Acting the Part - Chapter 26 - A'mara Books

26

(Silnaday, cont.)

Isle of Varkevand

Finally, the bus pulled over at an unlikely-looking stop along the side of the road.

“This is our stop,” he said to Iyva and they quickly left the bus, thanking the driver as they did.

The bus pulled away again and Iyva and Zilan were left in silence except for the roaring of the ocean and the cries of seabirds.

“I could just soak this up!” Iyva said with outstretched arms.

“Soak up what you can. We’ll be here a few days at least.. maybe a bit longer,” Zilan said as they walked down the path that had recently been trimmed to look tidy.

They got to a door and Zilan rapped it firmly.

A woman answered the door. She was clearly with child. Zilan figured it was probably Kami Kree.

“I am aware that Tle-sun is visiting you,” Zilan said.

“Who shall I say is calling?” the woman replied.

“Just have him come. I no longer use the name he knew me by.”

She closed the door.

A few minutes later, the man Zilan remembered from the shadows of Loxos opened the door.

“I understand congratulations are in order, Tle-sun,” Zilan said.

“Thank you. The little one is almost two seasons. Do I know you?” Tle-sun Orivesk asked.

“You did once and you remembered me once more,” Zilan answered cryptically.

“Oh my stars! Joen!!!” Tle-sun suddenly exclaimed and gave the man a hug. “Come inside!”

“Zilan, if you don’t mind,” he corrected.

“That will take me some time to get used to,” Tle-sun said ushering the travelers inside.

“You remember me, Tle-sun?” Iyva asked as they entered the living room.

“Iyva?!” he gave her a hug too. “How did you end up with him?”

“It’s a long story,” Zilan said.

“We have all the time we want,” Tle-sun said. “You remember Ardin?”

The other man had entered the room with the woman who had answered the door.

“Just,” Zilan confessed.

“Introductions are in order,” Ardin said. “Please, Tle-sun, you seem to be only person in room who knows everyone.”

“Of course,” the man replied. “Ardin Kree, his wife, Kami. Joen Vaala, now known as Zilan, his… student? Iyva Erynnis. My wife, Jenna and our son Arvad.”

“You used to have a chola,” Iyva said hesitantly to Tle-sun.

“Sadly, Levon Tharn died last summer,” Tle-sun informed.

“I’m sorry,” Iyva barely managed to mutter. “How?”

“He died saving us,” Jenna said.

“I’m so sorry!” she said fighting back the tears. “I… I never got to tell him that I was sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt him the way I know I did.”

“I’m sure he knows,” Tle-sun said comfortingly.

“Iyva, do you remember the lesson I gave you about honor?” Zilan asked.

“You told me a story about saving someone who was meant to be your enemy,” Iyva said.

“It wasn’t just a story,” Zilan replied. “This is the man who saved me – and I saved him in Loxos.”

“How?” Tle-sun asked.

“I was monitoring the situation with the Balan in Loxos. They wanted to kill you and Jenna. I forbade them, but that didn’t go over well. Shallona was using a psychic booster when she was fighting you guys. When I realized she had the intention to kill, I interfered enough to remove it – allowing Levon to kill her. I am sorry that she managed to kill Levon, though. I had to leave Loxos after that – they began to realize I wasn’t Balan. That was partly how I got my Death Edict. Iyva too because she’s associated with me.”

“But you trained as Balan! We found the record of it,” Tle-sun said. “Under Dr. Jarly, even!”

“He found me after the disaster and offered me training. I didn’t really know who he was at the time, but I wanted to keep training. Once I realized what he was, I left – and became Zilan. I have lived in the shadows ever since – sometimes falling in with the Neví and Balan to keep them from being too crazy.”

“What happened in Loxos then?” Tle-sun asked.

“Brutality. I don’t know. Shallona must have been Uugli, it’s the only thing I can think of.”

“Or Yerdua,” Tle-sun said. “I thought the Uugli disbanded after the Disaster.”

