The Silver Arrow (17 page)

“The Ackalans, at the
beginning, were only known by the rulers of the four Kingdoms,
bound by their oath as protectors of the keys or scroll of creation
and its keepers. Before the end of his life, Ryham discovered seven
more keys and the Patrons in the lands that guard them. The male
line of Ryham served as Patrons for four generations until Graham,
who had no son. His wife, Lenia, had Graham form a society called
the Ryham Council, now known as just the Council. Graham’s
daughter, Rose, had a son. He took the oath and office as
Patron.

“Rose’s great-great-grandson,
five generations later, had a son who was named after Rose’s
father, called Graham, and he had a son named Sullivan. Sullivan,
as a young boy, was very curious, and one day decided to follow his
father and sneak along. Graham back then was the Patron of the
Mevi-tra temple in Bremah.

“It was a bright winter’s day
when Graham left for the temple, unaware of his son following him.
It had snowed the day before, so even though it was bright, it was
still chilly. Staying out of sight, Sullivan followed his father.
While keeping up with him, he occasionally stared into the trees,
distracted by birds that flew from different branches and little
animals that roamed about looking for food; it was a beautiful
day.

“However, by midday, Sullivan
realized he wasn’t in his familiar surroundings anymore; he was
committed. He had to make sure he didn’t lose his father, which he
didn’t, until they arrived at the temple entrance.

“Sullivan watched his father go
in as he hid close to the open gate at the courtyard. He hid there,
watching as people went in and out through the massive double
doors. Somehow he managed to sneak past the guards into the
building.

“Mevi-tra is built on a
mountain, and inside the massive building are several passageways
that lead to other parts. Not sure where to go, Sullivan took the
first passageway. The long corridor had crystal rods set several
feet apart along its roof that gave a soft light.

“Along the way, Sullivan heard
voices and stopped at one of the nooks built along the wall at the
bottom. The nook was between two crystal posts in an area the light
did not reach. Sullivan could see a man and woman talking as they
made their way toward him. He crouched down next to the wall as
they passed, unaware of him. When their footsteps had faded behind
him, he hurried on. Other hallways branched off, but he went
straight until he came to a dead end with four doors. All the doors
looked the same−ornately designed in marble stone with the symbols
of the solar system.

“Sullivan chose the farthest
door to his left and went inside. The room was breathtaking. The
walls had beams of gold patterned with velvet blue that came
together at the top. The roof reflected the still pool in the
middle of the vaulted room, and the pool of water appeared flush
with the floor that was like the sky at midnight. Looking at the
roof, he could see the reflection of something glowing in the
middle of the room.

“Sullivan moved closer to see a
glowing orb at the center of the black pool. He moved toward it
without thinking, creating a gentle ripple that swept across the
pool, which was reflected overhead.

“His curiosity urged him on,
even though the celestial feeling in the room made him nervous. He
would leave once he had a quick look. The object in the pool was
like a piece of the stars and he stared at it, wide-eyed, in
amazement. It seemed so close, something just within his reach. So
he stretched his hand in to touch it. He was almost there, he
thought, so he stretched a little more, but lost his balance and
fell into the pool.

“He panicked as fear grabbed
him. Flapping his hands, he opened his mouth to scream, but nothing
came. He was choked by the water that rushed in, muting his attempt
to scream for help.

“He was beginning to lose
consciousness as he slipped deeper into the pool. His face was
almost even with the glowing orb in the center of the pool when a
hand grabbed the back of his shirt and began pulling him back to
the surface. Dark clouds gathered around him, and for a few
seconds, the only thing he could see was the dream-like brilliance
coming from the orb. There was something inside it, he noticed, in
the form of a scroll.

“As the light drew away from
him, he blacked out. The figure pulling Sullivan up had not noticed
how close he was to the orb until Sullivan’s feet brushed it,
sending a shock through every part of his being and drawing him out
of unconsciousness.

