Oh my god it's a chapter! *gasp*
So... yeah... *ahem* I will try and be more frequent with my updates in the future.
Melody groaned at the pounding in her head. She opened her eyes and blinked rapidly to clear her blurry vision. She was lying at the bottom of a small chasm where the bridge had collapsed. Thankfully part of the bridge was still attached and she used it climb up to the walkway above.
How long had she been out? The sun had gone down and nighttime surrounded her as stars winked overhead. The generator was still working because the lamps around Tomahna were all functioning.
What had caused the bridge to collapse? The only thing she remembered was what had felt like an earthquake followed by a flash of green light.
"Yeesha?" Melody called. She was probably scared.
There was no answer.
"Yeesha!" Melody called again, more worriedly.
The silence caused a feeling of terror to creep up her spine.
"Yeesha! Yeesha answer me!"
Melody raced along the walkways, calling out and glancing into every building but found nothing.
Yeesha was gone.
Panic made tears well up in her eyes and it hurt to breathe. There was no way Yeesha would have left Tomhana with Melody lying hurt. The only explanation was that someone had taken her. But who?
Immediately she knew the answer.
Sirrus or Achenar.
It had to be. Somehow one or both of the brothers had escaped and taken Yeesha. For what purpose? Revenge on their father? They were just crazy and ruthless enough to use a little girl for revenge.
Melody considered her options. She didn't know where the linking books to the prison Ages were. She didn't know which brother had taken Yeesha. If it was just Sirrus, she could handle him. But if it was Achenar…
Her gaze moved up toward the observatory high above the rest of Tomahna. She had no choice. She had to tell Atrus what had happened.
Setting the antenna was as easy as pulling a switch to open a portion of the ceiling and guiding the antenna out of the opening. She moved to the viewer and dug Atrus' journal out of the desk to find the crystal code to Rime. The crystals were set inside the lower portion of the machine. By setting the dials, she could change the shape and color of the crystal. Once she had to code for Rime inputed, she pressed the button to signal Atrus.
There was a lot of the static on the screen and she could barely make out Atrus' face.
"My friend! Are you there? I hope you are getting this because I'm barely receiving you."
"Atrus you have to come back quick. Something terrible has happened." Melody said, trying to keep her voice calm.
"There is a terrible electromagnetic storm here," Atrus said, his voice fading in and out. "I can't leave Rime until it is over. There is a desk in my bedroom. Below the top drawer there is a symbol. Press on it to reveal two compartments. The commentaries I wrote on Haven and Spire are inside."
"That's not important right now!" Melody exclaimed. "I can't find Yeesha!"
"Yes, tell Yeesha not to forget her homework," Atrus said right before the signal faded.
"No. No Atrus come back!" Melody pressed every button on the machine. "Don't leave me here to deal with this by myself! I need help!"
Only static answered her.
Melody sank to the floor. What was she going to do? It was easy to act when you didn't have time to think. It was different when a little girl's life hung in the balance.
Tears once again filled her eyes as she imagined Yeesha. Was she locked away somewhere? Was she hurt? Would the brothers have harmed her?
She must be so scared, Melody thought, guilt weighing on her like a heavy load. She should have insisted that her and Yeesha go with Atrus to Rime. She should have kept Yeesha with her at all times.
She should have killed Sirrus and Achenar long before this.
If she'd known they were still alive, she would have.
Crying wasn't going to get her anywhere. She gave herself a firm mental shake and stood once again. So she didn't know where the books were. That had never stopped her before. She would just have to search until she found them. She knew Atrus well enough by now to guess at his hiding places.
The first place she searched was Atrus and Catherine's bedroom. Atrus had said that there were journals in there for her to read. Maybe they would tell her where the linking books were.
All of the building in Tomahna were circular and Atrus and Catherine's bedroom was no exception. A large bed took up the wall on the right a desk and fireplace on the other side and a large skylight overhead made up the room. Moonlight bathed the room in a pale light.
Melody's objective had been the desk, but once she got close something else caught her eye.
Something was glowing in the fireplace.
Stooping low, Melody entered the small space and gasped.
The glowing object was Yeesha's necklace! What was it doing in the fireplace?
As she picked it up a scene played in her mind, like she was watching a movie.
A little girl was running. Yeesha. She looked back over her shoulder, fear on her face. She darted into the fireplace and pressed a button to close it just as a man's hand reached inside and tore her necklace from her neck, sending it falling to the ground.
As her vision cleared, Melody gasped and put a hand to her forehead. What was that?!
Yeesha's words came back to her. "Do you think it's strange that my necklace shows me things?" Had Yeesha's necklace actually shown her a memory of some kind?