“So did I,” Zilan replied. “But this really surprised me and made me think more. You’re right though, Shallona could have been Yerdua – the way her hatred consumed her, it’s possible. There have always been rumors that some of the Uugli were, you know.”

“Yes,” Tle-sun pondered. “So, does Saraca know about you?”

“No. I don’t know that I want to be known just yet,” Zilan replied.

“I think if she knew the whole story… how you took a Death Edict to protect us … she’d be happy to have both of you back,” Tle-sun said. “In fact, a similar thing happened in Towani City recently. A member of the Balan refused to use the woman he loved for the Balan cause and earned himself a Death Edict. He then gave them a gold level shaze demonstration when sparring with her!”

“I read about him. Elíaz, I seem to remember his name was. I am interested in meeting him and his wife, actually,” Zilan said.

Iyva nodded. “I thought his proposal was so romantic too!” she said dreamily.

“Anyway, it’s something that Iyva and I will think about,” Zilan said.

Iyva drifted to talk with Kami and Jenna.

“How did she come to be your student?” Tle-sun asked when the women were out of easy listening.

“After Ralun and then Zarkonn – I guess you knew him as Zaynen – were arrested, there was no one left looking after Iyva, so I stepped in,” he explained.

“I sense she is more than just your student,” Tle-sun said.

Zilan looked at the young woman who seemed oblivious to their continued conversation. “It’s always up to her, you know… But I’ve never found another young woman who was such a shaze natural. I was trained in Kri’enden, as you may remember. Jarly and I went back to Joton to hone my skills. I took Iyva there recently for the same reason – to give her someone else to train with for awhile. She quickly bested all of what they had to challenge her there. Mind, that wasn’t in the A’mara Complex...”

“I’ve heard a similar story from Laisen and Jessten,” Tle-sun replied. “They are 10 years apart and resisted their feelings for each other, but the shazeplay finally did it for them.”

“Iyva doesn’t realize I’m almost 14 years older than she, but I think about it every day. I have just left my 20s and she hasn’t even started them yet. It is a spread that will burden her when we get older,” Zilan said with concern.

“You say you’ve left it up to Iyva. I would suggest trusting her with her heart. She seems to love you very deeply,” Tle-sun said. He let the words sit there a moment before he continued. “If nothing else, I am glad to see you again.”

“I as well,” Zilan said.

“So, what brought everyone here today?” Ardin asked. “I am not training as A’mara.”

“I felt the need to meet you again, and your amazing wife. I’ve heard about what she accomplished here!” Tle-sun replied.

“I came because I’d heard that you were coming, Tle-sun, and felt the need to get right with you,” Zilan replied. “I figured this was where you’d be after I heard about Ardin and Kami.”

“How do you know everything?” Tle-sun asked.

“I have my ways. I know that you consider Arvad to be a new incarnation of Levon. I also know that Yewan and his wife are expecting a baby and that there’s concern because she’s old to be a first-time mother.”

“That’s it! I need to tell Saraca to create a new skill mastery badge – for eavesdropping! You’d take the diamond for sure!” Tle-sun said, shaking his head with amazement.

♥

NEXT CHAPTER

If you have enjoyed this book, I would be grateful if you could put your thoughts as a review on Goodreads for me.

Other Chapters of this set

Acting the Part - chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Building on Promise - Chapter 1

Acting the Part, part 2 - Chapter 10

Spice of Strength - Chapter 1

Acting the Part, part 3 - Chapter 19

Maps and Guides

continents of Alacantis and Kranisis (five maps)
continent of Almara (five maps)
countries of Kri'enden and Yezi'im (four maps plus "other places")
characters, pronunciation and glossary

PLEASE CATCH UP!	LINKS TO BUY! (in chronological order)
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COMING SOON	TO AN EBOOK STORE NEAR YOU!!!
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Lori Svensen
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photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
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