The Secret of the Golden Gods Omnibus Edition
Page 48
Adamis smiled. Maybe one day.
And the portal carried them away.
33
Dawn was beginning to break. The cool of early morning greeted him with its chill embrace, and Ikai wrapped his dark hooded cloak closer around him. From the hill he looked down on the fields, now barren, which he knew so well, and remembered how happy he had been there once, long ago, working from sunrise to sunset. He gazed down at the Ring on his wrist with the symbol of the Hunters, and for a moment found himself wishing it were that of a peasant again. Once he had been happy there, in spite of all the misery, in spite of the hunger: planting wheat, watching it grow, caring for it as it ripened in the sun... He let out a sigh. He would miss the wheat-fields swaying in the gentle caress of the southeast wind.
“It’s time,” Kyra said, her gaze fixed on the small farm in the distance.
He smiled lovingly at his sister. She had changed. He could see it in her gaze; it was deeper now. Pain had made her grow up fast: her indomitable, ardent spirit was intact, her sense of justice and of what was right was stronger, if possible, but her way of thinking and acting was quieter now. He recognized a new maturity in her, a consequence of the experience of suffering which had marked her forever. Marked her, and everyone else. He could still not believe they had managed to escape from the Eternal City alive.
He sighed as he remembered. Just as Adamis had told them, the portal had led them to a secret underground temple. He shook his head. The Gods had hidden temples all over the continent… To open the sealed doors and reach the outside they had had to use the disc Adamis had given Kyra. It had Power, and had opened doors for them until they reached the surface. Once outside, he had had no trouble finding his direction. The possible presence of a group of Hunters had worried him, but he had not found any trace of one. They must have suspended the search, because they did not usually risk spending so many days on a hunt outside the Boundary. Moving as fast as they could, they had reached it in a week, and when they did so they discovered something surprising. The Rings belonging to Kyra, Idana and Urda, which had been manipulated by the Eyes-of-the-God before crossing the Boundary when they were taken prisoner, allowed them to cross the barrier of the Gods. Once inside they had hidden, and Ikai had gone in search of help.
And now, at last, he and Kyra were very near their home.
“On we go, then,” he told his sister. “But we’d better be careful.”
Kyra nodded, and drew her two throwing daggers. Ikai drew his sword and dagger. Protect us, Oxatsi.
The door of the farm was barred from the inside. Ikai peered through the shutters while Kyra secured the back of the building.
“Clear,” she whispered from where she was crouching by the corner.
“The Arkens are inside,” he whispered as he checked the perimeter. “I can make out four of them. There’s no trace of Hunters or Enforcers.”
“Shall we risk it?” she asked anxiously.
He considered, calculating the risks. They had been hiding in the hills, spying on the farm, for two days, and had noticed nothing abnormal. They had to risk it.
“Let’s go,” he said, and winked at her reassuringly.
They crouched on either side of the door, weapons at the ready, and waited. After a while the door opened and Colem, the father, came out to work, as he did every dawn. Kyra rose like lightning and held her dagger to his throat.
“Shhhh,” she whispered in his ear.
Ikai took a quick look inside. Everything seemed normal. He slipped inside and remained crouching in the middle of the common room with the fireplace behind him. Telmas and Volte, Colem’s two sons, stared at him, their eyes wide with fear. Ulma, Colem’s wife, dropped a bowl on the kitchen floor.
“By Oxatsi!” she cried in terror.
Ikai, all his senses alert, glanced round the interior of the small farm and felt no danger. He stood up slowly.
“Enforcers? Hunters?”
Telmas and Volte hastened to shake their heads.
“It’s only us!” said Ulma. “Don’t hurt us, please. We have nothing.”
Ikai pushed his hood back, revealing his face so they would recognize him.
“I’m not going to hurt you. Don’t worry.”
Ulma, Telmas and Volte relaxed with sighs of relief when they recognized their neighbor.
“Ikai!” a woman at the back cried.
The young man looked, and recognized her instantly.
“Mother!”
Solma came over to her son, limping, and gathered him in her arms with all her love.
“Ikai, my son, you’re back!” she cried, sobbing.
Solma drew back and held him at arms’ length. She looked at him from head to foot. There were tears of joy in her eyes.
“Are you all right, my son? You’re so thin, and you look… older…”
“Yes, Mother, I’m all right,” Ikai said, and smiled broadly. All the love in his heart showed on his face.
