“I’ve never seen it do that,” she said in awe.
“Because you don’t know who you are,” he said.
“My father… I mean king Kalgary gave it to me recently. He told me it was all I had on me when he found me. What is it?”
“It is a rare light stone, in it’s raw unrefined state. It’s been passed down for generations to a worthy heir. The fact that you have it means that El ordained you to be the next ruler of Neru. That you have the gift to sustain our purpose.”
He released her pendant.
“I… this is all so much Odi.”
“Princess!”
It was Stafford, bellowing her name loud enough to rouse her father and the house hands. Ruby rolled her eyes.
“I have to go.”
“What is your answer then?”
“Can you come again tomorrow?”
Odi seemed to hesitate.
“I know I am asking a lot of you. But I promise, it’s safe here. Meet me here again tomorrow. I want to know more.”
“Alright,” he said through gritted teeth and stepped back into the darkness.
Ruby turned and slipped easily back unto the path, just as Stafford was making his way around the bend to meet her.
“It’s going to rain,” he said, “we should head in.”
Ruby nodded, afraid that her excitement would betray her through her words.
✽✽✽
Ruby found Topaz in her favourite place of late; sitting on her bed in her night gown. She closed the door behind her and Topaz jumped. Turning to face her sister with wide eyes.
Ruby smirked, “Am I in the wrong room?”
Topaz sighed, “sorry, you startled me.”
“I didn’t think that was possible,” Ruby replied, as she shrugged out of her coat. The movement shifted her necklace around her neck and immediately she was reminded of Odi’s fingers holding it out between them. She shook off the sudden feeling of longing for something distant and distracting and turned to her sister; a representation of what should matter to her now.
“What’s bothering you?”
“Everything,” Topaz replied, looking right at her now with her rain cloud eyes.
“I don’t want you to be married off to some stranger from the south. I hate all of this so much. I hate the fact that I can’t help you, that I… am both a terrible friend and sister.”
“Topaz,” Ruby crooned, as she slipped onto the bed beside her, “how could you think that you could do anything to prevent this? Our father does what our father wants to do.”
Topaz looked up at her, “you don’t have to listen to him you know.”
Ruby was taken aback; she did not expect to hear that from Topaz. “Top, what is going on with you? You would never encourage anyone to defy father.”
“He’s not your father, this isn’t your kingdom… as much as it pains me to say that. You don’t have to be bound to it the way I am. Your duty is to your people.”
Her gaze fell on Ruby’s pendant. Ruby felt an odd chill, as if Topaz somehow knew about Odi and Neru.
“Topaz what happened?”
“Aldor is changing… not for the better. Did you know that there is a prophet among us? Many claim that he is the real deal, but he prophesies our destruction and teaches something contrary to what we know.”
“Yea I heard about that. But we know of many mad men who have claimed to be such throughout the years…”
“He is not a mad man… at least he does not seem to be. He is a heretic for sure… maybe a wizard or a trickster. I have seen him with my own eyes. I heard him preach and saw him heal a boy who was sick.”
Ruby narrowed her eyes, “where did you see all this?”
“Remember I told you that I had a lot to tell you? Well that is part of it. Not only did I meet this famous Ajorel but I helped father find him. He is in our dungeon as we speak, no doubt answering for his crimes.”
Ruby could not explain it but she felt a wave of excitement. She had been so caught up with her own issues that she had not been paying attention to what had been happening in the kingdom.
“I also made a friend… well kind of,” Topaz continued.
“His name is Jahreed. But I lied to him, pretended to be someone I am not and then I pushed him away. He seemed so taken with this prophet. It turned me off and I was surprised at how disappointed I was, how hurt I was… that he…” she paused, shaking her head as though confused.
A small sympathetic smile formed on Ruby’s lips, “Oh Top. You like him.”
Topaz’s gaze snapped upward, “No I do not… well he… we were just being friendly to each other.”
“Where is he now?”
“I haven’t seen him since that night when we met the prophet. I am assuming he has returned to the North. Away from this madness I hope.”
“He is a Northerner,” Ruby said with intrigue, “Well let’s hope that’s not the last you have seen of him.”
“Ruby I don’t care if I see him again. That’s not the issue. Aldor isn’t safe anymore, especially for you. I have been trying to deny it, but… more and more I realize that I am being selfish for wanting you to stay and deal with matters of court. This isn’t your fight and it’s getting more and more dangerous here.”
Ruby leaned towards her, looking deeply into her eyes, “What are you saying?”
Topaz smiled sadly, “you need to go.”
Ruby pulled back in shock, “Topaz!”
Topaz reached out and took her hands, “Ruby, don’t marry this man. The Southlands are part of Aldor but their ways are very different to ours. They are a liberal people, prone to conflict and betrayal. You won’t be happy there.”
Ruby lowered her gaze and sighed. She had thought about this, but these days she was becoming a lot better at ignoring her feelings.
“Where would I go Topaz? I can’t stay here if I defy father.”
“Pearl will help you. You know she will. You can go to the North, take refuge among the Northerners, I am sure they will welcome you.”
