Otherworld 3: Tala
Chapter 17 - The Secret of the Mirrors
Jaal walked into the main room with Bya following closely behind. The Tala brothers looked at each other questioningly and then at the sorceress. "Are you sure he will obey you?"
"Yes," she answered tersely. She started for the stairway, and then turned, "Bya needs rest. We will begin our journey tomorrow morning." Without another word, Jaal went down the stairs with the Dragon following closely behind.
After putting up a barrier which prevented the brothers from entering her bed chambers, she went to Bya and undressed him and then removed the devices she had forced upon him. He sighed with relief when he was freed, but his need of her was still consuming him. She pointed to the large bed and he obediently went to it and slid between the covers. Jaal bent down and brushed the blond hair from his face and kissed his forehead. He whimpered, fearing that she was leaving him unfulfilled.
"I will be right back." She went to the mirrors, which she had moved to the safety of her room when the Tala brothers moved in, and stood for a long time before one of them. Bya could see a hazy figure in the mirror, but could not make out more than that. Finally, she draped the mirror and came to him.
Bya wrapped around Jaal tightly, afraid to let her go. He bestowed dozens of tiny kisses on her face and shoulders and she burrowed into his warmth. How nice it would be to have his love for real and not just as a forced spell.
The next morning after a simple breakfast, she questioned the brothers as they stood in her room, "Are you sure that the soldiers of Suzaku are ready to revolt against Vara?"
"Our brother contacted the captain of the guard before he was killed by Toyna and he assured him of nearly two thousand soldiers who would be loyal to the true Emperor. They have gathered in several hidden places, just waiting for the word to join together and take possession of the throne in the name of the Emperor's son. And as I said before, one of us will enter Houki, Hotohori's widow, and take the throne in the Boushin's name."
"But it will take us weeks to get down these mountains!" exclaimed the other brother.
"There are many ways to get down a mountain." Jaal replied mysteriously.
"You cannot be thinking of riding the Blue Dragon. He must be kept a secret until the time is right."
"I am not a foolish woman! And I was not referring to Bya." she exclaimed angrily. Then she gestured to the mirror on the wall that she had used to see into the worlds, "Help me pack up that one. Be very careful with it!"
The brothers carefully wrapped the mirror in many layers of burlap and tied it carefully. While they accomplished that task, Jaal packed her supplies and clothes in two large cases. She looked around carefully, making sure nothing had been left behind. Then she went to the mirror that had always been covered and removed its drapery. It looked exactly like the first one.
"Where shall be go first?" She asked.
"We left a hive of poisonous insects at the foot of the mountains that we need to retrieve."
Jaal made a small gesture and the mirror darkened, reflecting nothing, then the mountains showed, landscape after landscape moving quickly in the mirror, until the foothills showed. Then the scene stopped. "Where it is?"
Tala 1 looked at the mirror, frowning. "I think it is more to the east."
The scene changed, moving eastward. "There!" Tala cried. "I recognize that river. It's near there." The mirror stopped and Jaal make a small gesture. It didn't look like anything had changed; the scene remained fixed.
"Walk through and take the luggage with you." Jaal commanded and the brothers stepped through the mirror and came out in the land that had been depicted in the mirror. Bya went through next, carrying the other mirror. Jaal was last to step through and she kept her hand on the edge of her mirror. As she walked through, the mirror turned so that now it was in the foothills and the tower was shown in the mirror. Jaal made a similar gesture as before and the mirror reflected as a normal mirror. The brothers retrieved the hive and then all of them, including the swarm of insects, went through the mirror again, this time going to Suzaku, near the border where Houki and her son lived. One of the brothers, Jaal could never figure out which one was which, went to find the captain while they made camp, perched on a hill with the village where Houki and Boushin lived spread out below them.
The Tala that went for the captain did not return until late the following day, and he was trailed by a large man dressed in Suzaku armor which Jaal assumed was the captain. With him were about a dozen soldiers who stayed outside the tent while Tala and the man entered. Tala introduced him as Captain Jurkis and he formally bowed to Jaal.
"Tala tells me that you are sympathetic to our cause and can help us." Jurkis began, wasting no time with small talk.
"I would like to learn more about your plans." Jaal said cautiously. "Tala says that you can muster 2,000 men? Is that true?"
"At least that many!" Jurkis said proudly, "Many of us have served under Hotohori's father, and then helped Hotohori in the wars with Seiryuu. His son, Boushin, should be on the throne, not this fake queen. She is not even from Suzaku!"
"If you hate her so much, why don't you just assassinate her?"
"We are not killers! We are soldiers! And we would have rebelled before this if it were not for the Red Dragon and the Bobcat Demons she keeps at her side. What chance do we have against them? But Tala tells me that you can prevail against them; that you have great power. With your help, we can take back the throne and Boushin will reign as he should. Will you give us that help?"
"I need to talk over strategy and plans with my assistant," Jaal indicated Bya. "Make camp nearby and I will talk to you tomorrow morning."
Jurkis bowed again and went to his men and ordered them to make camp. The Tala brothers stood there, expectant, but Jaal dismissed them also. Reluctantly and unhappily, they went to their own tent. Once she and Bya were alone, she set up her mirror and once more the dim figure appeared in it. For a long time, she quietly conversed with the figure.