The Dream Sifter by Candice Bundy

Author:Candice Bundy [Bundy, Candice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci-Fi/Dark Fantasy/Horror
Publisher: Lusios Publishing, LLC
Published: 2013-08-13T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Rai sat in the back of Headmaster John's planetary history class and tried to focus on what she considered a boring lecture on local geology as it related to current Az'Un trade routes. Her eyes strayed out the window, and her mind kept dwelling on her commitments back at the Waystation. Jesse hadn't been enthusiastic over her interest in attending classes at the school, but she'd allowed it.

They'd had a long discussion and Rai'd argued exposure to historic information might trigger more memories. Rai got the impression from her scent cues that Jesse might want her to give up the hunt to discover her lost knowledge, but she never came out and said as much. Jesse allowed her to attend the school three days a week during midday and early afternoon, saying the knowledge would round out her education. Rai had to return home in order to cover her evening shifts, lest it appear she wasn't doing her part.

There was another reason Rai found being away from the Waystation desirable: Somnu. During the days, he always hovered in the background. Rai'd shifted from not trusting toward harboring a genuine animosity toward him. His penetrating gaze tracked her every move. Jesse had encouraged her to give Somnu a chance, reminding her that he was an old friend of the Durmah, and thus deserved her friendship as well. Rai had responded by being polite and helpful, but wouldn't truly open up to Somnu. Being at the school during the days helped her avoid him without slighting him. During the evenings Somnu entertained the Waystation patrons with songs and tales, which Rai felt kept a comfortable distance between them.

Focusing back on the Headmaster's lecture, Rai found him discussing the various mountainous spines on their continent. She'd remembered passing over the Baris spine, but otherwise the discussion held little interest for her. The class was relatively small, having about two dozen total students. Almost all of them were male and in their late teens. Rai assumed most of the other females her age would still be fulfilling their terms of Temple service. Those not actively pregnant would be in Temple schools and not here with the other students.

The Headmaster referenced a large map on goat vellum he'd hung at the front of the class, and Rai now took a moment to study it. The map was too far away to read the names of given features, but the color-coded topography was easy enough to follow. The wisps of charcoal gray depicted the spines, with the tallest peaks and most advantageous passes marked with firm strokes. Predictably, the colors of the plains, forests and grasslands had been drawn in greens, the roads in beige, and the oceans and bays in blue. The swamp areas were marked in a blue-green mixture, and cave complexes had simple gray outlines on top of whatever type of land they laid beneath.

The continental map reminded Rai of the map Stoi had shown her. It was a similar shape and color, except that Stoi's map didn't have the cave complex details upon it.

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