“I would set father against Pearl. You know how much he loves her.”
“He loved you once.”
Ruby sighed, “he still does.”
“He has an interesting way of showing it.”
Ruby felt her spirit sink. In all her denial, Topaz’s words resonated with a greater part of her. She knew that deep down, beyond all the obligation was a ball of resentment, growing towards her father and Aldorian Court.
She turned Topaz and smiled, “I’m glad you’re here with me, through all this.”
Topaz grinned, “just say the word and I’ll come with you. El knows I’ve had enough of this myself.”
“Are you sure this doesn’t have to do with a certain Shepherd?”
Topaz leveled her out with a pillow to the face, “shut it!” she growled.
Chapter 23
“Hey you!”
Ajorel’s eyes snapped open from where he sat on the itchy prison cot, deep in the dungeon of the castle. He had been praying for hours, speaking to El and preparing for his meeting with the king. He knew he would need El’s strength to soothe the anger he still harboured towards the Stones.
“The king will see you now,” the prison guard said, as he started to unlock the doors to his cell.
“Right on time,” Ajorel said.
He had thought that with the king so eager to capture him, that once he did, he would have faced him immediately. But it had been three days since his arrest and no summon from the king. He would have thought it strange if El had not already revealed it to him. The king was afraid of what Ajorel had to say. He feared what Ajorel represented and he knew that once he faced him and heard what he had to say he would have a great responsibility placed upon him, one that could cost him everything.
Ajorel stood up and picked up his coat, throwing it over his tunic and trousers, while the guard patiently waited. He then turned to have the shackles returned to his wrists.
“Yo
u have no need for those, Igo before the king willingly,” he said.
“Protocol,” the guard replied as he grabbed his elbow and led him out of the cell.
He was brought to the king’s chambers, where the burly man sat at his desk with his ringed fingers steepled beneath his bearded chin. The last time he had laid eyes on the king, he was much… smaller, with less beard and greys. But he knew that this would be the first time the king would lay eyes on him.
He was not surprised that the king had requested they meet in his private chambers rather than the throne room. A scene would not be profitable for him.
“Leave us,” the king commanded with a wave of his hand.
The guards bowed out of the room, leaving Ajorel shackled and standing before him. The king held onto his sceptre even at his desk. Ajorel knew that this was not common practice, unless the king suspected him of wielding magic. Ajorel almost wanted to assure him that he would have no need for it, for he was no sorcerer, but he knew better than to speak first.
The king narrowed his eyes at him, “so you are Ajorel the prophet.”
Ignoring the king’s mocking tone, Ajorel bowed, “It is I,” he replied.
“And what have you to say for yourself?”
“Well,” Ajorel lifted his chained wrists, “these are not necessary but I stand by my convictions.”
“I will decide whether those are necessary. But please tell me prophet, what are your convictions?”
Ajorel lifted his chin, sensing the power of El coursing through him, “that El is the one true God, the source of all that is good and right and true. That He is the God of Aldor and people every where who are called by his name. That He sent us the source of light in the form of a man, the God of all among us, yet fully human. A king among men whose throne is not of this earth, who came to fulfill prophecy and bring light into a dark world and the darkened hearts of men. A God-king who was killed by those who called themselves his own.”
The king threw his head back and laughed, “what utter foolishness.”
“Foolishness to those who are perishing, life to those who are being saved.”
The king’s gaze hardened, “you will be careful of your words,” he warned.
“I am only careful of my words when they are my own,” Ajorel replied, “but the words I speak oh king are not my own. For I am a prophet sent by El to declare the presence of his kingdom among us and to warn you of the coming judgment upon this...place.”
“Judgement on Aldor,” the king shook his head, “if you are truly a prophet of El you would know that Aldor is the kingdom of El. We uphold his ways in all the land, we are the ones keeping back the darkness. You surely are not of, nor for this kingdom.”
“I am of the kingdom of El, as was my teacher and mentor, Enol. Another righteous man, whose blood cries out from beneath the perfectly laid cobblestone streets of Stone Vale.”
The king blinked, “you knew Enol?”
Ajorel gestured to the box on the king’s desk, “I see you brought my belongings to this… meeting.”
He pointed to the staff leaned up against the desk, “open the top of my staff and you will see that I speak only truth.”
The king arose from his chair and walked around the desk, casting distrustful looks at the man standing in the middle of his study. He reached for the staff and after a moment’s hesitation, he unscrewed the top of Ajorel’s staff.
Ajorel nodded, he had carved the space in his staff and had carried around Enol’s letters to him for years, waiting for a moment like this. The king withdrew the letters and removed them from their protective case. He unfolded them carefully and spread them across his table, wearing a disbelieving frown on his face.
“This is Enol’s handwriting for sure,” the king said softly.
Ajorel gestured to one of the unfolded letters, the yellowing parchment an indication of the time that had passed since his dear friend had been killed.
“That was the last one he sent to me, written mere hours before his murder.”
“You do not know that.”
