Free Wielder's Fate by T.B. Christensen Page A

answered, still not fully understanding what the young wielder meant.  “Show me the Royal Palace.”
    Traven turned from her and stared intently at the small pool of water.  Kalista followed his lead and looked down at the water as well.  She gasped in surprise.  Before, there had been nothing but the glassy surface of the water; now there was a perfectly sharp image of the Royal Palace.
    She scooted up next to Traven and moved her head towards the small pool in order to take a closer look.  The image was slightly faded, but she had never seen such a perfect rendering of the palace from above.  Everything was there to the last detail.  The tops of the palace towers shown in the morning light, and the palace gardens were bursting with the colors of late spring flowers.   She started in surprise as a large seagull moved across the picture.
    “This is an actual picture of the palace as it is right now?” she asked in amazement.
    “Yes,” he replied.  “Screeing allows you to view anywhere in the land and magnify the image to see whatever you want to.  I’ll show you.”
    The palace began to get smaller as the pool of water now showed the entire city of Calyn.  Soon she was seeing the surrounding countryside and then the entire land of Kalia.  She stared at it with wonder.  She had seen many maps of her beloved kingdom, but none of them came close to what she was currently looking at.  The image shifted again and suddenly she was looking at the city of Candus.  The image was magnified, and she saw the palace gardens.  As the gardens were magnified, she saw a tree with two people under it kneeling on the ground and staring at something.
    Kalista gasped once again as she realized that she was seeing herself.  She smiled at how silly she looked in her yellow dress, kneeling on the ground staring at the pool of water.  She also realized how close her head was to Traven’s.  She noticed she could hear him breathing in her ear and if she turned her head ever so slightly they would be cheek to cheek.  The hand holding her up was also directly next to his.  Her heart quickened slightly at the realization.  She was actually alone with and very close to a handsome young man.  She shifted slightly away from Traven and looked at him with a smile.  He was still concentrating on the image but let it disappear when he noticed her gaze.  He turned to her with an awkward smile.
    “That’s how I knew where to find you and that you were still okay,” he said sheepishly.  “I hope you don’t mind.”
    “Mind what?” she asked.
    “That I screed your image while traveling across Kalia.”
    “You saved my life didn’t you?” she replied.  “I think that is all that matters.”
    She smiled as she noticed the visible relief that came over Traven’s face.  Why should she care if he had screed her image?  If he hadn’t, he would not have known where to find her.  She had often watched people in the grand square below her tower window without them knowing they were being observed.  She supposed it was basically the same thing.  Unless . . .
    “Can you scree images of people even if they are not out in the open?” she asked nervously.
    “Yes,” Traven replied.
    “Even if they are inside a building or a tent?”
    “Sure,” he answered.  “It doesn’t matter what physical barriers are in the way.  I could scree into a dungeon if I wanted to.”
    Kalista shifted away from Traven uncomfortably.  She wondered what he had seen when he had screed her image.  The thought of someone being able to see her no matter where she was left her feeling very uncomfortable.  She glanced intently at his face with a slight frown, and she could feel her cheeks warming.  He looked back at her with a look of confusion.  Suddenly, his eyes lit up with understanding as to why she had asked her last two questions.
    “Don’t worry,” he said quickly as he turned a bright red.  “I would never invade someone’s