A note concerning Arsiel (Project: Lodestar 3)

The humid air stickily embraced her. It was an altogether unpleasant change from the cool dryness of Grey’s office. Cassandra made a face and shrugged out of her coat. She tied it around her waist and surveyed her surroundings. Thick jungle blocked her vision from every side. She was standing in a clearing, maybe forty, fifty yards square, feet sinking slowly into the thick, aromatic soil. Looking down at her feet, Cassandra saw a tiny green shoot peeking back at her. A voice, strong, but colored by uncertainty startled her. “Cassandra?”

She peered over her shoulder. A tall man, broad of shoulder, held a hoe as if it were a spear. His straw blond hair seemed ephemeral in the light of the full moon. Cassandra smiled, “Arsiel!”

His smile was brighter than the moon, “Cassie!” Arsiel dropped the hoe and dashed across the field in long strides. Cassandra giggled like a child as he swept her up in massive hands, twirled her around, and tossed her easily into the air. She tried to catch her breath, but even as she was gently caught and set back upon the ground she couldn’t stop laughing. “Cassie, it’s so good to see you! What an unexpected pleasure.” His voice was warm and the kindness radiated from him like heat from a furnace.

Cassandra rested her forehead against his sternum and took a few deep breaths. “You’re such a big kid, Arsiel. Stars, it does me good to see you. I should visit more often.”

Arsiel shoved her playfully, “Yeah you should. What’s up with that?”

She grabbed his shirt for balance. “Some of us had to grow up and have work to do.” She stuck out her tongue. “I don’t expect you to understand.”

Arsiel’s exuberance settled. “Work, eh? Seems like that’s the only reason I get to see you these days…”

She sighed, “Time for that in a moment. I haven’t seen you in over a year, what have you been doing to keep out of trouble?”

“Well I was helping out Ridley for awhile after, well, you know, all the unpleasantness. But I got tired of the mercenary life, too much bloodshed. I wanted to do something constructive for a change. So I moved out here and now I’m a farmer. Don’t have too many plots, enough to get by. Plus there’s a community up river a bit that’s always happy to take the surplus. I help ‘em out a little if the bandits get out of hand. Couple months back some would be dictator needed to get knocked down a few pegs. It was a good way to shake the rust off. “

“And you’re happy with all this?”

“Yeah. It’s a fulfilling life. Don’t get me wrong, the old days have a nice warm spot in my memory, and I miss you guys sure as the sun rises, but sometimes change is good, you know?”

“We could all benefit from an outlook like yours.”

“Do you keep in touch with the others?”

“Grey mostly. Though I meet up with Ama every month or so.”

Arsiel chewed on the inside of his cheek. A hint of sadness was obvious in his eyes. “Well, that must be nice.” He brightened up a little, “Grey, huh? How is his nibs?”

“Just as smug and infuriating as he was when he was twelve and wore his little suits and carried around those too big briefcases.”

“He never did change much on the outside.”

“I’m not so sure he’s changed on the inside.”

“So you two work together then?”

“Yeah. I do a lot of consulting work these days. I’m on hiatus at the moment though.”

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Your hiatus?”

“Something big has come up, Arsiel, and I’m terrified.”

“What is it?”

“Ansel. I’m not so sure he’s dead. I think he’s back.”


Arsiel was silent. He looked up at the moon and scratched his chin. Finally he spoke, “What’s Grey think about this?”

Rosy fingers of embarrassment crept up her neck and cheeks. “Grey…Grey hasn’t found anything yet. But he’s looking.” Cassandra absentmindedly nibbled on the nail of her index finger. “It was just a dream, Arsiel, but I don’t think I’m wrong.”

“I believe you.”

“You do?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t believe it from anyone else, not even Grey, but you Cassie?” He rubbed a scar on his neck, “You’re not usually wrong.” Cassandra hugged him tightly. Tears leaked from her clenched eyelids. “You’re here, and you’ve told me, and I believe you, but what is it you want me to do?”

Cassandra wiped her eyes and looked up at him. Her voice was creaky, “What?”

“I’m just a glorified thug. You don’t know where he is or what he’s doing, and without that information there’s not much I can do. “

“You can believe in me. That’s enough for now I think.”