Someone had been chasing her. But who? It had been a man's hand she had seen. Had it been Sirrus or Achenar? But Yeesha had gotten away by hiding in the fireplace. But where was she now? Was she still hiding somewhere or had she been caught after all? Considering Atrus' fetish for hiding things in fireplaces, she wasn't surprised that the one in his bedroom turned into a secret compartment. The question was, did it lead anywhere else?
A search of the fireplace revealed a red button, but when she pressed it the door shut and a panel appeared. Apparently she needed to enter some kind of code, but as usual she didn't know it. She would have to search the house after all.
Then again, she hadn't check Atrus' study yet. Maybe Yeesha was hiding in one of them. The thought occurred to her that if she had been hiding Yeesha would have answered her calls before, but Melody was terrified and grasping at any hope, however slim, that the little girl was safe.
Atrus' study could only be reached from the balcony which could be reached from Catherine's study. As she passed the container of beetles Melody felt her eyes sting. Only a few hours ago she had been standing there watching Yeesha study the beetles with such intensity. Only a few hours ago, Yeesha had been safe and happy.
What she found next to the desk didn't help her emotional state.
A shattered pot lay on the floor next to the door to the balcony. As she approached it, the crystal in Yeesha's necklace glowed again. This time she didn't see anything, but heard what sounded like someone trying to break something.
Then Yeesha's panicked voice. I have the key! I have the key! Please!
That did it. Melody felt tears in her eyes once again as she clutched the necklace. The poor little girl, she sounded so scared. I should have been there, Melody thought. I should have stopped them.
Had this been before or after she had hidden in the fireplace? Was there still a chance she had escaped? Unfortunately the door to the balcony was locked so there was no way for Melody to see if Yeesha was hiding there. She tried pounding on the door and calling out, but there was no answer.
In a drawer of the desk, Melody found Catherine's journal:
I linked to Haven yesterday. The smell of its beach washed over me long before my vision cleared. With the veil of haze slowly lifting from my eyes, I forced myself she breathe very deeply. I had not told Atrus I was doing this. He would have argued with me, and told me again how dangerous it is to visit the prison Ages before Tomahna's linking chamber is built. But construction takes time and I could no longer wait for him.
The sight of the ship wreck rising out of the sea filled me with unexpected dread. Of course I'd known it would be there; I'd seen it countless times in Atrus' viewer. But seeing it for real through slanted metal bars made me realize exactly what we'd done. I imagined the words my sons would throw at me, and courage drained away like summer wine. I did not try to signal him.
I feel nothing but numbness now. It was my idea to write the chambers into existence- to bend the Art so that a secure room might be "inserted" in each Age, with solid walls no force of man might break. Only then could we risk visiting our sons, and leaving a Tomahna linking book behind us when we left.
It took me months to convince Atrus this could work. But now that the chambers exist, and I will speak to my sons for the first time in years, I find myself not knowing what to say. How will I explain out decision to leave them prisoners? If hardship and isolation have not caused them to repent, as was or hope, what words will soothe the anger in their souls?
Weeks have passed and I still have not found the courage to link again. Perhaps it is just as well. Atrus was not pleased when he learned what I had done. He begged me to have more patience, then put extra pressure on the Guild of Stonemasons to finish. Today they had informed us that Tomahna's chamber will be ready in two days. Things always take longer to build when you must do it by hand. Now Atrus is looking to having our bedroom back…
Melody stopped reading, stunned. 'Our bedroom'… that meant that… the linking chamber to the prison Ages was… somewhere in Atrus' and Catherine's bedroom…?
That was just wrong on so many levels. She forced herself to continue reading.
I keep wondering how I will be able to sleep there, knowing our sons are just a wall away. I worry how they'll act when they greet us, how different they will be from the laughing boys I remember playing with toy boats in Myst's reflection pool. They were happy then. We all were happy. Anna was still with us, and the love we shared as a family know no bounds.
Then Anna died. And our cozy world unraveled.
From what she remembered, Anna was Atrus' grandmother and had been the one to teach him the Art and about his D'ni heritage, that is before his father got a hold of him. Evidently Anna and Gehn had had a very strained relationship. Not surprised considering Atrus' family history. When Anna had died, everything had changed.
To deal with the loss of his grandmother Atrus buried himself in work, spending less and less time with our sons. At 8 years old, Sirrus must have seen this as rejection, but even then his pride was too well-formed to let it show. And as for Achenar… He'd never known how to channel his emotions appropriately.
Melody snorted. That was one way to put it.
I do not excuse the crimes committed. Sirrus and Achenar shattered so many lives, in far worse ways then Anna's death shattered ours. It's for this reason that I have stood by Atrus' decision, and left my sons inprisoned all these years. But I cannot escape my own culpability in this. For when Sirrus and Achenar needed me most, I was too consumed by sorrow to see.
I am being torn in two.
I am trapped between a mother's love for her children and a woman's loyalty to her husband.
