Sarnd floated through the water.
It was clear, which was strange; the water in the river was always an impenetrable brownish-yellow. Where was he?
The current tugged his hair and limbs and clothes one way and then another with gentle caresses. His eyes could find no fish or weeds, again so unlike the river he knew. There, he could always find some life, though it was always a challenge working out what was hiding down in the murkiness. Here, it was just him and the crystalline green water.
He looked around idly. He saw no bottom and no sides, nothing but water stretching out as far as he could see. For that matter, he was unable to make out where the surface was, but it concerned him less than it might have. The experience was pleasant; the cool and soothing liquid all around him, washing away his cares. He could feel himself moving along at a relaxing pace, although his destination was a mystery.
As he closed his eyes and started to let himself drift, it occurred to him he felt no urgent need to breathe. Being underwater for this long meant his lungs should be burning and dark flecks dancing across his vision. But he experienced none of that.
For the first time, he was struck by how disturbing this experience was, and his heartbeat accelerated.
Perhaps the water could sense his thoughts, because the strength of the current increased, its tugging becoming more urgent. Liquid anxiety lashed in long, invisible tendrils against his skin. Each drop now saw him as the intruder, an enemy to be vanquished. His earlier tranquillity forgotten, he kicked his legs and waved his arms to try to swim to somewhere safer, if such a place existed. But he found nothing solid to push against, and his efforts were futile.
Then it all was gone in the blink of an eye, and he was crouched gasping and naked on a desolate plain, a great fire leaping up to the ashen sky on all sides. Any lingering moisture on his skin dried in an instant, and the encircling flames roared up ever higher.
That was when he heard it, a voice cutting through his alarm. Do not fear, it assured him, in an almost sensual whisper, I am waiting for you. And the flames turned green and rushed towards him.
Sarnd woke, drenched in sweat, heart hammering in his chest.
Now I can’t sleep without my imagination torturing me!
Although, since hearing about the horror that Karrti could bring, he had expected to have far more disturbing visions. Water and fire were a relief in comparison.
Unable to get back to sleep, and unwilling to lie awake dwelling on the dream or the danger the town was facing, he got up, making his way down to the kitchen in search of a drink. Jessa was already there, frowning as she sipped from a cup, her unbound hair a dark halo of tangles around her head.
“Trouble sleeping?” he asked her.
Her mouth twisted. “More than usual. Wine?” She held out a jug, which he accepted without hesitation.
“I can understand why you’re having nightmares, after what you’ve been through,” he told her, as gently as he could. If he had been the one abducted by the Enjeb, he would be a complete wreck, and he was hesitant to say anything that would cause her to relive her ordeal.
She shook her head. “No, it’s not that.” She swallowed and took a deep breath, preparing to make a momentous announcement. “I wish I knew whether I was Gifted or not.” The words came out in a rush.
“Gifted?” His mind still befuddled by his dream, the term failed to register at first.
“I think that’s what it’s called, when someone shows they can control the Lifespring.”
“Yes, I remember when we were children and you were obsessed with the idea. How many times did you nag Tormas to help you find out? But he was quite insistent that you weren’t. It seems unlikely that you could be, after all these years.” He would never tell her this, but he was clinging to the hope that she was wrong; the time was coming when anyone who had such talents would be required to put themselves in the front line, no matter how inexperienced. And it may be more than the Enjeb they would have to face, if his theory was correct.
He’d come close to losing his twin once, and his chest tightened at the idea of going through that again.
“I don’t know!” she said, the slap of her palm on the wooden table top rattling the jug and cups. “Which is the problem. It all happened so fast, it’s hard to sort it all out and make sense of it. But since then, I’ve been thinking how strange it was, the strong vibration which came from nowhere. And I’m convinced those flames burst out from inside the branch.”
She sighed and her face fell. Sarnd was tempted to try to cheer her up, if only he could think of the right words without giving her false hope. “I can imagine how overwhelming the experience was for you, and I think you’ve done so well to recover as fast as you have, but...” That sounded weak, even to his ears, and he realised he had no idea what to say next.
“Sarnd,” she said, “are you jealous?”
“What? No, not at all!” That was truer than a lot of things he’d said in recent days.