“Sullivan found himself lying
on his stomach at the edge of the pool. He took several painful
breaths, coughing in between as the water that had ceased his
breath emptied. Still fatigued, he turned to see the person that
saved him and found his father standing there, soaked through in
his blue robe.

“Graham had no anger in his
expression or tone, or so it appeared from the outside. He did not
act surprised to have found his son far from home, nor did he ask
how he got inside the building. He only said, ‘You will need to
stay here tonight, and Root will get you something dry to
wear.’

“A man and woman dressed in
white stood at the entrance watching as Graham led Sullivan to the
door.

“Sullivan recognized one of
them as the person he snuck past. Graham handed Sullivan to Root
and stood there for a minute watching as he was escorted to a
different room. Sullivan turned once to see his father standing
there, watching as he was led away.

“When his son was out of sight,
Graham went the opposite way. He entered one of the many rooms
inside the temple and locked the door behind him; alone, he let go
of his emotions as tears rolled down his cheek.

“Why, why was this happening to
him? Graham thought reflectively. He was both angry and sad. If
he’d only been there sooner, or had been faster, maybe he would
have been able to save him, he thought as he slumped on the only
chair in the room in his wet robe.

“When Sullivan was being pulled
up, his feet touched the orb, which caused the ring on his father’s
finger to light up, as well as every Patron around the four
Kingdoms. A gathering was planned two weeks from that day, and he
knew what was going to happen. His son would be placed in what was
known as the marble seal, where he would spend the rest of his life
as he began to lose his mind, which was an effect of the scroll, or
key of creation.

“The madness is caused by the
powerful pull from the other keys of creation guarded by the other
Patrons.

“Graham knew that eventually,
Sullivan’s only obsession would be to obtain the other keys, which
would give him untold powers enough to destroy the earth itself,
and this was the reason for the creation of the marble seal.
Designed to hold anyone consumed by the scroll and in order for the
person to be placed in the marble seal, all eight Patrons had to be
present. Graham’s main concern, outside of his own, was that of his
wife. How was he going to break the news?

“Rita was still getting ready
when an excited maid burst through the bedroom door. ‘Young
Sullivan is coming, and with Master Graham.’

“Rita stopped what she was
doing and ran out of the room. Graham and Sullivan were some
distance away when they saw Rita running toward them. She rushed to
Sullivan, picked him up, and kissed him, relieved that he was all
right.

“She scolded him as she placed
him down. Looking defeated from his mother’s rebuke, Graham sent
him away and Sullivan ran inside, leaving his mother and father
alone. Graham asked Rita to come with him as he turned and started
walking away from the house with Rita following. She could see her
husband was troubled, as he was quiet and withdrawn.

“She asked where he found
Sullivan, breaking the silence a few minutes into their walk.
Graham told her, he had followed him all the way to Mevi-tra, but
must have gotten lost inside.

“Rita was surprised to hear
this. ‘This boy someday is going to drive me crazy. Just like you,
he’s strong-willed, with an insatiable sense of curiosity.’ She was
trying to lighten Graham’s mood, but his flat expression did not
change at her attempted tease. Whatever happened must have been bad
to set her husband in such a mood. She grabbed his hand to stop
him.

“Graham stopped walking and
said simply, shaking his head in regret, ‘He fell in...he fell in,
and the Council will be gathering in two weeks.’ She knew exactly
what Graham meant. The shock of his words tore through her. She
turned and was about to run away when Graham grabbed her hand and
she stopped. Her eyes welled up, and she began to cry as Graham
pulled her into an embrace.

“Rita spent that night thinking
about what she was going to do. This wasn’t going to be her son’s
fate, she thought as she shifted in bed. Unable to sleep, she
quietly rose from bed and tried to tiptoe out of their room, but
Graham heard it. He questioned his wife, who tried to act natural,
and he went back to sleep.

"What to do? She continued to
contemplate as she walked over to Sullivan’s room. Rita peeked in
and found him curled at the head of his bed, shaking. She hurried
over to Sullivan, who was unaware of her presence until she laid
her hand on his head.

“‘What are you doing here?’ he
asked, surprised to see his mother in his room.