“I’ve spent so many sleepless nights thinking I’d sent you to certain death… regretting…”
“No, Mother, you did the right thing. You made me promise I wouldn’t rest till I brought her back, promise I’d do whatever I had to.”
Solma gazed into her son’s eyes, and he saw the fear in them, fear that he had failed. Before she could ask, Kyra came in through the door.
Solma’s eyes widened, and for a moment she was in a state of shock. Her mouth hung open, and the words stuck in her throat.
Then with a shriek of joy she cried: “Kyra! My daughter!”
“Mamma!” Kyra fell into her mother’s arms.
Mother and daughter fused into a close embrace and burst into tears of happiness.
“I can’t believe it! My daughter! My little one!”
Kyra held on to her mother as though if she let her go she might lose her forever.
Solma kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. “My darling girl! I thought I’d lost you forever…”
“I’m here, mamma, it’s all over.”
They stayed locked in one another’s arms, freeing their souls from fear and anguish, letting joy and love take their place.
Solma reached out and drew Ikai to her. “You did it, Ikai. You did it!”
When he smiled, his eyes were moist and his throat sore from holding back his tears of happiness. “I gave you my word, Mother.”
She looked at him gratefully, with infinite love and pride. “With the help of Mother Sea and Father Moon, we did it,” said Kyra.
For a moment, all the evil in the world vanished and was replaced by the complete happiness of a family reunited after so much suffering.
But reality returned, no matter how they might wish it otherwise. Ikai cleared his throat and sighed. “We must leave. We’re not safe here. It’s the first place they’ll look for us.”
Solma looked at her son and dried her tears. “Will they come for us?”
He nodded. “It’s a question of time. There’ll be a direct order from the Eternal City. The Enforcers and Hunters won’t rest until they catch us.”
“We have to leave and find safety,” Kyra said. “If we leave now, we’ll still have a chance.”
Solma nodded in acceptance.
“We’ll prepare you something for the journey,” Ulma said.
Ikai turned towards the door, where Colem was watching them. “Thank you, but you must come with us.”
Colem’s face shadowed. “Come with you… why? I don’t understand…”
Kyra went to Ulma and took her arm firmly. She looked into her eyes and said:
“When they come, they’ll interrogate you, and they won’t accept I don’t know for an answer… They’ll torture you and then kill you once they see you can’t offer them the answers they’re looking for.”
The color drained from Ulma’s face. The good woman turned to her two sons, who were listening with worry in their eyes.
“Kyra’s right,” Ikai said. “You can’t stay here. I’m so s
orry…”
“But where do we go?” Ulma asked anxiously. “They’ll find us… they always find the Pariahs…”
“No, they won’t find us,” he assured them.
“Because we’re going to the other side of the Boundary,” Kyra said.
Colem looked at Ulma, and she in turn looked at their sons. “We’re coming with you,” she said.
Ikai nodded. “Good. Now we have a lot of work to do and very little time. Get all your clothes, tools, anything you’ve ever used, and put it all inside the house. We have to stop the Hunters locating us.”
Two hours later the seven fugitives, with satchels on their backs, reached the top of the hill. They were leaving behind two great columns of black smoke between the fields. Both farms were burning.
It was already midmorning, several days later, and the sun was shining brightly when Ikai came back from his scouting. He came close to the cave entrance and hooted three times.
Kyra appeared, with her throwing daggers at the ready. “Everything all right?”
He winked at her. “Everything quiet on the east.”
“Everything quiet on the south and west,” came a woman’s voice as she came out of the shadows of the forest.
Brother and sister watched Albana approach, bow in hand, with her stealthy step. Ikai greeted the cat-like brunette with a nod. He was still not altogether used to having her as an ally, but he was glad she was with them.
“For the moment we’re safe,” he said, “but we should leave as soon as we can.”
“We won’t be safe for long… they must already be searching for us… and if not us, for sure they’ll be looking for them.” She nodded towards the interior of the cave.
“How much longer is it going to take?” Ikai said uneasily. “They’ve been in there for days! What’s happening?”
“It’ll take as long as it takes,” another female voice said behind him.
They turned towards the cave and saw Liriana, armed to the teeth, coming out to greet them with a smile. When Ikai had gone for help, he had called on Gedrel and found Liriana and Albana with him.
“And he doesn’t want anyone to witness what he’s doing,” Liriana said. “There are some secrets that have to be kept as what they are: secret.”