“Who else have you told?”

“Just Grey,” She paused and the tears snuck back, “And Gabriel.”

Arsiel drew her into a solid embrace. He stroked her hair. “Since you’re here, I can guess how that went.” Cassandra responded by trying to bury her head further into his chest. “It’s not your fault, you know. I can see why he’s so upset. Stephen was his brother, and Kyler, hell she was just a kid. She shouldn’t have even been there. That’d mess any guy up. It’s not right for him to blame you, but that’s his business, you know? You don’t have to believe him, though, and you don’t have to blame yourself.”

Her voice was hoarse whisper, “But it’s been so long. I was hoping… I was hoping things would’ve improved by now, Arsiel.”

“Some folks take longer to recover from that kind of hurt, Cass. Everything’ll come around in time.”

“I hope so, Arsiel.”

“You’ve got plenty on your mind already, Cass. If Ansel is back we need to be on our toes. You can’t let your head or your heart get clouded. Let Gabe sit this one out. Maybe he’s earned the rest.” Cassandra rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes and nodded. “What’s your plan?”

“I was going to go see Ridley. Grey probably can’t send me, so I’ll have to travel long ways.”

“Nah, don’t worry about Ridley. Till you get some proper intel he’s just as useless as I am. I’ll fill him in.” The tip of Arsiel’s tongue just peeked out from between his lips, a sure sign of deep thought. “You know, if we checked the Tomb that’d be an easy way to tell for sure what’s going on.”

“Yeah, I thought about that. Grey isn’t budging.”

“Have you tried Val?”

“He won’t tell me where she is or how to get in touch with her. “

“Can’t you just, you know, with your brain?” He touched his thumb to his temple, and waggled his pinkie in a visual demonstration.

Cassandra shook her head, “No. Not over this kind of distance. If we’re assuming Ansel is loose then he could intercept messages I send to anyone who’s more than a few dozen feet away.”

“Right, well then. You said you’ve kept in touch with Amaranth, yeah?” A nod. “Go see her and fill her in. If I had to bet a dollar I’d say she’s got a line on Dayth and Alex. I’ll work on Grey. Let’s get this thing mobilized properly.”

“But we don’t even know, not for sure, if it’s a serious threat…”

“No room for buts. Deep in your gut you know it’s true, right?” Another nod. “ Then that’s all there is. Stop being so timid about it. We’re your friends Cass, we don’t care if you’re crazy.” Arsiel’s smile was large and compassionate. “I can see why you’d be all shook up on the matter seeing as the first two people you told about it were Grey and Gabe, but now you’ve got Arsiel on the case, and we all know he’s too thick for doubt.” His smile grew in size and warmth.

It was infectious and Cassandra couldn’t help but grin. She squeezed his arm, “Thank you, Arsiel.”

“Don’t mention it.” The two stood side by side, Cassandra bolstering herself with the strength Arsiel clearly had to spare.

“It’s been nice. I really mean that. I needed this. I should get going though.”

“Sure you don’t want to spend the night?”

“Grey gave me a return ticket. Besides I’m feeling restless and wouldn’t want to be a burden.”

“Burden! Are you kidding? I haven’t seen you in over a year and you’re worried about being a burden?”

“Shhh. That’s enough out of you. I’ve made up my mind.” She hugged him tightly. “Say hi to Ridely for me, OK?”

Arsiel shook his head and squeezed back. “Of course. You be careful. Once you meet up with Amaranth I want the two of you two stick together.”

“Yessir!” She executed a sloppy salute. He responded with a wry expression and a raised eyebrow.

“Seriously, be careful.”
“I’m not new to this. I’ll be fine.” She put on her coat and pulled a small charm out of her pocket. It was made from pewter and fashioned to look like a pair of feathery wings. She flicked the charm into the air and a rent, similar to the one from Grey’s office appeared. Cassandra smiled, reached out and squeezed Ridley’s forearm, then stepped into the rift.

Arsiel looked around his empty field and ran his fingers through his hair. “I sure hope she’s wrong about this, but I don’t know that any of us is that lucky.” He retrieved his hoe and picked his way back to his home.