“Oh, I know. I was but a lad when prophets and teachers and followers of the source of light were being silenced every where. We were forced into hiding, forced out of Aldor and made to make our homes in strange lands. We dwelled among the outcasts, we dwelled among the heathen but we continued to shine the light of El, we continued to teach others and many had their hearts enlightened. It is how we know for sure that El cares not for his chosen only, but has made room for all. You knew this, he spoke it to your heart years ago but you turned your eyes from what was happening because you were afraid to lose your throne.”
The king looked utterly distraught, raising a finger to silence Ajorel as he read Enol’s last letter. Ajorel waited, watching the king experience a semblance of the emotions he had felt upon reading that very letter for the first time.
The king retreated to his chair and exhaled deeply, “this was all my father’s doing,” he said.
Ajorel glared at him, “and what did you do?”
Ajorel ignored his guilty sputtering, “you tried to bridge the gap between two worlds instead of searching out the truth. The old way that appeased faithless men and the new way built upon the love and mercies of El, spurred on by the death of the source at the hands of his chosen people. He sent you a gift and you broke it, just like He knew you would. You stand there looking pious, but El sees your heart, he sees that your desires have shifted long ago from wanting expanding his kingdom to building your empire.”
Kalgary’s gaze grew furious, “how dare you accuse me of this! All I have ever done was for the name of El. You come here and insult me, yet you expect me to believe that the source of light came in the form of a man and was killed at the hands of my people? My People? My father spent years looking for the source of light.”
“You can believe what you like, or you can let the light of El into your heart to show you what is true. I am only here to proclaim the truth. And your father, you know what kind of man your father was. Enol knew he only wanted to find the source to have it destroyed. He was threatened when he found that it was a man, a man the people were flocking to, worshipping as God and loyal to as a king. A man who remained humble, who kept El’s precepts and only cared for the wellbeing of the people. When your father realized that he wasn’t another weapon he could exploit, he feared for his throne and countless lives paid for that fear.”
Ajorel fought to keep his emotions contained as the memories flooded his mind. He was looking at the man whom Enol once believed would usher in the new way into Aldor and protect his people. Instead this man had chosen a life of compromise in order to preserve his own comforts.
Ajorel stepped back, reigning in his anger, “judgement is coming king Kalgary. And El wants you to know that this time, there is nothing you can do to stop it, only surrender to him and let him do what he will.”
Kalgary was speechless, with his gaze lowered to the letter resting on the table before him.
“What does El want from me?”
“That is the question you have always asked from the day you became king. Well here is the answer, he wants you to let the light into your heart, to not fear the truth and to put his kingdom above your own.”
Kalgary shook his head slowly, “I need time to process all of this.”
Ajorel lifted his shackled hands, “I have a lot of that these days.”
The king nodded, “Guards!” he shouted.
Instantly, the door to his chambers opened and the prison guards stepped in.
“Take him to his cell.”
As they ushered Ajorel out of the room, Ajorel looked over his shoulder, “I invite you to read those if you like,” he said referring to Enol’s letters strewn on the desk top, “no need trying to destroy them we have already sent multiple copies all over Saharia.”
Chapter 24
Deswald stumbled out into the night and fell onto his knees. Sweat dripping from his hair down his temples and
over his brows. Clutching the grass beneath his palms, he growled, trying to pull himself back into control. He could hear hurried footsteps from within the dwelling behind him, he knew to whom they belonged. Desperately, he pushed himself to his feet and started to stagger towards the wall surrounding the Mathis residence.
“Deswald!” he heard Ben hiss.
He was trying to keep his voice down, probably in an attempt to not alert his parents or the servants.
“Stay back!” Deswald growled, still trying to put distance between them.
If only he could get to the wall, he could try to get over it and Ben would be safe from him behind the protection of his father’s gated dwelling. He knew that behind the wall was the forest, this would reduce his chances of hurting any innocent people. He could stay there for a while.
His jumbled thoughts halted as Ben’s firm grip found his arm. He turned on him and bared his teeth, like an animal… he felt less human. Ben didn’t flinch, instead he looked at him with the concern of a friend.
“Talk to me Des. Tell me what’s going on. I want to help.”
Deswald lowered his gaze to his friend’s hand on his arm.
“You can’t help me.”
“You think you can fix this on your own?”
Deswald looked up at him remorsefully, “I don’t think this can be fixed.”
“Nonsense! I refuse to believe that whatever is wrong with you cannot be reversed. Is it dark magic?”
“Ben,” Deswald was shaking his head in disbelief, “I almost hurt you in there, in your own home. Why are you still here?”
Ben frowned, “that’s a stupid question. But I’ll answer it. You are my friend man. I’ve lost count of all the times you refused to give up on me.”
“This isn’t the same…”
“Stop it!” Ben warned, “Stop with the self pity. Now tell me what’s going on.”
Deswald took a deep breath and dropped to his knees.
Deswald looked over at Ben, he felt calmer now, but Ben was the one looking troubled. Ben had managed to convince him to sit with him on an old wooden bench near the stables. It was still quite early; the sun hadn’t come up yet and the city still slept. It was quiet and strangely warm.
Kingdom's Darkness (Gemstone Royals Book 2) Page 19
