat down. "I wanted to see how you were doing," he whispered.

"I'm fine. Why?" She thought back to their talk a couple nights before and assumed he was just checking on her, but that didn't explain the concerned look on his face.

He forced a smile. "A lot has happened, and you've been surrounded by a lot of people. I wanted to see if you needed anything, something you might not ask for in front of everyone else."

Rhea nodded. "Thank you, but I'm all right. Our talk in Eantan helped."

He studied her for a moment, then nodded. "Well, just remember I'm here if you need to talk."

Rhea couldn't keep from grinning. "Now that I think of it," she dropped her voice to a quiet whisper. "What's up between Randell and Taulin? I get the feeling they might not be getting along?"

Daen pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile.

"What?"

Daen shook his head and chuckled. "Really? You can't see it?"

"See what?"

"We think Taulin's attracted to you, and Randell is feeling a little protective. I think he sees you as the little sister he needs to protect."

Rhea sat up straight, a little shocked at the assumption regarding Taulin. "Taulin?" she whispered. "You're kidding, right? He's probably just interested in my gift." Actually, she'd noticed the occasional look from Taulin and had hoped it was more, but she had to be realistic. "Think about it. Taulomi would have a claim on me because of my mother, and Sentran would because of my father. Where does that leave Laundan? No. I don't believe his interest is based on attraction."

As her words of denial left her lips, she scanned her memory, thinking about the various interactions between her and Taulin.
Could Daen and Randell be right?
No. Besides, it didn't matter. She couldn't afford the distraction.

Daen tipped his head to the side and watched her thinking about what he'd said. He wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, but he hoped she wouldn't close herself off too quickly. "Well, maybe. But I get to say 'I told you so' if I'm right."

Rhea's own words preyed on her mind. She picked at a thread on her shirt. "How will I ever know if you're right? He could proclaim feelings for me, but who's to say they would be genuine and not a means of getting me to Laundan."

Daen smiled and nodded. "Oh, I think you'll know. Besides, we have our human lie detector, remember? Randell will know."

He was right, but she didn't want to think about this anymore. She didn't want to think of Taulin in that way. It would just make their travels uncomfortable. "Well, whatever. We need to decide our next steps, and I would like some privacy when doing so. Maybe we can wake Randell and Taulin and go for a walk."