Authors: Usman Ijaz
Nemar smiled grimly. “If the plan succeeds,
you’ll certainly be remembered as the greatest king the world has ever seen.”
“I want no such thing!” Aeiron replied, more
harshly than he had intended to, and unable to lower his voice. “I never wanted
any such thing.”
Do you think it was my decision to take the throne?
But
what other choice did I have when Edward fell and broke his fool neck,
thrusting the burden onto me?
Nemar licked his lips and wrung his hands. “I
... I see, your--”
“I want you to go to the Krillen and stay there
until it shows you something,” interrupted Aeiron. “Then send for me. Until
then I have no need of you. Go, Nemar.”
The man bowed and left hastily.
Aeiron stopped by one of the fluted columns and
watched the large city sprawled out all around him. In continuing in his
father’s reign he had carved the largest kingdom of all the others. He had
created one of the most formidable armies Cahrad had seen, and created a host
that was revered even in the lands of his enemies for their skills. And yet all
of that did not matter now. What mattered was that the nations needed to be
united, yet he knew that they would fight and deceit one another as much as
ever, hoping to gain an inch more of power. Jayne sometimes told him that what
made him different was that he repented the desire for more power, and
ironically it came to him nonetheless.
He shook his head to clear it of such thougths.
Hamar and Owain had been sensible choices, but Alexis had been chosen
tactfully, more for his contacts in Teihr than any other reason. Aeiron wasn’t
a gambling man, nor did he wholly approve of it in others, but one of the
gambler’s favorite axioms came to him then;
I’ve thrown the dice, now to see how they
land.
1
Connor winced in pain as branches scratched at
his face and arms. Alexis held his arm in a vice and pulled him and Adrian
deeper into the woods at a relentless pace. Connor stumbled on a root and
nearly fell. He thought in the Legionnaire’s current state Alexis would have just
dragged him along if he fell, and not even noticed. His sides were cramping
painfully with every step. They had been running now for what he judged the
better part of the morning, with few breaks in between. What frightened him was
the worry that seemed to drive the Legionnaire.
“Alexis ... we ... need to stop”. His breath came
out harsh and labored.
Alexis didn’t seem to hear him. He glanced
behind them and continued to pull them through the thick foliage of the woods.
“Alexis! We need to ... stop!” Connor shouted.
This time the Legionnaire seemed to hear him. He stopped and looked from Connor
to Adrian.
“All right,” he said at last. “We’ll stop for a
little while.”
Connor saw how Alexis’s hands lingered by his
sides now that they were free, as if he wanted to reach for his guns at any
moment.
“What happened back there?” Adrian asked
breathlessly.
Alexis checked the woods behind them, then
looked at the two boys and shook his head. “I don’t know. We were caught in an
ambush.”
“Ambush? For who?” Connor asked.
Alexis said nothing.
“They were after me, weren’t they?” Adrian asked
the Legionnaire, his eyes clear with understanding.
“Yes. We weren’t the only ones searching for
you, it would seem.”
“What about Hamar and Owain?” Adrian asked.
“What of them?” Alexis asked in a flat tone.
“What if they’re dead?”
“They’re better Legionnaires than I am,” Alexis said.
“They can take care of themselves. We’ll meet up with them soon enough. Or in
Gale.”
“We’re going to Gale?” Connor said.
Alexis studied the woods behind them as he
answered. “Yes, and then ... different lands.”
“How can you say that?” Adrian demanded. “They
were your friends, and you act as if you don’t even care if they are alive or
dead!”
Alexis let out a deep breath and spoke restrained
patience. “Hamar, Owain and I came looking for you because we were sent to
guide you to the Source. It was our duty, given to us by king Aeiron, and we
swore an oath to take you to it, or die trying. I don’t know where Hamar and
Owain are, but that still leaves me to carry out our duty and uphold our oath.”
“Is that all this is about then?” Adrian asked.
“Your damned oath?”
Alexis closed his eyes. “If you only knew what
we fight for.”
“Then why not tell me?” Adrian demanded. “I
think you’ve kept enough secrets so far.”
Alexis looked back the way they had come. “Now is
not the time. For now we only have to get as far away from Haven as we can, and
hope we’re not being followed.”
The Legionnaire started off and the boys followed.
They continued their headlong plunge into the woods.
2
By sundown the woods had grown more open, giving
way to wider ground, and the three didn’t have to fight their way through the
tangle of underbrush anymore. They stopped under a dark sky, and after some
contemplation the Legionnaire took out a match from a pouch at his belt and
made a small fire behind the trunk of a large tree, concealing it from anyone
following their trail.
Adrian’s stomach troubled him. Apart from their
small breakfast at the inn none of them had eaten anything all day and they had
no food on themselves.
“Stay here,” Alexis said, and left them.
“Where do you suppose he’s going?” Adrian asked,
sitting on a decaying log before the small fire.
“I--” Connor began, and stopped abruptly as he
realized he had almost spoken to him.
“What’s the matter with you, Connor?” Adrian
asked him. “Do you really blame me for your mother’s death?”
Connor didn’t answer, only stared into the
flames silently.
“Fine.”
If he wants to blame me for his
mother’s death, then so be it, but I lost my mother as well.
Adrian sat
there with that cold thought, trying to warm himself before the fire.
Night fell as they waited for Alexis to return,
and with it came a chill on the wind. Adrian and Connor huddled closer to the
small fire, feeding it small branches. When the Legionnaire returned he
appeared from the surrounding dark like a ghost, his black coat only accenting
the image. He looked at them and shook his head.