‘“You were sitting curled up at
the head of your bed, shaking. Are you okay?’

“‘Yes, I’m fine,’ Sullivan
replied as he pulled up his covers.

“‘Are you sure?’

“‘Yes, really, I’m fine,’
Sullivan replied.

“Convinced, Rita kissed his
forehead and as she left the room made her decision.

“The next day, Rita began
privately making preparations when Graham was away. When everything
was ready, she sent Sullivan away. She knew her husband was bound
by his duty as Patron to bring Sullivan in and that she could face
disciplinary action for what she was doing, but regardless of the
consequence and magnitude of her action, she did it anyway, sending
him into hiding with one of her maidservants named Obrie.

“Where they were heading, no
one knew, but they were gone for four days and had traveled far
into the southern borderland before they were found by the Ackalans
that were sent to bring him back. As they escorted the wagon back
two days after they were found, something strange happened. The sun
was setting that day as Obrie and Sullivan sat inside the wagon
when suddenly Sullivan’s eyes turned red, then gold, his face
slowly becoming translucent. His form also changed, fading into
itself like a reflective pool. Obrie screamed, recoiling away as
his form drifted toward her. Everyone stopped, and the Ackalans
closest to the carriage rushed over, pulling the door open to see a
Sullivan wrapped in a rainbow of color suddenly disappear in front
of them, leaving Obrie frozen in her seat. That was the last time
Sullivan was seen−until now.”

A crackly sound came from a
snapping twig breaking inside the fire when Iseac stopped speaking.
The fire was almost completely died down, with just an orange glow
remaining at the base.

Iseac could see the questions
in Samuel’s eyes as he spoke.

“We have a long day tomorrow;
get some rest. There will be time for questions later,” Iseac said,
as if reading Samuel’s thoughts. Sleep was now the last thing on
Samuel’s mind, with hundreds of additional questions running
through it. But as time passed, the soothing touch of sleep came,
and he was swept away for the night.

“We have to go,” Mosley said,
waking Samuel from his sleep. It was still dark out, grayish black
from the dew that hovered overhead. For a minute, Samuel wondered
why he was woken up in the middle of the night; he could have slept
for another hour or two.

“The sun will be rising in
another hour, and I would like us to be at the river’s edge by
noon,” Iseac said. Samuel yawned, stretching his arms up to the
heavens; he was still tired.

“You can rest on Durack,” Iseac
said as Samuel was clearing his eyes, “but we have to leave
now.”

The horses were already saddled
and ready to go.

Even as he woke himself up,
Samuel thought there was something, not odd, but different about
Iseac that he couldn’t put his finger on. It started with his
companion Mosley, who had a silver ring around his eyes that was
even more pronounced at night when he stepped into the
firelight.

Two days before, Mosley had run
for hours, his endurance unlike anyone he’d ever seen. Iseac
himself never appeared tired, even though he was awake before and
after Samuel went to sleep; and again, he was already packed and
ready to leave. These and other things about Iseac got him
thinking−Iseac was more than what he was portraying.

“I would like to walk this
time,” Samuel said, hoping to use the opportunity to find out more
about them as Iseac gave him a quizzical look.

“I would prefer not toppling
off while I’m still trying to wake up, if you don’t mind,” Samuel
said flatly, bringing a smile to everyone’s face.

“Very well,” Iseac said as he
tugged on Durack’s reins.

They were traveling the back
lands of Chartum-Valley that few dared use because of the many
sinkholes.

“Have you been to these parts
before?” Samuel asked, seeing Iseac’s confidence in navigating the
land.

“You…could say that,” Iseac
replied.

“So what are Anamerians?”
Samuel asked. “You mentioned them yesterday.”

“They are normal beings like
you and I, but they are seekers that help bring balance to all
things, either in the present or the future.”

“Is this the person that can
help me find my family?” Samuel asked.

“No, he’s not. The person we’ll
be seeing is called Gabram. He is a Patron from Bremah, which is
where we are going.”