She puffed out her cheeks and looked up at the ceiling, a sure sign he was not going to be pleased by what she was about to say. “It’s fine, I understand. But you have to see, if I am Gifted, then we need to work out how we can use it to fight the Enjeb again.”
“Yes, I know, but...”
Jessa had always been adept at reading his emotions, no matter how hard he tried to hide them. Right now, she should be able to see the dizzying mix of dismay and irritation running through him. If she did, she ignored it.
“Look, I know you’re worried about Urzed being back. I am, too,” she said. “I don't know why he’s so interested in me, but from what he told me, he wants you as well, and probably Betha too. When he attacks the town again, we have to stop him with whatever we have available.”
“Of course, but—”
“And we are twins,” she went on, putting on a smile that looked forced. “If I am Gifted after all, then you could be, too.”
“That would be... marvellous,” he said, though it was not the word uppermost in his mind. The whole prospect of having any abilities of that sort had always horrified him. “But even if we both are, will it be enough? Our parents were supposed to be very powerful in using the Lifespring, yet they failed to defeat him in the end.”
She looked deflated again, but then the muscles of her face firmed and the glint reappeared in her eyes. “Perhaps we can work it out for ourselves. Whatever we can do would be a help.”
“You make it sound like picking up a hammer! There’s a reason why custodians study for years and years at the Academy.” There must be a way he could convince her to stop going down this reckless track. “Anyway, Kavilas has sent a message to the Academy now—they’ll be able to help you when they arrive.” And with any luck, they’ll send enough powerful custodians that you can forget this whole, crazy idea. But he lacked the resolve to say that last bit out loud.
Jessa shook her head. “That’s all well and good, but can we wait that long? Assuming they decide to send anyone at all—who knows whether they’ll see the Enjeb coming back to Naerun as a serious problem?”
She was right. It took several days for a messenger to ride from Naerun to Eisilath, where the Academy was, far away to the north-east. He may have dropped out of sight for over twenty years, but Urzed was wasting no time picking up where he left off.
“Perhaps there is a way we can work this out,” said Jessa. “For the last few nights I’ve been having a strange dream where I’m almost drowning, but then the water disappears and I’m in the middle of a fire. And now there’s a voice, calling me.”
He gaped at her. “I’ve had those dreams too! Do you remember those stories of twins having the same dreams?”
“Yes, but I thought we decided it was all a load of rubbish. I feel this is different... it might be related to being Gifted.”
Sarnd took a mouthful from his cup, grateful it was wine rather than plain water. “Or... do you think Urzed might be sending us the dreams? Who knows what he can do, with the power of the Serpentstone...” His voice faded to a half-whisper as a ripple of dread stalked down his spine.
“No, no, I don’t think so,” Jessa replied, though she sounded uncertain. “It’s not his voice, in my dream. Although honestly, I have no idea whether that’s relevant or not... It’s so annoying, we know next to nothing about the Lifespring, though we have this amazing ancestry! Who can we ask?”
“Eli may remember a clue from Tormas’s work,” he ventured, despite his desire not to be drawn into whatever misguided scheme his sister had set her heart on. “I don't think that will be enough, and Mirul will refuse to help us. I think we should leave it to Kavilas to—”
“I’m sure Kavilas will do his best,” she interrupted. “However, he lacks any ability to control the Lifespring. Urzed can, and he’ll use whatever is within his grasp to get what he wants. Anyway, I think we’re obliged to try whatever we can to help—it wasn’t Kavilas’s parents who let the town down.”
He felt his jaw drop. “That’s hardly fair! They died trying to save us, remember.”
“Of course I know it. But if they felt they needed to take those sorts of risks, I keep thinking we should be prepared to do the same.”
Before Sarnd could think of a suitable response, Jessa grabbed a handful of her hair and twisted it in a way that looked painful. “It’s so unfair! To be facing this again now, and we’re in complete ignorance about what to do. Why did nobody leave us any information that would be useful in case of another attack?”
“Well, they—we—all thought our parents had dealt with the enemy, and there wouldn’t be another attack,” he replied. “It goes to show how wrong we’ve all been, all of these years.”
He wondered how long it would be before their home stopped being a sanctuary, vulnerable to the doom he could feel encircling them.