Ikai wrinkled his nose. “Tell your boyfriend to hurry up. We have to cross the Boundary, and every day that goes by the risk increases. They’ll find this hiding place, no matter how remote it may be.” He was oddly upset at seeing her.
“Maruk… is doing all he can, but it’s a slow process, you know that. Besides, he was only supposed to alter Solma’s Ring so she could escape, but you’ve brought half the village. We’re risking a lot over this, not just you. I don’t need to remind you, Maruk is vital for Gedrel’s plans. If he’s captured…”
“I know, I know,” Ikai said. He could not take his gaze from Liriana’s turquoise eyes.
“We couldn’t leave them behind,” Kyra put in. “Anyone who’s had contact with us is in danger.”
Liriana looked at the two siblings and sighed. “You’re still in time. Stay, join us, join the cause, the fight. Now more than ever we need you for what you represent, for what you are, for what we’ve lived through and learnt from the Gods. Gedrel doesn’t wish for anything else… I don’t wish for anything else myself.”
“There’s nothing I’d like more than to stay and fight with you all, against those soulless monsters,” Kyra said. “There’s nothing I’d like more than top lunge these daggers into the sick heart of the first God I come upon, and then claim justice.” There was burning rage in her voice.
Ikai turned and sought to calm her with his gaze. “Kyra…”
She sighed deeply. “But this isn’t the time for that… I must get my mother to safety, and my friends too.”
Idana and Urda came out of the cave, greeted her and joined in the conversation.
“The invitation to join the cause: I’m extending it to everyone.”
Idana and Urda exchanged glances. “We’ve already talked about it. We’re going wherever Kyra goes.”
“Is there no way of convincing you to stay with me?” Liriana asked. Her gaze was fixed on Ikai.
Kyra, Idana and Urda shook their heads.
“Albana?”
The brunette watched the horizon for an instant, and then spoke. “Thanks for the offer, Liriana. I genuinely appreciate it a lot after all we’ve been through. But I’m going with Kyra and Ikai too. I’ll help them settle and form a colony outside the Boundary. They need me, and it’s an honor to be allowed to come with them. It’s a debt I have to pay.”
Liriana nodded. “I understand. Where will you go?”
“We’ll go back to where we belong, to Mother Sea,” Kyra said.
Albana looked back towards the Boundary behind them. “Out there I know of a place where we can hide and settle,” Albana said. “It’s a wonderful place: a protected cove, well-hidden and out of the way. A long way from the Gods and their Enforcers. We’ll be safe there. I’ve always wanted to escape there and disappear, but I never thought it would be possible.”
Ikai took a step towards Liriana. “Come with us, Liriana. Your life’s in danger here. You’re a Pariah, with the Gods pursuing you. They’ll search for you and Maruk. They won’t stop till they catch you. If you come with us, you’ll have a chance. If you stay with Gedrel you’ll be caught. Come with us, please.”
Liriana gazed at him tenderly. “Thank you, Ikai, from the bottom of my heart. But my place is here, with Maruk, with Gedrel, with our enslaved people. I’ll fight. And if I fall, it’ll be for freedom.”
“Well said!” Kyra cried.
At that moment the Arkens and Solma appeared, with Maruk behind them.
“It’s done,” he said.
With dawn came the last embraces and farewells. Tears ran down Liriana’s face, though she tried without success to hold them back. Kyra crossed first, with a firm step. The Boundary received her and let her pass. Painful spasms overcame her as she went through the translucent barrier. She fell to the ground amid convulsions and fainted. Idana and Urda followed. The rest waited until they had recovered. When they were ready, the four members of the Arken family crossed. Ikai helped his mother to cross. Albana hugged Liriana, took her leave, and crossed too.
Ikai looked at Liriana and smiled. “Good luck, Captain!”
Liriana smiled back. “Good luck, Hunter!”
He crossed the Boundary.
Ikai had accomplished what he had set out to do: he had rescued his sister and reunited his family. But in so doing, something bigger, much more transcendental had been achieved: the first group of Senoca escaped on that day from the claws of the Golden Gods, to form the first colony of free people, returning to Mother Sea after a thousand years of slavery.
---END-BOOK 1--
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REBELLION
Pedro Urvi
Contents
The Secret of the Golden Gods
Books in this Series
Other Books by Pedro Urvi
To my father, my number one fan, always.
ORIGIN
Contents
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
3
3
---END-BOOK 1--
REBELLION
Pedro Urvi
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
---THE END BOOK 2---
REBIRTH
Pedro Urvi
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34