“I couldn’t find anything to eat out there.
Maybe it is just too dark to see.”
As he settled before the fire, Adrian turned to
him. “You said you would answer my questions.”
“What do you want to know?” Alexis asked as he
sat down across from them.
“To begin with, I want to know where we’re
going, after Gale, that is.”
Alexis sighed. “After Gale we must find a way
into the Ruins.”
“The Ruins?” Connor spluttered.
Adrian found himself stunned. “Why the Ruins?”
“Because,” said Alexis, “that is where the Source
of Light rests.”
For a long while afterwards there was silence.
“What am I suppose to do when we reach the Source?”
Adrian asked in the quietness of the night.
“I wish I knew,” replied Alexis. “This whole
journey was made with the hope that you could find a way to heal it once it was
in your arms. And then there is also the fact that you are only half Ascillian,
so that leaves doubt as to whether the Source will even respond to you, or
simply kill you from its touch.”
Adrian realized that the more Alexis told him,
the less he wanted to know. “So it’s all a gamble then?”
“Yes. A gamble with incredible stakes riding on
it.”
“Why are you being so free with all this
information all of a sudden?” Adrian asked.
“Well, you asked me if I would answer your
questions,” Alexis said with a small smile. “And also because I don’t believe
it is in our best interest to keep too many secrets from one another.”
Silence ruled once more and the wind whined
through the trees. The only sounds were those of creatures who had inhabited
these woods long before these strangers had shown up; an owl hooted and a
nightbird responded.
“What happens if the Source dies?” Connor asked
suddenly.
Alexis’s gaze lifted from the fire and he stared
into the night. “Who knows? The druid Cathanin's books were filled with
theories and beliefs. Some of them are based on older myths, some new ones, and
some of his theories are too frightening to think of. One such theory was that
the Source was the source of light for our world, and the hearts of men would
decide its fate. I’m not sure how much to believe of that; it could be
religious nonsense. Another theory pondered at why the Source of Light lay in
the heart of darkness. Other scholars have used these theories to further the
influence of religion, to point out that nothing pure can be gained easily. I’m
sure the Prophet in the east would say something entirely else. Where the truth
lies and the religious metaphors begin is anyone’s guess.”
Their conversation ended with that, leaving them
all something to think on as they lay down to sleep on the cold ground. Alexis
took up a seat against a broad tree and kept a watch. His guns were out and rested
in his hands, gleaming beneath the moonlight, waiting to be put to use.
3
Alexis stared briefly up at the brightening sky
through the thick foliage. The light filtering through did little to brighten
the woods, suiting the three wanderers’ moods. He returned his gaze to the
ground and stepped over a deadfall that would have tripped him. It was around
mid-morning he judged, and they hadn’t eaten anything since the previous
morning. From time to time he would stop and study their back trail, but seeing
nothing would continue to walk on. He found it amusing how his worry was
shifting from being followed to being lost. He looked at his two companions and
saw the same dread on their faces. We
will be all right
, he told
himself.
This forest is nothing compared to the Forest of Trials.
They walked now because Alexis didn’t believe
there was any reason to dash through the woods any longer. There had been no
sign of the assassins, and in their current states they were incapable of
anything more than a walk. Alexis’s eyes felt heavy, and every time he realized
it he forced them open and massaged them with the palms of his hands, but the
weariness crept right back in after a few moments. He had stayed awake as long
as he could, and with no sign of anything or anyone had at last lain down to
get a few hours of sleep in the early hours of the morning. It was obvious that
his body needed more rest than those few hours had afforded.
He had spent much of yesterday hoping that Owain
and Hamar would follow them, but had slowly given up on that volition as the
sound of the guns kept coming back to his mind. Instead he now lived on the
belief that they would meet up with them once they made their way out of this
forest. If
we ever make it out of this cursed forest
. It was a dark
thought, but it wouldn’t leave his mind. All they could do was head away from
Haven.
Connor broke the silence that had held among
them for most of the weary morning. “Alexis, who sent the assassins?”
“I don’t know,” Alexis replied. “I suppose it
could have been anyone.”
“Yes, but who would have cause to want to stop
us from reaching the Ruins?” Connor wondered.
“I don’t know the answer to that either,
Connor.” He didn’t dwell too much on who was behind the attack, knowing full
well that it could be anyone, but he did wonder where their pursuers might be.
They spent the morning walking mostly in
silence, with a word here and there. Around noon Alexis tried to hunt for
something to eat. He left the boys and went off into the woods a little way,
where he waited crouched down beside a tree silently for a rabbit to emerge. He
had no such luck; it was as if the trees were whispering his presence on the
wind.
As if I could take down a rabbit with my knife anyway,
he thought.
After a small rest they continued deeper into the woods, their moods growing
more dismal with every step.
An hour later Alexis spotted a bush of
elderberries. The berries were small and purple and harmless. They gorged
themselves on them, nearly stripping the bush clean, before moving on.
“Why won’t you two talk to one another anymore?”
Alexis asked once they were walking again. The two boys glanced at one another,
but neither answered. “You act so different towards one another now that it’s
hard for me to believe I saw you laughing and playing together just a few days
past.”
“It’s all his fault ...” Connor muttered
underneath his breath.
“What is?” Alexis asked.
“Nothing,” Connor growled.