I don't know if I…
It is so hard! I watch Atrus and Achenar trying to communicate, and it feels like knife blades ripping through my heart. They don't know how to relate to each other. Achenar speaks only from emotions, and Atrus fears he's made his son a savage. Only my presence keeps things from fraying.
It's easier with Sirrus. They share a love of science. And Sirrus' willingness to discuss advancements he's made ignites similar excitement in Atrus. Yet even then, Atrus doesn't believe. He's unwilling to trust because he knows what monsters they have been.
I must find a way to resolve this. I must break through Atrus' doubts and get him to see what he cannot.
It's been a long time since I've written in this journal. I thought perhaps I had lost it, but while replotting plants in my study I found it behind one of the incubators. It must have fallen there when Atrus reconfigured the generator. It is a good thing I found it before Melody. She is visiting us once again, after another argument with Trace. With her curious nature I am sure she would have read at least the first page to find out who is belonged to, and even the first sentence of this journal would alert her to everything that has been happening. I feel so terrible keeping this from her, but Atrus insists it is for her protection.
Sirrus asked me about Melody the other day. Achenar asks about her as well, but he is distracted when he does so, as though he is only asking because he believes the question is expected of him. It is different with Sirrus. His face grows apprehensive when I tell him of her about her living in Tay, even more so what I speak of Trace.
If Atrus ever decides to tell her, I only hope I am there to see Melody's reaction when they meet again.
Melody's eyes narrowed at the passage. If Catherine was trying to play matchmaker between her and Sirrus, she had another thing coming.
Yeesha asked me today is Atrus and I are still arguing. She was seated at the patio table, her head bowed over her schoolbooks. She was concentrating so hard on tracing a symbol I don't think she saw my reaction. We have always been careful not to disagree in front of her. I should have realized how insightful she can be.
I watched my daughter forming the D'ni words so carefully and I remembered how easy it had been to convince Atrus to start teaching her the Art. He never did teach Sirrus or Achenar. He started to. He wrote J'nanin specifically for that purpose. But after a while he feared they would abuse it, so he stopped.
He's not worried about Yeesha. He sees how curious she is about life, and how full of warmth she can be. It's obvious how much he adores her. As, I think, do Sirrus and Achenar. If there is any hope in this for all of us, it will be through her.
I must not let family tensions upset her. Tomorrow I will speak to Atrus about my going to Tay for a few days. Melody has already agreed to come here and I can only assume it's because of another fight between her and Trace. Perhaps some time away from here, helping Trace and Melody sort out their problems, will help me gain perspective and discover what it is I need to do.
Melody placed the journal down feeling very troubled. She'd had no idea that Catherine was suffering so much. Why hadn't she talked to her about it? Because of a secret that shouldn't have been kept from her in the first place? Melody had always counted on the fact that her and Catherine were so close that she could tell her anything. Now she wasn't sure of anything anymore. The ties she had made since coming to this world, the deep bonds she had formed, were they real or just imagined on her part?
She shook her head. She could puzzle all of this out later. Right now her focus was on searching for anything that could lead her to Yeesha.
The next place she went was the dining area with the kitchen in the back. A patio surrounded this building and on it was a chair with a book detailing the D'ni writing system translated into the Art. As Melody approached the table, Yeesha's necklace glowed and Melody watched the memory.
Atrus and Yeesha sat at the table. Yeesha was struggling with a symbol.
"A little more of a curve there,"Atrus told her, pointing.
"I'm only six Dad. I don't think I can make a whole world."
Atrus smiled. "You're not making a world my desert bird, you are making a link to a world. Come, I'll show you an easier one," he said and started flipping through the book.
The memory faded with Melody smiling. Desert Bird was Atrus' nickname for Yeesha, because she had been born in the desert of Tomahna and, like and bird, she was always flying from place to place. Catherine had gotten that right in her journal. Atrus adored Yeesha. But then again, so did everyone that met her. She couldn't understand how anyone could harm her.
Because it's Sirrus and Achenar, she answered herself. They didn't need a reason.
But then again, something that Atrus had told her came back to her: Even madmen have motives that make sense to them.
What was Sirrus and Achenar's motive? Again her mind went to revenge, but she would just have to keep her eyes open and see what happened when she found them.
And she would find them.
The walkway slanted downward toward Yeesha's bedroom. When she was in front of Yeesha's bedroom door, she could look across the way and see Atrus and Catherine's bedroom on a slightly higher elevation. Something that made her pause was the area underneath their bedroom.
The explosion, the one with the green light, had caused a part of the rock wall the fall away. She could barely make out something there. Was it the linking chamber that Catherine had spoken about in her journal? If so, then Sirrus and Achenar's prison books were in that cavern.
That could come later. She had to complete her search of Tomhana first.